NEW VACUUM PYROLISIS

CLEANING SYSTEM

 

Polypipe, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of piping and sanitary systems for the residential, commercial and infrastructure sectors, has recently commissioned a vacuum pyrolisis cleaning system for the removal of polymer from contaminated extrusion and injection moulding machine hardware, including dies, filters, hot runner manifolds and nozzles. As production levels increased and product changes became more frequent, it was recognized that a system was required to speed up the extrusion die cleaning process and reduce mechanical damage, which is inevitable when trying to disassemble die heads that are full of polymer. Polypipe chose a Schwing VacuClean 154T vacuum pyrolisis furnace, which was purchased from Clayton Thermal Processes Limited and supplied by Schwing Fluid Technik GmbH in Germany.

 

The 154 is one of three units to be installed in the UK, since the introduction of VacuClean last year; the furnace has a usable chamber size of 1.12 metre x 0.53 metre x 0.43 metre, has a load capacity of 750 kilograms and is the perfect answer for the cleaning of contaminated extrusion die heads prior to disassembly.

 

The majority of the contaminating polymer is melted from components whilst the VacuClean unit is heated under vacuum conditions. At higher temperatures the residual polymer is converted to carbon and then to gaseous phase, which is then cleaned and cooled by passing through an integrated catalytic converter and then through a water-cooling system. The resultant waste gas is free from contaminants and can be exhausted without infringing environmental emission regulations. The wastewater is perfectly safe to dispose to sewer. Emission levels achieved by the system are among the lowest in Europe for such equipment and safely meet the requirements of the latest UK environmental emission legislation.

 

As well as a need to reduce product contamination, particularly after a colour or product change, extruders need to minimise the time between changes and reduce the level of labour involved in the dismantling and cleaning of die heads. Using the VacuClean system will enable them to clean die heads and associated tooling with minimal labour, returning them to production in a matter of hours. The level of cleanliness after cleaning in the VacuClean system enables Polypipe to maintain the highest product quality, reducing the risk of product contamination and eliminating mechanical damage to expensive tooling during the cleaning operation.

 

Clayton Thermal Processes Ltd markets a full range of thermal cleaning and heat treatment equipment including fluidised beds, ovens and vacuum pyrolisis furnaces as well as offering a contract cleaning and heat treatment service from its works in the West Midlands.

 

Clayton Thermal Processes and Schwing Fluid Technik will be exhibiting at Interplas 2008, September 30^th to October 2^nd, see us in Hall 4, Stand H155.