Breaking The Deadlock And Establishing A New One: A Documentary Of The Special Seminar On Granulation Difficulties Under The Current International Situation By COLOWE
Under the dual pressure of deep restructuring of the global supply chain and continuous tightening of environmental regulations, the plastic granulation industry is experiencing an unprecedented "painful period". Recently, Nanjing Kelongwell Chemical Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "COLOWE") held an internal strategic seminar with the theme of "Dealing with granulation difficulties and reshaping extrusion value". The conference aims to confront the multiple challenges posed by geopolitics, fluctuations in raw material prices, and the global "plastic reduction" wave, and explore how to open up a new path for international customers pursuing environmental protection and high cost-effectiveness through technological innovation, especially the core advantages of co rotating twin screw extruders.
1, The question of the times: What kind of "granulation dilemma" are we facing?
1.1 The dual nature of ice and fire on the raw material side
Currently, the international crude oil prices are volatile, directly leading to a roller coaster like fluctuation in the prices of basic resins such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). At the same time, the gradual implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has put forward strict requirements for the carbon footprint of plastic products. According to the "2024 Global Plastic Recycling Outlook Report" released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global demand gap for recycled plastics will reach 12 million tons by 2025. However, due to the imperfect front-end recycling system, there is a serious shortage of high-quality recycled materials supply.
1.2 The "high energy consumption tragedy" on the process side
Traditional single screw extruders face pain points such as uneven dispersion and high energy consumption ratio when processing high filling and high viscosity materials. Many international customers who are new to the granulation field have found that when trying to produce new or modified materials, the poor adaptability of the equipment to the materials often leads to unstable melting points in the finished products, making it difficult to meet the standards of downstream high-end application scenarios such as automotive lightweighting and electronic and electrical.
2, The way to break through COLOWE: technological depth and equipment iteration
In the face of the above difficulties, the COLOWE technology team proposed the core strategy of "reshaping profit margins through efficient extrusion" at the seminar. We firmly believe that only through technological upgrades of the equipment itself can we help customers break out of the vicious cycle of low quality and low price.
2.1 Strengthen core equipment: modular innovation of co rotating twin screw extruder
As a pioneer in the field of plastic extruders, COLOWE highlighted the response plan of the fifth generation co rotating twin screw extruder at this seminar.
·Balancing high torque and high speed: The new generation model adopts a high torque gearbox, which increases torque density by 15%. This design enables efficient extruders to significantly reduce energy consumption per unit output while ensuring sufficient plasticization of materials when processing engineering plastics or high filling calcium carbonate masterbatch.
·The flexibility of screw combination: In response to the formula uncertainty faced by customers when trying to produce new materials, our equipment adopts modular screw components. Users can quickly adjust the combination of shear blocks within 30 minutes based on different polymer systems, such as PBAT, PLA biodegradable materials, or PCR regenerated materials, achieving "one machine for multiple uses".
2.2 Data evidence: The true visibility of cost reduction and efficiency improvement is evident
The seminar released a set of measured data for an international customer in Southeast Asia (dealing with high impurity PET bottle flakes):
·Using a COLOWE co rotating twin screw extruder for granulation, the frequency of filter replacement is reduced by 40% compared to traditional models.
·The bulk density of finished particles has increased by 18%, greatly reducing the subsequent logistics and transportation costs.
·The energy consumption of the entire line has been reduced from 320 kWh per ton to 280 kWh, a decrease of 12.5%, perfectly meeting customers' pursuit of high cost-effectiveness.
3, Key question answer: Help you better understand COLOWE
In the free discussion session of the meeting, we provided professional answers to the most concerned questions of potential customers, especially international customers who are new to the granulation field.
Q1: As a new company planning to enter the plastic recycling and granulation industry, how can COLOWE's equipment ensure the environmental compliance of my production?
A: COLOWE deeply understands that environmental protection is the "green passport" for future international trade. Our plastic extruders come standard with an efficient vacuum exhaust system that can effectively remove moisture, oligomers, and odor molecules from the material. For the issue of residual monomer content that concerns the EU market, by optimizing the aspect ratio of the high-efficiency extruder (we can provide customized options from 40:1 to 52:1), we ensure that the melt has sufficient residence time in the barrel for volatilization treatment, resulting in a finished product odor level of within 3, fully complying with REACH regulations and RoHS directives. In addition, we can provide a full line energy consumption monitoring system to help customers accurately calculate the carbon footprint of their products.
Q2: In the current situation of high raw material prices, I want to try making new materials (such as modified special engineering plastics), but I am worried that the equipment may not be able to adapt to multiple formulas after buying it. What should I do?
A: This is precisely the core advantage of the COLOWE co rotating twin screw extruder. We adopt the principle of "building blocks" in our design. Whether you need to handle high fluidity PP, high torque driven PC/ABS alloy, or even temperature sensitive flame retardant materials, our equipment can respond quickly by changing the arrangement of screw components and adjusting the cylinder opening configuration. We are not only selling a machine, but also providing a set of 'process packages'. Before delivery, we will conduct full process testing using your materials at the laboratory base to ensure that the equipment reaches a "plug and play" state when it is put into production at your factory, minimizing your trial and error costs to the greatest extent possible.
4, Looking to the future: Responding to supply chain changes with a global perspective
At the end of the meeting, the management of COLOWE reiterated the company's long-term strategic vision. In the face of potential risks such as raw material supply disruptions and logistics disruptions in the current international situation, we suggest that customers establish a "distributed+flexible production" capacity layout.
Quoting the viewpoint of the American Plastic Recycling Association (APR) at its 2024 annual meeting: "The future plastic circular economy relies on standardized and highly adaptable extrusion equipment." COLOWE is committed to cloud based operation data of co rotating twin screw extruders through IoT technology. Through the remote diagnostic system, our engineers can overcome time differences and provide real-time maintenance support to customers in North America, the Middle East, or Africa, ensuring that the device's boot rate remains above 95%.
Conclusion
The dilemma of granulation is essentially the disconnect between traditional production methods and the demands for environmental protection and efficiency in the new era. Nanjing Kelongwell Chemical Machinery Co., Ltd. continuously refines the technical details of plastic extruders, with co rotating twin screw extruders and high-efficiency extruders as the core, providing global customers with a more resilient, lower risk, and higher return solution. We believe that no matter how the external environment changes, the 'long termist' who focuses on technological depth and customer value will eventually cross the cycle and usher in the golden age of plastic circular economy with customers.
