It is well-known how SIPA, a leader in PET preform systems & packaging solutions, pays the utmost attention to the environment, through continuous and measurable actions.
SIPA’s commitment in this area means, among the other aspects, a more reasonable PET consumption, giving its customers the possibility to produce lighter containers, thus reducing the quantity of material where not necessary.
There is more.
SIPA aims to minimise environmental impact by progressively reducing the consumption of energy, as well as water and compressed air, for the machines manufactured.
All of this without compromising any mechanical property or aesthetic feature of the containers.
The ideal solution for the production of preforms while respecting the environment
Thanks to XTREME Renew, SIPA intends to fully encourage the principles of the circular economy, in the interest of its customers and the environment.
XTREME RENEW is actually the first integrated system in the world (preform production line) for the food-grade preform production which uses up to 100% rPET flakes in a single heating phase and cycle.
It was developed in collaboration with EREMA, an Austrian company specialising in technology to recycle plastic materials.
The system is the result of a synergistic combination of two innovative and successful machines which led to the creation of SIPA’s XTREME Renew.
READ ALSO: "Environmental sustainability in bottling: reduction of CO2 emission and rPET"
An overview of the advantages offered by XTREME Renew
Compared to other alternative PET preform production systems based on recycling used PET bottles, XTREME Renew simplifies the process while optimising the production cycle.
In short: XTREME Renew:
- uses less raw material (-10%),
- saves energy (-30%),
- has a low TCO (-15%)
- cuts logistic costs (-20%) compared to any other existing technology.
READ ALSO: "PET Recycled products: cost methodologies for packaging"
Technical characteristics and advantages of XTREME Renew from decontamination to extrusion
Here are some details on the main technical characteristics of XTREME Renew regarding decontamination.
This process, thanks to the VACUREMA® technology patented by EREMA, takes place together with the removal of the humidity prior to the extrusion process.
This is a benefit for the quality of the melt and, as a consequence, of the end product. The product is more stable, with improved mechanical properties.
The key components of the system include a vacuum reactor, connected directly to a single screw extruder.
The mixers in the vacuum reactor are fitted with three ultra efficient functional areas that perfectly interact with each other to decontaminate and pre-dry the PET.
The extrusion is carried out with a very low residual humidity: the clean and perfectly prepared PET enters in the extruder, through a pushed vacuum procedure. Consequently, no additional degassing doors are required on the extruder.
For the customer company, the significantly reduced length of the extrusion means a decrease in the consumption of energy, improving the colour values (value b) of the processed material, keeping the AA values very low.
Furthermore, the excellent homogenisation of the extruder plays a significant role in transforming the various input IV values into a stable output IV value.
Preform line products: injection-compression with XTREME Renew
In a fully integrated, fully automated, continuous process, extruded and filtered melt is then fed directly to SIPA’s revolutionary XTREME rotary injection-compression platform for producing lightweight preforms at high speed and with high efficiency.
The preforms can be as much as 10% lighter than preforms made on traditional injection molding systems.
XTREME Renew’s applications
The XTREME RENEW preform systems production is able to create a wide range of light food-grade preforms starting from simple washed flakes for a multitude of applications: mineral water, fruit juice, RTD tea, milk and much more.
