Raven Industries Opens Resin Reclamation Line

Raven Industries Engineered Films Division has installed a new reclaim production line designed to capture and recycle excess polymer material from internal manufacturing processes. The new reclaim line can produce up to 15 million pounds of reprocessed resin pellets annually.

Raven worked with companies ADG Solutions and Davis Standard LLC due to their project expertise in reclaim automation systems.

Excess polymer materials are generated during Raven’s normal production process through line startups and material edge trim processes. Past practices have included transporting this material to external reclaim facilities for reuse and discarding other non-reclaim materials.

With this new system, the vast majority of excess material is captured and reclaimed through the facility to increase efficiency, meet environmental initiatives, and add direct value to the overall manufacturing process.

In September, ASTM said that its new international standard D7473, Test Method for Weight Attrition of Plastic Materials in the Marine Environment by Open System Aquarium Incubations, measures the biodegradation rates of polymers. The standard was developed under the ASTM International Committee D20 on Plastics. Primary users of D7473 will be companies that make biodegradable polymers or items that will be disposed of at sea, ASTM said.

In October, Eastman Chemical Company announced the addition of Aspira One polymer to its portfolio of resins. Carrying resin identification code 1 (RIC 1), Aspira One is tailored specifically for EBM processes and packaging applications such as clear handleware and large-size bottles, the company says. It is compatible in the PET recycle stream.