COMBI-CRYSTAL-PET® (CC-PET®) - Suurmond

COMBI-CRYSTAL-PET ® (CC-PET ® )
PET direct crystallization – energy savings in a reliable process
CC-PET ® combines pelletizing, drying, and
crystallization in a single process. Therefore,
the crystalline PET pellets can directly be used
for extrusion downstream processing. The
pellets are almost dust-free and can be reliably
processed at high bulk density. As pelletizing
and direct crystallizing are combined into one
single step, a lot of energy is saved. CC-PET ®
is applied in the production of virgin polymers
and also in recycling processes.
Your benefits
• Reduced investment costs compared to conventional PET processing
• Lower production costs due to high energy savings; additional heating
often required only upon production start-up
• Spherical, almost dust-free and non-sticky pellets
• High bulk density for downstream processing of the material
• Can highly flexibly be adapted to changing process conditions
• Crystallization temperature and dwell time are infinitely variable

COMBI-CRYSTAL-PET ® (CC-PET ® )
PET direct crystallization – significant energy savings, enhanced process reliability
Processes and machines and systems made by Automatik Plastics Machinery stand for cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and
reliability worldwide. With over six decades of experience and an installed base of currently more than 8,000 pelletizing
systems, the company helps its customers to achieve the maximum level of profitability.
Range of applications
CC-PET ® combines pelletizing, drying, and crystallization in a single process. Downstream treatment of the pellets, usually
as solid state polymerisation (SSP), is greatly simplified because the semi-crystalline end product does not stick in subsequent
post-processing operations. CC-PET ® can be applied to both virgin polymer production and recycling applications with
production capacities ranging from 750 kg/h up to 15,000 kg/h. The output from one reactor may be optionally diverted to
several pelletizing lines and then recombined to a single crystallizer.
Functioning of the CC-PET ® system
The PET melt is discharged from the reactor or
the extruder by a melt pump 01.
The material is then processed by a SPHERO ®
02 underwater pelletizer 03.
The hot process water rapidly transports the
pellets to the dryer 04, where the water is separated
from the plastic pellets.
The crystallizer 05 processes the PET pellets
utilizing the residual heat, as well as additional
heating as required.
After crystallizing, the pellets are suitable for
any kind of post-processing 06.
The process water is tempered, filtered and returned
to the points of use in a closed duct 07.
04
04
01
01
02 03
07
07
05
05
06
CC-PET ® integrates the crystallization of PET
directly into the SPHERO ® underwater pelletizing
system. The end product does not stick
in subsequent downstream processing operations.
This results in
• Reduced energy consumption, lower
investment costs, and in
• Increased operating profitability for both
the system operator and his customers.
Furthermore, CC-PET ® provides for controlled
nucleation, as well as the supply of additional
heating as required, for a wide range of raw
material types. This ensures constant crystallization
conditions which are not sensitive to
fluctuations in material properties, guaranteeing
highly uniform product quality.
Immediately after conventional processing, PET pellets are amorphous.
Such amorphous pellets become sticky when heated to temperatures
above 70 °C and thus are not suitable for subsequent processing such as:
• Post-condensation in the SSP – the pellets must be processed for
several hours at approx. 210 °C.
• Drying prior to downstream processing – due to its distinctive
hygroscopic properties, PET must be intensively dried with hot air at
160-180 °C for up to 6 hours.
Therefore, the PET pellets must first be crystallized, since only this form
is not sticky. For crystallizing, the pellets must be heated for a limited
period of time to a temperature of approx. 130-180 °C. In order to
avoid agglutination during the crystallizing operation, the pellets must
be kept moving, e.g. by vibration, stirring, or fluidizing. The crystallization
process is exothermic, and this reaction heat in combination with
the residual heat can often meet the entire energy need for process
heating. CC-PET ® helps to retain as much internal heat from upstream
processing steps in the pellets as possible, thus reducing energy costs.

COMBI-CRYSTAL-PET ® (CC-PET ® )
CC-PET ® system components
In order to implement the CC-PET ® process, the following system
components are combined in various configurations immediately
following the melt generation unit:
Pelletizing
The pelletizing operation is performed with SPHERO ® for large-scale
production of virgin PET or for recycling applications.
SPHERO ® underwater pelletizer for virgin polymers and recycling
applications
• Suspension system provides optimal access to all pelletizer components
• Die geometry tailored to material properties and desired pellet weight
• Electric or liquid heating
• Excellent cooling and pellet flow due to optimized cutting chamber
design
Featuring
• Gentle melt handling
• Rheologically optimized product channels
• Electric, liquid, or steam heating
• Energy-optimized process chain
Melt handling
• Melt pump
• Polymer filter
• Start-up valve for SPHERO ® systems
CENTRO pellet dryer – for all USG and SPHERO ® systems
• Energy-optimized pellet drying
• Re-feeding of the separated water to the process loop
• Direct transfer of pellets to the crystallizer
CC-PET ® direct crystallization for all pelletizing options
• Vibrating conveyor for simple recycling applications
• ΔQ crystallizer for more sophisticated PET types and for highest
throughput rates in automatic operation
• Fluid bed crystallizer available for specialized applications
CC-PET ® ΔQ crystallizer
Options for post-processing of pellets
• Classifier
• Spiral cooling conveyor
• SSP
• Dealdehydization
CENTRO pellet dryer
CC-PET ® system controls
• From simple machine controls to complex process visualization options
• Function of individual components (e.g. melt pump, polymer filter,
water circuit) can be integrated into the pelletizer controls
• Data exchange with higher-level control systems possible
Process water treatment
Continuous filtration of return water with manual or automatic filters
and automatic compensation for water loss within the system.
CC-PET ® vibrating conveyor

COMBI-CRYSTAL-PET ® (CC-PET ® )
Technical data
PET product properties for the CC-PET ® process:
IV: 0.50-0.90 dl/g
DEG < 1.5 %w
Co-monomers:
IPA < 2.5 %w
Others 0 %w
Melt temperature T s
:
T S
= TMP + 30 K (TMP = melting point)
Pellet weight:
15-18 mg
Pellet temperature: After crystallizator: 150 °C-170 °C
Global contacts, see www.maag.com
Contact us at contact@maag.com
A_50_2012/3
The data and illustrations refer to the date of printing. Necessary changes can be made at any time without special notice. Maag Group´s products and processes are protected by IP rights.