Erema installs irrigation tube recycling systems

Austria-based Erema GmbH says it has successfully installed recycling and reprocessing shredder-extruder combination systems for manufacturers of linear-low density polyethylene (LLDPE) irrigation pipes that have proven to be “the ideal solution for recycling challenging production [scrap].”

Erema says the system designed by its Pure Loop brand can handle materials such as drip tapes and irrigation pipes that accumulate as scrap during the production of irrigation systems or are rejected during quality inspection.

Erema states, “Manufacturers who implement this technology reuse production [scrap] in the form of recycled pellets in proportions of up to 20 percent—without any loss of quality compared to production from virgin material.”

Manfred Dobersberger, managing director of the Pure Loop brand, says, “This level of reuse can still be significantly increased thanks to the high quality of the recycled pellets. The high demands on the recycling process result from the high volume of the bulky input material as well as the material composition of the drip tapes and irrigation pipes.”

According to Erema, the recycling concept created by Pure Loop has “already impressed irrigation system producers in the United States, Israel, Italy and Mexico.” The company adds, “They operate recycling plants with throughputs of 100 to 500 kilograms (200 to 1,100 to pounds) per hour and reuse the recycled pellets produced in proportions of up to 20 percent in the production process of thin-walled tapes and thick-walled pipes.”