With the growing concern over plastic pollution, plastic producers are required to find new effective ways to return a broad range of different plastic materials into the production cycle. The Schenck Process Group, a leading provider of bulk material handling equipment and weighing and feeding solutions, is responding to this challenge by leveraging their extensive process knowledge to empower them in their transition towards circular production processes. - Schenck Process

With more than 140 years of experience, Schenck Process has collected profound knowledge in material properties of a broad range of mission-critical bulk materials in diverse industries. This includes difficultto-handle materials such as very lightweight and fluffy foams, film particles, and alternative fuels who often differ in shapes, density, and coarseness, thus, demanding specific handling solutions to deliver optimal results. The Group has now found a way to translate this expertise into plastics and recycling processes as well.

What we are seeing is that many plastics processors are grappling with challenges similar to those encountered in the handling and feeding of alternative fuels.

Felix Jakob, Director Sales Weighing Technology

Albeit processes differ, challenges with humidity or volatile product characteristics resemble each other, as do the demands when it comes to scaling up existing lab lines.

Our existing knowledge in waste-to-energy handling as well as our accumulated testing abilities allow us to design solutions that tackle these challenges and enable plastic processors in driving increasing circularity in their operations.

Felix Jakob, Director Sales Weighing Technology

The company's own Test & Innovation Centers play a decisive role in this – primarily the technology hub for alternative fuel processes in Jenec, Czech Republic.

Test & Innovation Center Opens New Possibilities

Originally opened in 2021 to service alternative fuels for the cement industry, the Czech Test & Innovation Center possesses exhaustive process knowledge that is easily adapted to fit the unique requirements of the plastics processing industry. With its state-of-the-art equipment, it can simulate diverse process steps including unloading, conveying, and feeding of any kind of waste up to a volume of 150.000 liters per hour.

I strongly believe that the breadth and depth of our experience in testing and handling a wide range of bulk materials over many decades has given us a unique advantage in translating this knowledge into new solutions for the chemicals and plastics industry. Our know-how and equipment enable us to flexibly adapt to unique challenges and customer requirements and pave the way for making their material handling more efficient and sustainable by supporting circular processes.

Manfred Bruckner, Managing Director, Schenck Process Europe