Starlinger installs recycling line for Turkish recycler

Starlinger post-consumer HDPE and PP recycling line for Turkish plastics recycler Tanrıkulu commenced operations in mid-September 2022. The recycling line was installed at the customer’s recycling facility in Başiskele, Kocaeli Province. It features Starlinger’s special high-vacuum degassing unit, the recoSTAR dynamic 215 C-VAC has a production capacity of two tonnes of high-quality plastic pellets per hour and processes post-consumer HDPE and PP bottle flakes. The line is equipped with a SMART feeder which ensures ideal material preparation prior to extrusion, effectively drying and homogenising the input material.

“The Starlinger recoSTAR dynamic recycling lines have been designed with the focus on processing contaminated and highly humid post-consumer plastic waste”, explained Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology. “The elaborate construction of the SMART feeder allows the recycling of materials with higher levels of humidity. In combination with Starlinger’s Dynamic Automation Package which regulates the ideal operating point, it achieves a significant output increase.”

The specially developed C-VAC degassing unit with its modern cascade setup takes care of volatile contaminants after the main extruder, effectively removing them by expanding the melt surface by 300%.

Tanrıkulu supplies the produced regranulate to the Turkish plastic product manufacturing industry. While the recycled polypropylene is used mainly to produce automobile plastic parts, furniture, toys and other injection moulding products, as well as for pallets, buckets or packaging films, the recycled polyethylene is used for pipes, bottles, plastic bags, and similar products.

“At Tanrıkulu, we try to improve ourselves at every opportunity we get. For that, we continuously upgrade our production equipment”, said İzzet Tanrıkulu, General Manager of Tanrıkulu Group of Companies. “To ensure best regranulate quality, the post-consumer input material passes metal detectors and filtration systems before being washed and sorted. The excellent vacuum degassing capacity of the Starlinger line combined with its high production output helps us to achieve best product quality at favourable costs, ensuring continuous supply of high-quality PP and PE regranulate to our customers.”

From paper, glass and metals to plastics recycling

With currently ten plastics recycling and manufacturing plants in various parts of Kocaeli Province, which borders the Istanbul metropolitan area, Tanrıkulu originally started out in 1989 in Istanbul, recycling paper, glass and metal waste. In 2006 the company began to produce regranulate from plastic waste and diversified by adding a facility for the production of PET sheet in 2014. Since then, Tanrıkulu has become one of the leading plastics recycling enterprises in Turkey and exports 50 % of its PET sheet products to overseas markets. Its plastics recycling capacity doubled after opening the Izpack PET packaging production facility in 2018 and installing automatic plastic sorting systems in 2019.