Lotte Chemical deploys BKG system in new plant

Nearing completion at Lotte Chemical UK’s well-known Wilton site is a 200,000MT PET resin plant that includes a 25 tonnes per hour filtration and pelletising system now being commissioned by Nordson BKG. The new plant, adjacent to Lotte’s existing PET facility, is due for startup later this year.

The ￡60-million project will more than double the capacity for PET at the Wilton site. At its heart is the BKG CrystallCut system, which saves energy by re-using the heat from the polymer melt in the pelletising step to crystallise the pellets at a later stage in an integrated process.  Also supplied by BKG is a screen changer in Nordson Kreyenborg’s POLY series.

“CrystallCut technology is employed in operations ranging from small-scale extrusion and recycling facilities to world-scale resin plants like that of Lotte Chemicals,” said David Bargery, project manager for Nordson BKG. “In every case the system saves substantial amounts of energy by avoiding the need to reheat the PET for crystallizing. In addition, it prevents clumping of amorphous PET and yields an enhanced crystalline structure that results in lower energy costs for re-melting the material.”

The patented CrystallCut system is an integrated network that incorporates underwater pelletising, drying, and crystallizing. After the polymer has been cut at the pelletizer die face, it is transported to a centrifugal pellet dryer where the water is separated and the polymer dried. The material exits the pellet dryer and is discharged on a specially designed centrifugal dryer outlet hopper where the conversion from amorphous to crystallized material occurs. Throughout this process there is precise control of  material temperatures, preventing production and quality problems caused by insufficient crystallization and excess levels of amorphous material.