Nordson pelletizing system at Lotte Chemical's world-scale PET plant

Commissioned in late 2014, the world-scale plant at Lotte Chemical’s Redcar, England facility operates three pelletizing / crystallizing units based on Nordson’s patented BKG® CrystallCut™ process, which saves energy by retaining heat from the molten polymer and using it for crystallization. The installation also includes a Nordson Kreyenborg™ POLY screen changer, whose quick-change operation makes possible filter screen replacement while maintaining continuous production.

 

“For a modern, world-scale PET plant operating ‘24/7,’ we estimate that the CrystallCut system can save millions of Euros per year in energy costs by combining pelletizing and crystallizing into a single integrated process without a cooling step,” according to Ralf Simon, Nordson BKG managing director. “And because the retained heat causes pellets to crystallize from the inside out, the result is an improved crystalline structure that requires less energy for re-melting.”

 

Conventionally, PET pellets are cooled after pelletizing, then reheated for crystallization. The CrystallCut process eliminates cooling by rapidly transporting pellets from the cutter face of the die through hot water and directly into a centrifugal dryer. The pellets exit the dryer at a temperature of 140 to 150 °C. and are uniformly crystallized.