What is BOPA film?

BOPA film is widely used in high-end food packaging (such as retort pouches and frozen food bags) and pharmaceutical packaging due to its excellent strength, toughness, puncture resistance, oxygen barrier properties, and transparency.

Challenges in BOPA Film Recycling:

1. High hygroscopicity: Nylon (PA) is a highly hygroscopic material. Materials with high moisture content undergo hydrolytic degradation during melt extrusion, leading to molecular chain breakage and severely reducing the viscosity, strength, and toughness of the recycled material, rendering it almost unusable. This is the most critical and primary problem to be solved in BOPA recycling.

2. Precise melting point and sensitivity to thermal history: BOPA has a narrow melting point range (approximately 215-225℃) and is relatively sensitive to heat. Precise temperature control is essential during recycling and granulation; excessively high temperatures or prolonged residence times can lead to thermal oxidative degradation, also affecting quality.

3. Often laminated with other materials: BOPA is rarely used alone; it is often laminated with PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), etc., via adhesives or extrusion. This presents difficulties in material separation. If recycling BOPA with a composite layer, compatibility issues need to be considered.

4. May contain inks, adhesives, and contaminants: Residues from the printing and laminating processes can affect the color and performance of the recycled material.

BOPA Film Recycling Pelletizing Machine:

1. The BOPA film pelletizing machine uses a co-rotating parallel twin-screw extruder. This ensures more uniform mixing, has a self-cleaning function, and can better handle materials that may contain small amounts of impurities. It also allows for the installation of vents and a vacuum pump on the barrel to further remove residual moisture and low-molecular-weight volatiles from the material.

2. Screw Design: A specialized screw designed for nylon characteristics is required, featuring a gentle compression ratio and shear design to prevent localized overheating.

3. Screen Changer: After extrusion, the melt must pass through a continuous screen changer (such as a plate or column screen changer). Its function is to filter out any carbonized particles, gels, impurities, etc., that may be present in the melt, ensuring stable and pure output quality. This is an essential step for recycled materials.

4. Strand Cutting Type : The extruded plastic strips are cooled in a water tank and then cut into cylindrical granules by a pelletizer.

5. Cooling and Dehydration: The mixture of cut granules and water needs to be dehydrated and preliminarily dried using a centrifugal dewatering machine and a vibrating screen.

6. Post-processing and Packaging: The granules can be briefly homogenized in the finished product silo, and then immediately sealed in moisture-proof bags to prevent re-absorbing moisture during storage.

BOPA Granule Market Prospects:

Recycled BOPA granules (r-PA) have a wide range of applications due to their lower cost compared to virgin materials and the retention of some of the excellent properties of nylon:

1. Downgrading: Blended with virgin materials for manufacturing plastic products with lower performance requirements, such as appliance housings, connectors, and automotive parts.

2. Blending Modification: Blended with other plastics (such as PP and PE) or additives to develop new composite materials.

3. Fibers: Can be used to produce industrial filaments, fishing lines, etc.

Why Choose Purui Machinery:

With over 25+ years of expertise and a footprint in over 100 countries, Purui Machinery continues to lead the way in plastic regeneration.

Purui Machinery is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of plastic recycling machinery. Its product portfolio includes plastic pelletizing lines, washing lines, and crushing equipment. Purui is dedicated to providing global customers with the most efficient, reliable, and intelligent plastic regeneration systems.

Contact Us to Get Your Customized Recycling Solution:

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