Friedrichshafen, June 18, 2024. A new EU directive has set a requirement that, by the end of 2025, around 65% by weight of all packaging waste in Europe must be recycled. And by 2030 at the latest, this level will go up to at least 70% by weight. With its considerable experience in plant engineering, Zeppelin Systems is well aware of the challenges this involves, especially in the handling of “fluffy” materials – i.e. films, fleeces and textiles. The company will be at the prestigious PRSE trade fair which is taking place in Amsterdam on June 19 and 20, where it will exhibit its innovative plastics recycling solutions for the processing of waste plastic in Hall 11 at Stand Q35. We Create Solutions! 

Managing resources responsibly is crucial to tackling today’s climate and environmental challenges, and the recovery and reprocessing of plastics is an increasingly important part of this mission. Innovative recycling solutions can reduce the need for resource-intensive virgin materials and protect the environment. “Zeppelin is known for innovation and sustainability. As a foundation-owned company, we are committed to the principle of sustainability. As a global system builder, our goal is to develop sustainable solutions and processes for our customers”, explains Dr Markus Vöge, CEO of Zeppelin Systems GmbH.

Fresh-Tec deodorization
Zeppelin Systems has developed deodorization plants which use a thermophysical cleaning process to degas plastic recycled materials, thereby removing any unpleasant odors from them. This solution makes impressive use of energy recuperation and the integration of process waste heat, which means particularly high energy-efficiency by industry standards. The Friedrichshafen-based plant engineering company supplies all plant engineering services from a single source – from basic engineering to automation to final assembly and comprehensive after-sales service – and supports every phase of the project itself. Zeppelin Systems incorporates individual customer requests and requirements at the system planning stage, especially those relevant to achieving quality thresholds.

Homogenization
Another important factor in producing high-quality plastic recyclate is homogenization – that is, the uniform mixing of the plastic particles. Unlike other solutions on the market, the technology from Zeppelin Systems relies on gentle, static homogenization, which preserves the structure of the material and prevents the generation of dust and noise with no maintenance required. As a full-service provider, Zeppelin Systems supplies tailor-made solutions from plant planning to silo production, and ensures that products can be manufactured under stable conditions.

Fluff-Tec processing of heterogeneous starting material
The quality of recyclate produced is dependent not only on deodorization and homogenization, but also the nature of the starting material. Specific challenges arise with “fluffy materials” made from foils, fleeces or fibers, for which new recycling processes and plant components have to be developed. While there are already good recycling solutions for hard coarse materials made from polyurethane, polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polystyrene, solutions for fluffy materials are still in the early stages. What is needed is systems that can reliably process large material flows and react flexibly to changes in the input flows; energy efficiency is also a key priority. With Fluff-Tec, Zeppelin Systems is delivering on exactly these requirements. “We have full influence over the composition and mixing of the waste plastic material and can monitor and manage it directly”, explains Bert Theuwissen, Managing Director of Zeppelin Systems Benelux NV, adding: “As an experienced plant engineer and system provider, Zeppelin Systems can offer all these steps with process reliability, from silo storage to the processing of (fluffy) waste plastic and sorting”. If desired, this can even take place automatically, assisted by the “NAMiQ recipe” formulation and batch management software which allows the customer to economically control the quality of their end product at any time. We Create Solutions!

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