Lindner Washtech and EREMA Raise the Bar in Plastics Recycling with Advanced Process Optimisation
Lindner Holding and the EREMA Group, two family-run businesses in Austria, established BLUEONE Solutions as a joint venture in August 2023. From shredding, sorting, washing, and drying to extrusion, their goal is to optimize the entire technological recycling process and bring it closer together along the value chain. By pooling their knowledge, the partners have established the framework for a novel approach to process optimization that aims to establish new benchmarks in the recycling of plastics. The collaboration partners will showcase their latest advancements at K 2025, following the presentation of their first successful quick wins at IFAT and PRS Europe last year. These redefine the process engineering behind plastics recycling, especially in terms of energy efficiency, throughput, plant design and recycling quality – according to the motto: Innovating the standards in plastics recycling.
Integrated plant design for defined throughput
When developing recycling plants, the capacity of individual parts is not very important. The entire process chain—from sorting and shredding to washing and drying to extrusion and post-processing—is precisely interacted with. The entire process chain must be taken into account in order to consistently generate the needed amount of recycled material at the acceptable quality. Specifically, how the final product is affected by material losses and rejection amounts during the recycling process. With the help of a model that Lindner Washtech and EREMA jointly developed, a plant may be precisely designed to meet the necessary total throughput while accounting for the particular output and materials from the raw material to the end recycle.
Intelligent energy efficiency
The efficient use of spent energy is one of many challenges in the recycling process – and it particularly affects the transition from drying to extrusion. This is precisely where a common control concept between the bunker silo and extruder comes into play. Dynamic system synchronisation allows operators to specifically control the dwell time of the dried material as well as the extruder loading. For example, the automatic signal exchange ensures that the pre-conditioning unit (PCU) receives an optimum quantity of flakes at the ideal temperature, which significantly reduces the energy required for heating, for example.
Smooth and automated material flow regulation
Low downtimes are vital in matters of productivity and energy use to conserve resources. It is all the more important for all interruptions to the material flow to be identified as early as possible. The solution: a combined control concept. If the recycling process is interrupted by scheduled maintenance work, filter changes or the need to remove contaminants from the shredder, the system will automatically detect this. Intelligent control parameters will keep the recycling process stable until maintenance is complete or the fault has been solved. This effectively prevents energy losses, unnecessary material waste and unplanned downtime. Once the material flow has been fully restored, the line automatically and seamlessly ramps up – ensuring a consistent and high-quality granulate production at all times.
Smart performance monitoring
Lindner Washtech and EREMA have added another jointly developed feature to analyse and monitor overall performance: a process-oriented HMI dashboard that displays all the critical plant parameters in real time. This adaptive interface supplies operating personnel with information about the current utilisation, likely bottlenecks and the potential for optimisation. Operators can then use this information to respond to the specific issue – and monitor the automatic intervention. The integrated transparency supports a stable, data- driven plant operation, forming the basis for future automated interventions and condition-based maintenance (CBM).
The development of integrated, data-driven and holistic process solutions are key milestones in the strategic collaboration of Lindner Washtech and EREMA. A strong shared foundation has been created with the foundation of this joint venture. At K 2025 in Düsseldorf, the partners will focus on key themes such as integrated plant concepts, smooth material flow regulation, smart monitoring and data-driven, intelligent control systems – for maximum process control and optimisation along the entire value-added chain and for new process and quality standards in plastics recycling: Innovating the standards in plastics recycling.
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