TPE Basics: In-process recycling 

KRAIBURG TPE is introducing the most frequently requested industry terms in a series of blog posts. First up is "in-process recycling." This is an attribute that most TPE solutions from the competence leader have always had.

Due to their thermoplastic nature, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) can be 100% recycled within a production process (in-process recycling). An addition of up to 15% to the virgin material is possible after extensive testing and risk assessment.

In general, it can be said that the cooler the sprue comes out of the machine, the easier it is to grind it in a mill and the more uniform and defined the grinding result. Shear and granulators are mainly used for soft, elastic or (soft) tough materials such as thermoplastic elastomers. Slowly rotating cutting mills have proven to be of advantage. Size reduction is achieved by shearing by means of sharply ground knives into 2 to l 0 mm particles.
These particles can be fed directly and repeatedly into the injection molding process.

The following graph shows the change in mechanical values when 100 % recycled material is used after eight recycling cycles. In total, the material was regrounded eight times and injection molded nine times.

Still have questions? For information on recycling and TPE with recycled content, contact your sales consultant directly or use the contact form.