Modeling and Optimization of Melt Filtration Systems in Polymer Recycling

This paper addresses the performance improvement of a double-cavity piston screen changer used for processing slightly contaminated in-house recycling material. Rheological optimization of the flow geometry based on analytical calculations and numerical CFL) simulations in order to increase its self-cleaning capacity, decrease the residence time of the melt in the titter and reduce pressure drops, thus enabling gentle processing of a variety of thermoplastic polymers. Various analytical calculations of the overall pressure drop were performed and experimentally verified for a range of in-house recycling materials, throughputs and filter screen types.