Efficiency improvements in
compounding extruders
Areas for improving efficiency in compounding processes
include improving energy efficiency, increasing output of
quality product by optimizing screw design, and minimizing
raw material waste that occurs during start-up or
changeover. Jennifer Markarian reports.
In order to improve energy efficiency,
processors should first be sure to use an
extruder of the proper size and screw design
for the required output rate and product
formulation. Using large extruders for low
output wastes energy, because motors run
most efficiently close to their designed
maximum speed, notes Dr. Robin Kent,
managing director of Tangram Technology,
an energy management consultancy
specializing in plastics processing. Frequent
preventive maintenance can lead to energy
savings. Specific energy (measured in kWh/
kg) is a sensitive indicator of screw and barrel
wear, says Dr. Kent. He explains: “If you see
the specific energy of the same product on
the same line going up over time, you should
check to see what maintenance is needed.”
The new Coperion Melt Pump (MP)
is being used in large scale polyolefin
compounding and pelletizing operations,
where it offers greater energy efficiency
for melt pumping than using an extruder
alone and may be used to debottleneck the
The Coperion Melt Pump.
Plant efficiency supplement September/October 2007
compounding process. Operations that
need to pump melt through downstream
equipment and large underwater
pelletizers can use the Coperion MP
to reduce energy usage by 20%, says
Paul Andersen, director of process
technology at Coperion. The magnitude
of the reduction depends on the polymer
and initial pressure drop through the
downstream equipment, he explains.
Coperion’s new ZSK-NT two-stage, twin
screw extrusion system for compounding
challenging products such as bimodal PE has
about 10% higher energy efficiency as well
as significantly improved quality and about
10% higher capacity for this application
than the conventional ZSK and melt pump,
reports the company. The system separates the
melting step from the homogenization step
using two ZSK MEGAcompounders, with
the first running at high screw speeds for rapid
melting and the second running at slow speeds
for homogenization and pressurization. Screw
configurations and process conditions are
A twin screw extruder from NFM Welding Engineers Inc.
ISSN1464-391X/07 © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
48
optimized for the two stages, which reduces
the total energy input and improves melting
of the high-molecular weight portion of the
polymer without overheating or degrading the
low-molecular weight portion.
Variable speed drives can offer improved
energy efficiency to compounding operations.
Coperion offers a planetary gear design for
very large machines (10,000-20,000 hp or
7500-15000 kW). The gearbox has two drives
– a large (10,000-15,000 hp or 7500-11,000
kW) single speed drive and a variable speed,
planetary gear (3000-5000 hp or 2200-3700
kW) that allows incremental variation of
the top screw speed. This flexibility increases
energy efficiency by allowing screw speed to
be optimized for the material being processed,
explains Dr. Andersen.
Direct drive systems that are directly coupled
to the screw without a gear reducer offer
potential energy savings for single screw
extruders, allowing higher speed extrusion
for a given energy input. American Maplan’s
CMG (Compact Motor Gear) four-motor
 Extruder efficiency

Table 1: Energy losses of nominal drive rating at full load operation (expressed in %)
Source: ETA Kunststofftechnologie

Single screw extruder Energy optimized extruder

Power converter 0.75 Frequency converter 2
DC motor 12 Asynchronous motor 6-8
Drive mechanism V-belt package 3-5 Toothed gearing 2
Spur gear 3-4 Thrust bearing 0.5
Thrust bearing 0.5
Total 18-21 Total 10-13
Cooled grooved bush 10-20 Cooled grooved bush 5
Plasticizing unit Heat loss 5-10 Heat loss 0-5
Barrel cooling 0-20 Barrel cooling 0-20

direct drive is being used in single-screw
direct extrusion of PS and PET sheet, as well
as in single screw compounding. Energy
optimized direct drives and high speed
screw designs, offered by several extruder
manufacturers, are currently being used
mostly in extrusion processing. For example,
ETA Kunststofftechnologie GmbH’s energy
optimized, high speed, grooved barrel extruder
reduces energy loss using a direct drive
and a barrier mixing screw that has a lower
cooling demand in the grooved feeding zone
compared to traditional grooved feed designs
(see Table 1). The screw is also designed to
control melt temperature at high screw speeds
using deep channels that lower frictional
heating, explains Dr. Robert Michels, director
of technology and projects at ETA. Although
ETA screws are used primarily for processing,
they are also used in a few direct extrusion
Figure 1: Leistritz’s MAXX design has an asymmetrical splined shaft to maintain the
same shaft torque despite the smaller diameter shaft, allowing higher throughputs.
applications such as mixing calcium carbonate
masterbatch into PP for sheet extrusion.
Optimizing screw design
and maximizing output
Twin screw extruders
For twin screw compounding extruders, an
important goal is to optimize screw design
in order to transfer energy to mixing most
efficiently. Different screw element designs can
be used depending on the material processed.
For example, when introducing a liquid into
the melt, a toothed element is more efficient at
mixing very low and very high viscosities than
a kneading block, points out Dr. Andersen.
High speed twin screw extruders (TSE) allow
higher throughput on smaller extruders
through a combination of shaft design and
improved materials of construction that allow
higher torque and higher speeds. For example,
NFM’s new, high-speed TSE can run up to
1500 rpm, compared to 600-900 rpm for
older technology, says Butch Noll, national
sales manager for extruder manufacturer
NFM Welding Engineers, Inc. Because this
design generates high shear rates, it is not
intended for heat or shear sensitive resins, but
is useful for highly filled compounds or colour
concentrates, for example. NFM’s TEM
Series is being used to produce pelletized
concentrates with high fill levels, such as 80-
90% calcium carbonate. While these high fill
levels had generally been produced in two-part
processes such as a continuous mixer and a
single screw extruder, high speed TSE can
produce these formulations at similar outputs
but greater energy efficiency than using two
machines. One of NFM’s customers, who was
able to replace larger extruders with smaller,
high-speed extruders, even chose to reduce the
overall size of their building, allowing them to
save in utility costs, notes Mr. Noll.
The Leistritz MAXX high speed twin screw
design, introduced in 2004, has a larger
outside diameter/inside diameter ratio
(Do/Di) of 1.66/1 compared to traditional
screws with a Do/Di of about 1.55/1, which
increases the free volume by about 30%.
The MAXX design uses a patent-pending
asymmetrical splined shaft to maintain
the same shaft torque despite the smaller
diameter shaft, allowing higher throughputs.
An asymmetrical geometry transmits power
more efficiently into the screw elements
by eliminating radial force and increasing

Plant efficiency supplement September/October 2007

49
 Extruder efficiency
The ZSK 70Mc twin screw extruder from Coperion.
tangential force, explains Charlie Martin,
president of American Leistritz (see Figure
1). To handle higher volumes and output
rates, barrel cooling efficiency was increased
by adding cooling bores and increasing
coolant flow rate. The increased volume is
particularly beneficial for feeding low bulk
density materials, notes the company.
Coperion’s ZSK MEGAvolume high speed
compounding extruder is targeted for low
bulk density materials that do not require high
energy input but do require high volume.
The extruder has a smaller diameter shaft
to accommodate deeper screw flights, with
a Do/Di ratio of 1.8, allowing 40% greater
free volume. The MEGAvolume extruder
runs at about 40% lower average shear rates
than Coperion’s high torque equipment,
which is beneficial for heat and shear sensitive
compounds. The lower average shear rate
also permits operation up to 1800 screw
rpm. While the MEGAvolume has lower
torque than the MEGAcompounder, future
developments could result in increased power
capabilities, predicts Dr. Andersen.
Figure 2: CRD mixers from Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering create elongational flow
using tapered slots in the flights and slated pushing flight flanks.
Plant efficiency supplement September/October 2007
Single screw compounding extruders
Screw design is important in single screw
extrusion for minimizing energy consumption
and improving mixing quality. Power used
to turn the screw is dissipated into the
material through heat, and excess heat must
be removed through barrel cooling. Ideally,
the extruder should be designed to input just
the right amount of energy to melt and mix.
Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering Inc.
(REE)’s CRD mixers and barrier screw design
for single screw compounding extruders
improve mixing while consuming less energy.
CRD mixers create elongational flow using
tapered slots in the flights and slanted pushing
flight flanks, explains Chris Rauwendaal,
president of Rauwendaal Extrusion
Engineering (see Figure 2). Elongational
flow is more efficient than shear flow, because
elongational flow dissipates less energy into
the material through heat. Elongational flow
improves both distributive and dispersive
mixing. CRD barrier screws add a slanted
section to the traditionally flat crest of the
barrier flight, creating a wedge-shaped
50
region. Flat crests create shear flow, resulting
in high power consumption, high viscous
dissipation and high melt temperatures, which
reduce viscosity and dispersive mixing. In
contrast, the wedge-shaped region generates
elongational flow, which allows more effective
mixing because it reduces power consumption
and viscous dissipation, yet increases the
stresses in the melt, explains Dr. Rauwendaal.
Other continuous compounding
equipment
The Buss kneader, for compounding PVC
and other shear- or temperature-sensitive
polymers, offers lower specific energy use
than typical twin screw extruders, partly due
to its mixing technology that has controlled
shear rather than high peak shear. The new
Buss 4-flight, quantec® Kneader has two
to three times the output of previous 3-
flight Kneader designs for the same screw
diameter. Throughput is increased due to a
4-flight screw design that improves material
transport, a larger intake zone for feeding
low-bulk density powders, a new screw
geometry, and a more efficient use of the
drive that can run up to 750 rpm. At the
end of 2006, Buss introduced an expanded
volume (EV) version of the quantec with
20% more free volume, resulting in even
better dispersion and additional throughput
capability. The expanded volume has been
so successful that Buss made it standard for
new quantec machines. Buss also offers EV
retrofit kits, says Mike Irish, vice-president
of Buss Kneader Technology at Buss, Inc.,
USA. The quantec’s higher output and
skid-based design provides the opportunity
to save space by using a smaller footprint
machine to obtain the necessary output.
In addition to production efficiency, the
4-flight quantec design also has higher
energy efficiency than the 3-flight design.

The Buss quantec kneader
“The new quantec has more shearing
cycles and less backflow. Less cooling of the
melt is needed at the end of the process,
again resulting in energy savings” explains
Colin Richardson, technical marketing
manager at Buss. The quantec is being used
in PVC compounding and pelletizing,
PVC calendered film, thermoset powder
coating production, and compounding of
speciality XLPE and similar scorch-sensitive
applications.
American Maplan’s planetary extruder,
which offers low shear and highly dispersive
mixing, is being used in direct extrusion
of PVC calendered film as well as in PVC
compounding. In some cases, processors are
finding that an additional benefit of highly
dispersive mixing is improved dispersion
that allows them to reduce additive levels
but maintain properties and stability,
explains Paul Godwin, Composites and
Compounding sales manager at American
Maplan.
The Farrel Continuous Mixer (FCM) has
long been recognized as good for energy
efficient compounding, particularly of high
filler levels. For example, in tests comparing
the FCM to Farrel’s TSE, the FCM exhibits
30-35% better energy efficiency in a 40% talc
filled PP and nearly 100% improvement in
an 80% calcium carbonate filled PE, says Bill
Flaherty, vice-president of sales and marketing
at Farrel. In a series of developments over the
last year, Farrel has obtained higher speeds,
torque, and power in the FCM to maximize
throughput and allow very high fill levels up to
80%, adds Mr. Flaherty.
Extruder efficiency
The Buss kneader, for compounding PVC and other shear- or
temperature-sensitive polymers, offers lower specific energy use
than typical twin screw extruders.
Minimizing downtime plant to another, or in beginning production
on new equipment. PolyTech’s latest TXS™
Small batches and frequent transitions are software, distributed by Extrusioneering,
common in the compounding industry. “Since includes simulation of new, high speed and
in most instances processors can’t reduce the higher free-volume designs.
number of transitions without increasing
inventory, the goal should be to minimize the Contacts:
time it takes to transition,” comments Adam American Maplan
Dreiblatt, president of extrusion consultancy Tel: +1 620 241 6843
Extrusioneering International, Inc. Operator Website: www.maplan.com
training is one key to minimizing downtime Buss Inc. - USA
and scrap. “Training staff provides dramatic Tel: +1 630 933 9100
improvements in efficiency very quickly Website: www.busscorp.com
and for a relatively low investment,” says Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer GmbH & Co. KG
Mr. Dreiblatt. On the equipment side, Tel: +49 711 897 23 01 or +1 201 327 6300
manufacturers have introduced designs that Website: www.coperion.com
allow quick cleaning to reduce changeover ETA Kunststofftechnologie GmbH
time. Developments in lower-cost PLC Tel: +49 2241 949707
(programmable logic controllers) available for Website: www.eta-gmbh.de
compounding processes allow advanced data Extrusioneering International, Inc.
acquisition, recipe management capability, Tel: +1 973 895 4088
network connectivity, and automated Website: www.b4uextrude.com
temperature and process control. Automated Farrel Corp.
control systems allow quick and reproducible Tel: +1 203 736 5503
start-ups. Increasing the lifetime of extruder Website: www.farrel.com
parts through improved metallurgy can add to Leistritz
uptime by reducing maintenance. Tel: +1 908 685 2333
Extrusion simulation software can be used Website: www.leistritz-extrusion.com
to minimize the start-up time needed to NFM Welding Engineers Inc.
make quality product when running a new Tel: +1 330 837 3868
formulation or using new equipment. As raw Website: www.nfm.net
material prices increase, use of virtual, simulated Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering, Inc.
production trials to replace actual production Tel: +1 530 269 1082
trials is growing, says Mr. Dreiblatt. Simulation Website: www.rauwendaal.com
software can be used to optimize extrusion Tangram Technology
conditions in scaling-up from a small line to Tel: +44 8700 278 379
a larger one, in moving production from one Website: www. www.tangram.co.uk
Plant efficiency supplement September/October 2007
51