There is a huge push from governments and consumers to use biodegradable polymers; most of their attention is focused on eliminating single-use, petroleum-based polymers. Biopolymers often do not meet required product property requirements in their pure form. Additives, fillers, and sometimes a portion of petroleum-based polymers are compounded into a biopolymer matrix to enhance product properties in order to meet product property requirements and/or reduce cost. Biopolymer compounds typically include a compounding step more than likely performed on a co-rotating twin-screw extruder (TSE). This presentation discusses preferential configurations of a co-rotating TSE and provides operator processing tips to achieve the highest possible output rates while achieving mix quality without over-shearing the materials.

Presented by:

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  • Introduction to biopolymer compounding
  • Biopolymer compounding challenges and solutions
  • Biopolymers and specific mechanical energy
  • Extruder metallurgy for biopolymers
  • 1616166115-0049ac6f737db348
    Technical Processing Manager
    Mr. Dean Elliott has over twenty years of plastics extrusion experience. Dean earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Durban-Natal in his native South Africa. As Technical Processing Manager, he leads R&D projects, provides extrusion training and support for customers, and oversees pilot plant trials. To date, Dean has his name on three patents.
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