Evaluate rPET pellets with the PURITY CONCEPT V system

Impurities can lead to considerable issues in the production of beverage bottles with rPET pellets. In addition to appearance, functionality can also be impaired, bottles can even burst if the material does not meet the quality standard.

The RCS Group, a German recycling and waste management company, relies on SIKORA’s PURITY CONCEPT V for the quality control of rPET flakes and pellets before further processing of the regranulate into preforms.

With the PURITY CONCEPT V inspection and analysis system, a material sample containing 80g of rPET pellets is placed on the sample tray which is automatically moved to the inspection area, scanned with the integrated camera and analyzed within 30s.

A projector marks contaminated pellets in color directly on the sample tray. Simultaneously, the affected material is displayed on the monitor with an indication of the size of the contamination. This facilitates the assignment and removal of contaminated grains for further analysis.

Cedric Steeg, employee in Quality Assurance, holds material sample in front of the PURITY CONCEPT V.

The clear marking the contamination on the sample tray facilitates the removal and further analysis.

The PURITY CONCEPT V impressed the RCS Group with its capability in reliably detecting black spots and localizing them with precision in a short time.

“With the PURITY CONCEPT V, we can find contaminants in just a few seconds. This previously required up to 45 minutes of manual sorting,” says Pascal Renner, Head of Quality Management at RCS Group. “Not only do we save time, but we also get clear, reproducible results.”

“With the system, we detect black spots as small as 50µm. The human eye can’t keep up here,” he added. For quality control limits, the recycling company has defined its own. The test results are documented and kept for traceability for five years.

In addition to black spots, the RCS Group also checks the material for butterfly grains. Conclusions can be drawn about any mechanical problems during granulation that lead to the undesired deformation. Besides, PURITY CONCEPT V can also analyze amorphous and crystalline pellets as well as test plates.