The Bühler Group, a global leader in optical sorting solutions, has today revealed its unique, market-leading Optical Sorting Station (OSS) system, at K, the Düsseldorf plastics exhibition.
Bühler’s specialists launched the ground-breaking fully integrated system on day one of the eight day exhibition. The Optical Sorting Station brings together the key elements of successful optical sorting, including plant engineering, sorting technology, pneumatic conveyors, pre-conditioners and auxiliary equipment – a first for the plastics industry.
Building on 70 years of experience in optical sorting, Bühler’s engineers have succeeded in delivering an integrated sorting station concept for plastics processors. This will mean that processors no longer need to source separate elements from multiple suppliers, and manage multiple relationships.
For flake processing, an optical sorting station features a purifying, refining, sizing and grading stage which can include one or more SORTEX optical sorters. These are linked by all the necessary equipment to convey the product between stages and, if required, to re-introduce it into the system for resorting. Flakes can be fed into one end of the Station and collected at the other end – ready for bagging or further processing.
Charith Gunawardena, head of optical sorting said: “We want to help our customers achieve the most efficient sorting methods on plastic flake processing lines. That is why we are launching our integrated Optical Sorting Station system. By taking care of the whole process, from engineering right through to customer support, we can offer processors a consistent, balanced performance in their optical sorting - delivering efficiency and competitiveness for their enterprises.
“We have already installed the full optical sorting station for several of our plastics customers, including Deceuninck and ITW Poly Recyling. These companies are beginning to see increased efficiency and yield from their processing lines, which of course leads to higher operating profits.”
Bühler is committed to further innovation to help extend the range of optical sorting application for plastics processing and to help recyclers achieve their goals. As plastic recyclers look to adopt more advanced, cost-effective and energy efficient processes, the demand for Bühler’s leading optical sorting solutions will continue to grow.
