PET / PP Tray Recycling System – 3000 kg/h

Why PET and PP Tray Recycling Requires Specialized Technology

Recycling trays is considerably more demanding than processing many conventional rigid plastic waste streams. During collection and transportation, trays are normally compressed into dense bales. The compression can make individual pieces difficult to separate, while labels, adhesive residues and contamination remain strongly attached to the material.

PET trays can also become brittle during mechanical processing. Conventional dry crushing may generate excessive fines, reducing material yield and creating additional dust and filtration requirements. At the same time, food residues, paper labels, adhesive films, dirt and other contaminants can affect the quality of the final recycled flakes.

Mixed material composition presents another challenge. A tray recycling line must not only clean the plastic; it must also provide effective separation of unwanted materials and different flake fractions before the recovered material enters the next stage of production.

The EXTRUTEX solution therefore uses a carefully controlled sequence of processes. Instead of relying on a single washing or separation technology, the system progressively loosens, cleans, reduces, rinses, dries and sorts the material.

Key Challenges Solved by the EXTRUTEX Tray Recycling System

Complete PET / PP Tray Recycling Process

The complete EXTRUTEX line is configured as a continuous multi-stage recycling system. Each module performs a specific function while preparing the material for the next processing stage.

1. De-baling & Pre-hot Washing Module

Enhanced De-baling Efficiency • Material Integrity Assurance • Energy-saving Configuration

The first stage is designed to handle the difficult physical condition of incoming tray bales. Highly compressed PET and PP trays must first be loosened and separated before efficient washing and automatic sorting can take place.

EXTRUTEX combines mechanical de-baling with thermal pre-washing. This integrated approach helps overcome the limitations of conventional physical de-baling by loosening compacted tray material while simultaneously beginning the cleaning process.

The pre-hot washing stage helps remove loose dirt, organic contamination and other surface impurities before the material reaches the crushing and intensive washing stages. By opening the material early in the process, downstream equipment can operate more effectively.

A dedicated water circulation concept allows process water to be reused within the system, helping reduce unnecessary water consumption and supporting a more efficient recycling operation.

2. Wet Crushing Module

Wet Crushing Technology • Reduced Material Loss • Enhanced Dewatering Efficiency

After de-baling and pre-washing, the material enters the wet crushing stage. Unlike conventional dry crushing, wet crushing combines size reduction with continuous washing. Water helps transport contamination away from the plastic while the material is being processed.

This approach can significantly reduce the generation of fine particles and help preserve usable material. Lower fine generation also contributes to improved material recovery and can help extend the service life of crusher blades.

EXTRUTEX also incorporates a patented low-loss centrifugal drying concept (Utility Model Patent No. ZL202420526270.5). The design is intended to reduce unnecessary mechanical impact on the flakes during dewatering and minimize fragmentation.

Adjustable residence time allows the dewatering process to be adapted to different material conditions and line configurations. This provides greater flexibility when processing different PET and PP tray feedstocks.

3. Intensive Hot Washing Module

Deep Cleaning • Thorough Adhesive Removal • Detergent Circulation

Intensive hot washing is one of the most important stages of the EXTRUTEX tray recycling system. Tray waste can contain substantial quantities of adhesive labels, glue, food residues, oils and other contamination that cannot be reliably removed through simple cold-water washing.

The intensive washing system combines controlled thermal conditions with strong material-to-material friction. This produces an aggressive cleaning action while maintaining controlled processing conditions for the recycled plastic.

According to the system design, the intensive washing stage can achieve approximately 25% higher impurity removal compared with typical systems, depending on feedstock and operating conditions.

Large adhesive labels attached to tray surfaces are effectively treated during this stage. An integrated detergent circulation system helps separate adhesive and other contaminants from the plastic and supports inline filtration and reuse of the washing solution.

This closed-loop approach helps improve washing efficiency while reducing the amount of fresh detergent and process water required by the operation.

4. High-speed Rinsing Module

Powerful Rinsing • Extended Flotation Path • Advanced Purification

Following intensive hot washing, the flakes must be thoroughly rinsed to remove residual alkali, detergent, dissolved contaminants and micro-adhesive particles.

The EXTRUTEX high-speed rinsing module uses a high-speed rotating shaft to create intensive turbulence within the washing medium. This mechanical action improves contact between the water and plastic flakes, supporting effective removal of remaining residues.

The system also incorporates an extended flotation path. Differences in density and flotation behavior can be used to separate unwanted lightweight materials and floating impurities from the recovered plastic.

This stage is particularly important for preparing clean flakes for optical sorting and final packing. By reducing residual contamination before sorting, the downstream separation equipment can operate under more stable conditions.

5. Flake Sorting & Packing Module

Automatic Sorting • Efficient Label Separation • On-demand Weighing & Packing

The final stage of the EXTRUTEX system focuses on purification and preparation of the recycled flakes for storage, transportation or further processing.

The Mega Aspirator uses multiple parallel air-separation channels to remove lightweight film labels and similar contaminants. The system is designed to achieve up to 99% film-label removal under suitable operating conditions while maintaining a low flake carryover rate.

After air separation, residual colored flakes and other unwanted materials can be separated through color sorting and material sorting. This provides an additional purification stage and improves the consistency of the final recycled flake.

The final material can then be automatically weighed and packed according to the requirements of the recycling plant. This reduces manual handling and creates a more efficient interface between the recycling process and downstream production.

Technical Specifications

Note: Actual capacity, water consumption, energy consumption, washing temperature, chemical dosage, sorting efficiency and final flake quality depend on the composition, contamination level, moisture content, bulk density and condition of the incoming PET / PP tray material. Final line configuration should be confirmed according to the customer's feedstock and required output quality.

Designed for High-quality Recycled Flake Production

The objective of the EXTRUTEX PET / PP Tray Recycling System is not simply to wash plastic. The complete process is designed to maximize usable material recovery while progressively reducing contamination.

The combination of wet processing, controlled thermal washing, friction cleaning, advanced rinsing, dewatering and automatic sorting creates a complete material preparation solution for recycling companies seeking higher-quality output.

Cleaner flakes provide a stronger foundation for subsequent processes such as extrusion, pelletizing, sheet production, thermoforming, injection molding and other plastic manufacturing applications.

Applications

• PET food tray recycling
• PP food tray recycling
• Fresh produce tray recycling
• Post-consumer packaging recycling
• Post-industrial tray waste recycling
• Rigid plastic packaging recycling
• PET / PP flake production
• Plastic recycling plants and material recovery facilities
• Feedstock preparation for recycling extrusion lines
• High-volume circular economy projects

EXTRUTEX Engineering & Manufacturing

The PET / PP Tray Recycling System is produced by EXTRUTEX, combining Austrian design and engineering with industrial manufacturing capabilities in China. EXTRUTEX develops and engineers recycling and plastics-processing technologies for demanding industrial applications, while manufacturing is carried out through its facilities in Nanjing and Shanghai, China.

This combination allows EXTRUTEX to bring European engineering principles, process optimization and system development together with competitive industrial manufacturing and customized equipment production.

Every recycling project can be configured according to the customer's raw material, required capacity, contamination profile, desired flake quality, available utilities and downstream production process.

Why Choose the EXTRUTEX PET / PP Tray Recycling System?