Reducing Resin Waste in Polymer Processing and Converting Operations

Polymer processing and converting operations, whether they relate to extrusion coating, blown film, making sheets for thermoforming or even manufacturing finished articles by injection molding, all these processes involve some waste of resin. A total conversion of the resin into the article of desired quality is an exception rather than a rule.

As the material costs constitute the bulk of the total costs required for making a product, the aim should be to keep the resin waste as low as possible.

As the quality of the product depends largely on the machine and processing parameters, one of the easiest, and yet most effective methods of reducing polymer waste is to optimize the design of converting machinery at the design stage before the machines are built.

By means of several examples taken from blown film, extrusion coating, flat film, blow molding and pelletization, this paper shows how by applying this strategy resin waste could be reduced.