Novamont to evaluate bioplastics with a Bandera blown film line
19 March 2007 – Extrusion machinery manufacturer Luigi Bandera has revealed that it will supply a 3-layer blown film line to Novamont’s R&D laboratory in Novara, Italy, under an agreement between the two companies to develop new process technologies and film products in biodegradable and compostable materials, for the benefit of both customers and processors.
The blown film line can produce film in usable width of 600mm in thicknesses between 15 and 100 microns and incorporates three single-screw extruders with Length/Diameter ratio of 1:30 and screw geometries developed specifically for processing biodegradable polymers, including bubble calibration baskets designed to avoid marks or transfer of heat from the basket arms to the film surface.
Aluminium rollers are used in the lay flat equipment to ensure low friction when processing sensitive biodegradable plastics.
Bandera has also revealed that it is presently constructing a similar, but monolayer, blown film extrusion line extrusion line for a European film processor to extrude biodegradable film in Novamont’s starch-based Mater-Bi NF material. This production line will be able to produce film up to width of 1400mm and in thicknesses between 15 and 30 microns with throughput of up to 250 kg/h.
In 2006, Bandera’s turnover in all types of extrusion machinery grew by 18% to almost ˆ50m, while Novamont’s turnover reached ˆ41m, half of which outside Italy.
