Systems for manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from polymer, where the systems are configured for: (1) melting polymer (e.g., derived from post-consumer PET bottles) to create a first single stream of polymer melt; (2) separating the first single stream of polymer melt into multiple streams of polymer melt; (3) exposing the multiple streams of polymer melt to a pressure of between about 0 millibars and about 5 millibars; (4) allowing the multiple streams of polymer melt to fall into a receiving section of a melt processing unit; (5) recombining the multiple streams of polymer melt into a second single stream of polymer melt; and (6) providing the second single stream of polymer melt to one or more spinning machines that are configured to form the second single stream of polymer melt into bulked continuous carpet filament.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from recycled polymer. In various embodiments, the method includes: (1) reducing recycled polymer material into polymer flakes; (2) cleansing the polymer flakes; (3) melting the flakes into a polymer melt; (4) removing water and contaminants from the polymer melt by dividing the polymer melt into a plurality of polymer streams and exposing those streams to pressures below 25 millibars or another predetermined pressure; (5) recombining the streams; and (6) using the resulting purified polymer to produce bulked continuous carpet filament.

A process for drying polymeric granular material (2) comprises the steps of: introducing into said drying hopper (10) a process gas having a predefined flow rate so as to heat and dry the polymeric granular material, discharging a portion of the heated polymeric granular material into a transformation unit (100) for the polymeric material; loading an amount of fresh polymeric granular material (2a) into the drying hopper. The process gas flow rate is regulated by measuring the inlet temperature of the fresh polymeric granular material (2a) and comparing it with a predefined inlet temperature of the fresh polymeric granular material, on the basis of which the predefined process gas flow rate has been calculated. If the measured inlet temperature is different from the predefined inlet temperature, the flow rate of the process gas is regulated on the basis of the measured inlet temperature.

In an embodiment, a method of dewatering a wet polymer composition comprises introducing the wet polymer composition via a polymer feed location to a powder conveying section of an extruder; wherein the wet polymer composition comprises greater than or equal to 1 wt % of water based on the total weight of the wet polymer composition; venting the water through a conveying section vent to form a dry polymer composition; melt kneading the dry polymer composition in a melt kneading section of the extruder to form a polymer melt; conveying the polymer melt in a melt conveying section of the extruder; and adding an additive in one or both of the powder conveying section and the melt conveying section.

The invention relates to a method to reduce or prevent agglomeration of polyisobutylene particles in aqueous media by LCST compounds and highly pure isobutylenes obtained thereby. The invention further relates to polyisobutylene products comprising the same or derived therefrom.

A method is disclosed of controlling a plant for dehumidifying and/or drying plastic material in granular and/or micro-granular and/or powder and/or flake or similar form, this plant including a process fluid generator and at least one dehumidifying/drying hopper for feeding a respective user machine associated with the plant and including a melting device for melting the plastic material and a moulding device for moulding, in particular by injection moulding and/or blow moulding and/or compression moulding, the plastic material. The method of controlling includes the steps of detecting in the user machine a pressure (P.sub.pwp) of the plastic material in melted state and modifying at least one process parameter (D.sub.p) of the plant on the basis of the detected value of this pressure (P.sub.pwp).

Method and apparatus for drying granular resin material by drawing vacuum over heating resin material in a vessel, while periodically purging the vessel with the material therein with dry air and bathing the vacuum dried material with dry air until furnished to a processing machine.

A blender has a mixing chamber for reception of materials to be blended. A mixing screw is mounted at a bottom of the mixing chamber for mixing materials within the mixing chamber and delivering mixed materials to an outlet feeding a processing line. The blender has a plurality of material handling compartments. One or more cleaning air jets are provided in each material handling compartment. The cleaning air jets are operable to direct material towards an outlet of the compartment. Each cleaning air jet is connected to a pressurised air supply through a valve which controls delivery of pressurised air to the cleaning air jet.

Method and apparatus for drying granular resin material by heating compressed air to a temperature prescribed for gas separation membrane operation, presenting the heated compressed air to a membrane separating out oxygen-size and smaller molecules to provide a stream of gas molecules of at least nitrogen-size at a pressure substantially that of the compressed air, heating the stream of gas molecules of at least nitrogen-size to a temperature at which dew point of the stream is no higher than 40 degrees F., and introducing the heated stream of gas molecules into a chamber for upward flow to atmosphere through granular resin material in the chamber.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament that includes providing a polymer melt and separating the polymer melt from the extruder into at least eight streams. The multiple streams are exposed to a chamber pressure within a chamber that is below approximately 25 millibars, or another predetermined pressure. The streams are recombined into a single polymer stream. Polymer from the polymer stream is then formed into bulked continuous carpet filament.