A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion of the MRS extruder below about 1.5 millibars; (E) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (F) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion of the MRS extruder below about 1.5 millibars; (E) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (F) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

A preparation method of a high-rate foamed polylactic acid (PLA) sheet includes first-stage extrusion, second-stage extrusion, and foamed sheet extrusion. The method requires the following raw materials in parts by mass: 88 to 94 parts of PLA, 1 to 2 parts of a nucleating agent, 2 to 5 parts of a foaming agent, and 2 to 5 parts of an additive. The new method effectively solves the problems of low foaming rate, low strength, and the like in the industrial production using carbon dioxide, and a prepared PLA sheet with high foaming rate and excellent surface performance can be used in the fields of food packaging, disposable fully-degradable lunch boxes, and the like.

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.

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.

An ultrasonic device comprising a chamber (10) provided with an inlet bore (11), which receives a melted pressurized polymer, an outlet bore (12) and a sonotrode housing bore (13) through which a distal portion (21) of an ultrasonic head (20) is inserted into the chamber, wherein the distal portion is separated from the rest of the ultrasonic head by a first nodal plane (PN1) wherein there is a first surface (S1) in contact with a complementary surface of a ring seal (30) that closes the chamber, and wherein the ultrasonic head includes a second nodal plane (PN2) away from and parallel to the first nodal plane (PN1) coinciding with or adjacent to a second surface (S2) wherein an anchoring device (40) presses the ultrasonic head against the ring seal ensuring a tight closure.

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.

A system comprising: (1) a grinding unit configured to receive and grind recycled PET bottles into a group of polymer flakes comprising up to about ten percent colored polymer flakes and balance substantially clear polymer flakes; (2) a washing unit configured to wash the group of polymer flakes; and (3) an extruder configured to extrude material in a plurality of different extrusion streams. The extruder may be further configured to: (1) receive a concentrate-polymer mixture comprising a mixture of the polymer flakes and a color concentrate; (2) melt the concentrate-polymer mixture to produce a polymer melt; (3) reduce a pressure within the extruder; and (4) pass the polymer melt through the extruder so that the polymer melt is divided into the plurality of extrusion streams. The system may then filter the polymer melt through at least one filter and form the polymer melt into bulked continuous carpet filament.

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.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an extrusion system while maintaining the pressure within the extrusion system below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.