A multi-shaft extruder which has screw shafts which are rotatable in the same direction and at the same speed, and which has at least one gas venting opening, and which has, in the entry region of said at least one gas venting opening, screw elements with a particularly large pitch or screw elements which have an asymmetric screw profile or which are mounted eccentrically on the axis of rotation of the screw shaft. The invention also relates to the use of the extruder according to the invention for processing or manufacturing plastic materials, and to the use of the screw elements with a particularly large pitch or the use of screw elements which have an asymmetric screw profile or which are mounted eccentrically on the axis of rotation of the screw shaft, in the region of the gas venting opening of a multi-shaft extruder.

The present application discloses a continuous dynamic and efficient devolatilization method for a polymer/volatile system based on high mass transfer interfaces, including the following steps: providing a dynamic single-screw devolatilizer, feeding a polymer solution to the devolatilizer, wherein the polymer solution includes polymer and volatile substances with small molecule weight, and the volatile substances include organic solvents, residual monomers, water or reaction by-products; conveying and compressing polymer materials by the screw downstream a devolatilization section, and extruding the polymer materials out of the dynamic single-screw devolatilizer directly; or providing a side-feeding extruder downstream of the devolatilization section and feeding plastic additives into a devolatilized polymer melt, and then melt blending the plastic additives with the devolatilized polymer melt at an end of the dynamic single-screw devolatilizer before exiting the dynamic single-screw devolatilizer.

A no solid bed extruder screw for processing a material to a molten state has a body with a helical thread having pushing and trailing surfaces, the body extending longitudinally between feed and discharge ends. A channel for receiving the material to be processed is formed between the body outer surface and an outer diameter of the thread bounded by the pushing surface and the trailing surface. A volume of the channel decreases in a plurality of revolutions of the thread in a direction from the feed end to the discharge end. A channel depth between the pushing surface and the trailing surface decreases for a first portion of the channel toward the feed end and increases for a second portion of the channel toward the discharge end. At least one of the channel portions has a constant width and includes varying width sub-channels.

A no solid bed extruder screw for processing a material to a molten state has a body with a helical thread having pushing and trailing surfaces, the body extending longitudinally between feed and discharge ends. A channel for receiving the material to be processed is formed between the body outer surface and an outer diameter of the thread bounded by the pushing surface and the trailing surface. A volume of the channel decreases in a plurality of revolutions of the thread in a direction from the feed end to the discharge end. A channel depth between the pushing surface and the trailing surface decreases for a first portion of the channel toward the feed end and increases for a second portion of the channel toward the discharge end. At least one of the channel portions has a constant width and includes varying width sub-channels.