A Machine for mixing elastomeric materials with a mixing unit, and a drive unit; the mixing unit has a mixing chamber arranged downstream of the drive unit and closed by a rear wall, a discharge chamber arranged downstream of the mixing chamber, with which it communicates and provided with an opening for discharging the mixture; a pair of inter-penetrating and counter-rotating conical rotors connected with the drive unit and having their vertices situated at the mouth of the discharge chamber. The rotors are rotated by the drive unit in a first sense (RPM+) to cause the mixture to be pushed towards the rear wall of the mixing chamber so as to keep mixing active only inside the mixing chamber, and in second sense of rotation, opposite to the first sense, to cause the mixture to be pushed towards the chamber and the discharge opening for discharging thereof.

A Machine for mixing elastomeric materials with a mixing unit, and a drive unit; the mixing unit has a mixing chamber arranged downstream of the drive unit and closed by a rear wall, a discharge chamber arranged downstream of the mixing chamber, with which it communicates and provided with an opening for discharging the mixture; a pair of inter-penetrating and counter-rotating conical rotors connected with the drive unit and having their vertices situated at the mouth of the discharge chamber. The rotors are rotated by the drive unit in a first sense (RPM+) to cause the mixture to be pushed towards the rear wall of the mixing chamber so as to keep mixing active only inside the mixing chamber, and in second sense of rotation, opposite to the first sense, to cause the mixture to be pushed towards the chamber and the discharge opening for discharging thereof.

There are provided a straining mechanism and a screw extruder including the straining mechanism, which can minimize material passing resistance in a breaker plate even, in a large-sized apparatus having high throughput, and which can improve the throughput by suppressing load power of the apparatus and heat generation of a material. For this purpose, a backup plate having an opening rate higher than an opening rate of a breaker plate and supporting the breaker plate is installed on a rear surface side of the breaker plate supporting a screen mesh.

A method of recycling a PET-containing material comprises: (1) providing an MRS extruder having an MRS section comprising a plurality of satellite screws and an outlet; (2) providing a vacuum pump in communication with the MRS section; (3) providing a spinning machine comprising an inlet, wherein the inlet is directly coupled to the outlet of the MRS extruder; (4) heating a plurality of PET-containing flakes in the MRS extruder to form a PET-containing melt; (5) increasing a surface area of the PET-containing melt by distributing the PET-containing melt across the plurality of satellite screws in the MRS extruder; (6) drawing off vapors from the PET-containing melt by reducing the pressure in the MRS section with the vacuum pump; (7) collating the PET-containing melt in the MRS extruder; and (8) extruding the PET-containing melt through the outlet of the MRS extruder into the inlet of the spinning machine.

A method of recycling a PET-containing material comprises: (1) providing an MRS extruder having an MRS section comprising a plurality of satellite screws and an outlet; (2) providing a vacuum pump in communication with the MRS section; (3) providing a spinning machine comprising an inlet, wherein the inlet is directly coupled to the outlet of the MRS extruder; (4) heating a plurality of PET-containing flakes in the MRS extruder to form a PET-containing melt; (5) increasing a surface area of the PET-containing melt by distributing the PET-containing melt across the plurality of satellite screws in the MRS extruder; (6) drawing off vapors from the PET-containing melt by reducing the pressure in the MRS section with the vacuum pump; (7) collating the PET-containing melt in the MRS extruder; and (8) extruding the PET-containing melt through the outlet of the MRS extruder into the inlet of the spinning machine.

A single screw micro-extruder for a 3D printer includes a feed chamber with an opening for receiving solid plastic pellets. An extrusion barrel extends from the feed chamber and has an inner conically shaped bore between input and output ends. The bore has a mouth at the input end and an exit opening at the output end with a melt section therebetween. A rotatable screw is attached to a torque drive of the printer, and extends through the feed chamber and conical bore of the barrel. A constant or tapered diameter of the screw root core, from the input end toward the output end of the barrel, forms a decreasing channel root depth in a helical path for compression between a root core surface and an inner surface of the bore for pressurizing melt in the melt section of the barrel to exit an extrusion nozzle.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) providing an expanded surface area extruder; (B) providing a spinning machine having an inlet that is operatively coupled to an expanded surface area extruder outlet; (C) using a pressure regulation system to reduce the pressure within the expanded surface area extruder; (D) passing a plurality of flakes comprising recycled PET through the expanded surface area extruder to at least partially melt the plurality of flakes to form a polymer melt; and (E) substantially immediately after passing the plurality of flakes through the expanded surface area extruder, using the spinning machine to form the polymer melt into bulked continuous carpet filament. In some embodiments, the method may include passing the plurality of flakes comprising recycled PET through a PET crystallizer prior to extrusion.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) providing an expanded surface area extruder; (B) providing a spinning machine having an inlet that is operatively coupled to an expanded surface area extruder outlet; (C) using a pressure regulation system to reduce the pressure within the expanded surface area extruder; (D) passing a plurality of flakes comprising recycled PET through the expanded surface area extruder to at least partially melt the plurality of flakes to form a polymer melt; and (E) substantially immediately after passing the plurality of flakes through the expanded surface area extruder, using the spinning machine to form the polymer melt into bulked continuous carpet filament. In some embodiments, the method may include passing the plurality of flakes comprising recycled PET through a PET crystallizer prior to extrusion.

Composites containing one or more synthetic plastics, such as thermoplastics, one or more natural materials, such as plant/tree fibers, and biochar and/or torrefied material are described herein. The composite can contain additional additives, such as reinforcing agents and/or fibers, compatibilizers, etc. The composites have improved mechanical and/or physical properties, such as strength, impact strength, rigidity/modulus, heat deflection temperature, moldability/melt flow index, renewability, and lower cost compared to composites that do not contain the biochar and/or torrefied material. The presence of the biochar and/or torrefied material also serves to remove the odor often associated with natural fibers and other additives.

A decking plank includes a non-distressed surface with a first surface texture defining a plurality of wood grain depressions. The plank also includes a distressed surface with a second surface texture defining a plurality of wood grain depressions and a plurality of cross-grain depressions. An outdoor deck may be formed with the dual-sided deck planks. The deck may be constructed in one configuration where each of the dual-sided deck planks has the distressed surface facing upward and exposed. The deck may be constructed in a second configuration where the same planks are assembled to have the non-distressed surface facing upward and exposed.