Design of CPP Manufacturing

Plant and Study its defects

 Muhammad Faaz B1733024
Muhammad Bilal B1733023
Sidrah Hasan B1733036

Internal supervisors: Ma’am Shagufta & Ma’am Ammarah

Industrial suoervisors: Sir Junaid Hashemi, Sir Saad Javed & Sir Faisal Akhtar
 Outline
Introduction
Process 
Concept of design project
1. process flow diagram
1. choice of process
2. P&ID
2. description of process
3. startup, shutdown and
3. description of co extrusion
emergency procedure
4. characterization of finished
4. material balance
product
5. energy balance
 Outline
Equipment design and specification Environmental Assessment
1. design extruder 1. Environmental Assessment of plastic
2. design of co extrusion system for 2. HAZOP
packaging industry
3. Hazard related to packaging industry
3. Design of other equipment
 Outline
Analysis of gel formation on CPP films Costing and scheduling of project
1. Introduction 1. Cost of implantation
2. Alternate solution as per literature 2. Production cost
3. Proposed methodology 3. Economic analysis
4. Result and discussion 4. Project schedule
5. Conclusion
6. Recommendation
 Objective
 To design a cast polypropylene (CPP) film manufacturing unit.
 To study manufacturing problem (gel formation) on surface of
CPP films.
Work breakdown structure
Gantt Chart
Introduction
 Flexible packaging, has been the fastest growing segment of the packaging
industry since the 1970s.
 These packages may be formed from paper, plastic, aluminum foil, or
combinations of these materials.
 Plastics provide barrier, strength, and heat-sealability.
 An important attribute of flexible packaging is its ability to form thinner,
lighter, and more compact packages.
Fig: Global containers & packaging market to keep momentum in coming years
 Forms of flexible packaging include wraps, bags, sacks, and pouches.
 Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
account for the majority of plastics used in flexible packaging
 Other important resins include high density polyethylene (HDPE),
polypropylene (PP), and in lesser amounts, polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride 
(PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). [1]
Fig: Global weight of plastic polymers produced by industrial
sector
Concept of Design Project
Choice of Project
 Blown Film: Heated resin is blown through a circular die, and a thick layer of
extruded film emerges as a large bubble. 
 The height of the bubble allows the film to gradually cool before rollers
collapse the bubble and flatten the material for shaping onto rolls.
 The very nature of blown film makes it a pre-stretched product, and the
thickness of blown film is adjustable dependent on the diameter of the tube
from which it comes. [2]
 Cast Film is created by feeding a sheet of heated resin through a flat die.
 The molten material emerges from the die and out onto larger chilling rollers
which cool and solidify the material. It is then ready for trimming and rolling.
 Cast film is minimally pre-stretched compared with blown film
 The cooling process can be used to produce different characteristics in the
final product.
Cast film can be thinned by winding the film out of the roller faster than it is
extruded. [2]
 Blown film Cast film

Cooling Slow  Rapid 

Resin molecule alignment Random (in all directions) Linear (in one direction)

Clarity  Potentially hazy Very clear

Puncture resistance Very good Good 

Holding power (resistance to Higher  Lower  

stretch)

Unwind noise High  Low 

Description of Process
 Plastic extrusion is a manufacturing process in which raw plastic is melted and
formed into a continuous profile. 
 Plastic material is from fed from a hopper into the barrel of the extruder. 
 The material is gradually melted by the mechanical energy generated by
turning screws and by heaters arranged along the barrel. [3]
 The molten polymer is then forced into a die, which shapes the polymer into a
shape that hardens during cooling. 
 The constantly turning screw moves the resin through the heated barrel
where it is heated to proper temperature and blended into a homogenous
melt. 
 The molten plastic material can then be forced through a die.[3]
 Feed zone feeds the resin into the extruder, and the channel depth is usually
the same throughout the zone.
Most of the polymer is melted in the melting zone section, and the channel
depth gets progressively smaller.
 Metering zone melts the last particles and mixes to a uniform temperature
and composition. [3]
Description of Co-extrusion
 Co-extrusion produces a plastic film containing two or more distinct plastic
layers without requiring any intermediate steps.
 In coextrusion, the layers of each plastic can be extremely thin. Since the
structure is handled only as a unit, there is no need for individual layers to be
self-supporting.
 As with coextruded containers, each plastic must be melted in a separate
extruder
Fig: Schematic of coextrusion feed block
 The output from one extruder can be split to make two or more layers in the
final material, if desired. 
 The materials are delivered from the extruder to a manifold or directly to the
die, and combined in such a way that the resins do not blend together,
permitting each layer to retain its individual identity and
characteristic properties. 
 Co-extrusion can be used for both blown and cast films. Films can be
oriented, laminated, or processed in other ways, as is done for single-layer
materials. [1]
Characterization of Finished Product
(CPP FILM)
High gloss and optical properties Excellent barrier properties (especially
metallized versions)
Heat sealable
Suitable for flexographic and
Excellent hot tack and heat seal strength rotogravure printing
Resistant to impact and suitable for low Suitable as reverse print in a lamination
temperature applications structure
Good dimensional stability Widely used in bagging applications
Treated for print and lamination Packaging of food items (snacks, bread,
applications dried foods)
 Excellent machinability  Non-food applications (stationery,
 Lamination and single ply applications clothing and textiles)
Process flow diagram 
Material Balance 
Input = output, since generation = consumption = accumulation = 0

Extruder Input (kg/h) Output (kg/h)

A 589.9 588.9
B 230 230
C 91 91
D 127 127
E 13 13
Energy Balance
Flow rate Density Specific heat Inlet Outlet Heat Q MJ/h
m3/h kg/m3 kJ/kgC temperature temperature
C C
Water  90 996.4 4.18 25.9 25 1,162
Cast roll 90 910 1.592 24 25 260
Chilled roll 90 910 1.621 26 25 265
A  90 910 2.428 250 25 44,741
B  90 910 2.428 250 25 44,741
C  90 901 2.428 250 25 44,299
D  90 901 2.428 250 25 44,299
E  90 908 2.428 250 25 44,643
Introduction
Basically, a gel is a visual defect caused by differences in refractive index within a plastic
product. 
As a result of the flow processes in extruders, gels usually take the shape of elongated ellipses,
often called “fish eyes”. Gels create problems in thin-walled products such as film, tubing, and
fiber because they can form visible defects.  [4]
 Gels can come from several sources including high molecular weight (HMW)
materials, cross-linking, degradation, and contamination. 
 When gels form in the polymerization process at the resin produce, they are
called P-gels. 
 Gels formed in the extrusion process are called E-gels. [4]
Fig: FTIR graph of a defected film
(1) Gel Types
o Cross-linked o Highly oxidized
o Unmelted o Unmixed
o Pinpoint o Hollow
o Discolored o Contamination
o Thermally-linked [5]
(2) Causes
o Heating too quickly in the feed zone o Excessive frictional shear
o Insufficient mixing o Raw material contamination
o Material contamination o Improperly designed Maddock mixers
o Too much reclaim and small flight radii

o Overheating resin
 Alternate Solutions
 Increase mixing time by adding screens to raise backpressure
 Heat the material more quickly by increasing frictional shear
 Maintain sufficient shear to wipe the metal surfaces constantly, since most
polymer degradation occurs when polymer contacts metal for too long [5]
 Flight radii in the metering channel of the screw should be large relative to the local channel
depth[5]
 As for the Maddock mixer, as a general guideline, the flute depth should not be deeper than
half of the flute width [6]
 Avoid dead spots in the extruder making sure that both the screw and the die have a
streamlined design.
 Mixing sections with stagnating regions, such as the Maddock mixing section, should be
avoided. [7]
 The screw, barrel, and die surfaces should be smooth. 
 Start up the extruder with a highly stabilized version of the plastic, or even a different plastic,
to coat the critical surfaces with a degradation-resistant layer of plastic. .
 Check the bulk handling hardware components for fines, streamers, or contamination from
another plastic. The bulk handling equipment should be completely blown down and cleaned
when a material change is made. [7]
Proposed Methodology
The solution strategy was visualized based on the fishbone
diagram customized to the problem.
 Following this diagram, the causes need to be checked one
by one.
If problem is due to a thermal-sensitive additive material then heat stabilizers
can be used to give thermal strength to polymer during processing and use.
The thermal stabilizer calcium diethyl bis[[[3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-
hydroxyphenyl]methyl]phosphonate] (Irganox 1425, MP-Ca) and photo-
oxidation stabilizer (hindered amine light stabilizer, HALS) are co-intercalated
into the interlayer regions of layered double hydroxides (LDH) in a one-step co-
precipitation.
 These hybrid organic–inorganic materials are successively dispersed in
polypropylene to form HnMn′-Ca2Al/PP composite films (with H = HALS and
M = MP) through a solvent casting method.
 The concomitant intercalation of HALS and MP significantly enhances the
thermal stability of the powders.
Subsequently a series of HnMn′ -Ca2Al/PP composite films was prepared. 
The result show that the addition of HnMn′ -Ca2Al-LDH has no negative effect
on the crystallization behavior of PP, while it improvessignificantly the stability
of the composites against thermal degradation and photo-oxidation. [8]
 For the improvement of barrier properties we have got following solutions:
 Polymer blends, Polymer composite, Polymer natural fibres composites and nanocomposite
can be utilized for achieving control on permeability and mechanical properties. [9]
 Polymer blending results in low adhesion and high interfacial strains of the components of the
blends, compatibilizer can be added to solve these problems. [10]
 Paraffin oil added to PP/EPDM blends forms a subsurface multilayer structure which prevents
oxygen diffusion into the bulk of the material and prevents it from degradation. 
 At a 40% conc. Of EVA it transforms into a continuous phase which has a significant impact on
the physical properties and degradation mechanism of the blend. [10]
 At a loading of 1 wt% of surface modified ZnO in PP, areduction of 17% in the
oxygen permeability accompanied by a 2% improvement in the elastic modulus
was observed. 
 Further incorporation of 5 wt% of MMT (montmorillonite) led to a total of
22.5% reduction in the oxygen permeability and a more significant 6.5%
improvement in the elastic modulus as compared to base PP [9]
 Krishnan et al.. isolated cellulosic nanofibrils from raw sisal fibres and dispersed them in a
PP/PS blend matrix in high shear batch mixing environment.
 They discovered that at very low weight loadings, there was a significant reinforcing action.
 At 0.5 wt% loading, the presence of the nanofibrils increased the elastic modulus by ~46% the tensile
strength by~39% and doubled the impact strength. 
 This is also accompanied by a 21% reduction in the water vapor permeability[9]
Where to go from here
 We have collected defected film samples.
 We will perform microscopic test to check the layer on which the problem
exists and to view the type of gel.
 FTIR test will be performed.
 We will research more on other areas of problem as well.
 We will do HAZOP analysis next.
References
[1] Packaging: Polymers in Flexible Packaging$ SEM Selke, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA RJ Hernandez† , Formerly
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA 
[2] https://universalpackaging.co.nz/news/cast-film-vs-blown-film/
[3]  A Study of Plastic Extrusion Process and its Defects by Pankaj M Patil, Prof D. B. Sadaphale, Mechanical Engineering Department,
SSBT COET, Bhambhori-Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India 
[4] Systematic troubleshooting 
[5] https://www.ptonline.com/articles/stop-those-gels
[6]Troubleshooting and mitigating gels in polyolefin films By Mark A. Spalding, Eddy Garcia-Meitin, Stephen L. Kodjie, and Gregory A.
Campbell
[7] How to troubleshoot extrusion problems
[8] Co-intercalated layered double hydroxides as thermal and photo-oxidation stabilizers for polypropylene by Qian Zhang, Qiyu Gu,
Fabrice Leroux, Pinggui Tang, Dianqing Li and Yongjun Feng
[9] Permeability control in polymeric systems: a review K. Prasad1 & M. Nikzad1 & I. Sbarski1
[10] Polypropylene polymer blends by N. A. Chukov, M. Kh. Ligidov, S. I. Pakhomov, and A. K. Mikitaev