Technical brief provides plastics processors vital insights toward meeting goals for Increased purity and productivity and helps identify practical and effective purging technology.

Novachem, a leading provider of safe and effective purging solutions for thermoplastics processors, has announced the availability of a free industry White Paper that tackles head-on various purging issues and dilemmas facing todays plastics processing managers. The 12-page technical brief, entitled 'Toward a Systematic Approach to Evaluation and Resolution of Purging Issues in Thermoplastics Processing', includes an abstract overview and a four-page appendix of useful tools, such as a data collection sheet, a factors checklist, and a cost comparison matrix. Written by Novachem General Manager and industry specialist Frank Van Haste, the document offers approaches to contemporary purging issues, including reducing product contamination and increasing the efficiency of color and/or resin changes.

The report also discusses the impact of these challenges on overall productivity, and provides solutions for increased efficiency.

'An informed and systematic technical approach - the antithesis of the typical - episodic or ad hoc approach - is now required to truly minimize the effects of contamination while maximizing productivity', adds Van Haste.

'As an industry leader, Novachem has made it a priority to provide meaningful resources and unbiased solutions for its many constituents in plastics processing', comments Frank Winner, V.P.

Marketing and Sales, 'and this White Paper is just one of many steps we are actively taking'.

A free, downloadable PDF version is available online at the companys website.

*Title: 'Toward a Systematic Approach to Evaluation and Resolution of Purging Issues in Thermoplastics Processing'.

* Author: Frank Van Haste.

* Abstract - purging issues (which encompass changes in color and/or resin type and the removal of contamination from equipment) historically have received little attention from engineering and production managements.

The pressures to optimize productivity that prevail in the modern industrial environment make this kind of inattention unacceptable.

The present paper describes an unbiased, systematic approach to the evaluation and resolution of these issues that is commensurate with the importance of their impact on productivity and gives examples of the benefits that are derived when such an approach is adopted.

The approach must be planned and implemented in an orderly way, consistent with good manufacturing engineering practices.

* Relevance - it has long been a fact of life in the thermoplastics processing industry that color changes, material changes and the presence of contamination in process equipment - collectively, purging issues - would negatively affect productivity.

This has been accepted in the industry for two reasons: (1) because every facility faced the same problems, there was no differential effect on competitiveness; and (2) in the hierarchy of problems to be solved ranked by expected benefit, these issues were not at or near the top of the list.

Heretofore a variety of ad hoc approaches have been employed to address purging issues on an episodic basis: * Running large amounts of resin, preferably of a low melt-flow character; * Partial or complete disassembly and mechanical cleaning; * Symptomatic application of one or more formulated purging products.

However, this episodic approach neglects underlying causes and fails to address whether the result actually represents a significant improvement.

Therefore, an informed and systematic technical approach is required to truly minimize the negative productivity impact of purging issues.