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Daily production at PST plant reaches latest highpoint Tweet
After several months of intensive trial operation, the production line at the PST line in Tiel is gradually able to operate at full capacity. At present, the focus is on fully harmonising the speeds at which the various material flows are processed.
With a total daily production of 50 tonnes, the processing line at the PST plant reached its latest highpoint, earlier this month. This level of processing volume means that the individual modules in the processing line are increasingly functioning as a coherent unit. The only minor challenge still remaining is that in practice, the material flows are higher in volume than was originally expected. “Above all fibres and plastics have turned out to be more voluminous than we thought; with 50 tonnes of material, this volume difference is easily 50 m3. As a result, we still have to fine-tune production at a number of points, for example by installing wider funnels at the transfer points,” explained plant director Hans van de Greef. “More heavy-duty electrical motors have also been installed in the fibre module, together with an additional fan, to ensure the correct and safe processing of the light material. Dealing with all these problems has taken a considerable amount of time but fortunately we have suppliers who are willing to contribute ideas, as well. The task facing us now is raising production, while further improving the quality of the end fractions.”
On schedule
Although production from the PST plant is on schedule, according to Van De Greef, the end is not yet in sight. “Once we are up and running with one full shift, we should be able to process 100 tonnes of material, every day. We expect to be able to double even that daily production by the end of this year, and the target for next year is 300 tonnes a day, in three-shift operation. On the material supply side, at least, there is no shortage; every year, approximately 180,000 tonnes of material are available, to be processed.”
