Multiple Single Screw Extruder Configuration
The invention concerns a multiple single screw extruder configuration in which two co-rotating twin-screw extruders and a counter-rotating twin screw extruder are connected to each other with respect to the flow of material.
There are many processes used in compounding, which are limited either by torque or residence time.
Example of a Process Limited by Torque: continuous mixing of rubber compounds. In this case, the speeds of the twin-screw extruder must be kept as low as possible, since otherwise the very high viscosity of the mixture leads to temperature problems due to mechanical dissipation in the mixture. Of course, at these low speeds and at an acceptable throughput, the screw shaft torques are very high. The speed is then usually raised at constant throughput until the torque is slightly below the maximum allowable torque. However, this causes the temperature of the compound to rise again.
Example of a Process Limited by Residence Time: continuous silylation of a rubber mixture that contains silicic acid or dynamic vulcanization of fully crosslinked vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers (TPE-V).
In both processes, a chemical reaction occurs during the extrusion with the sheet production extruder, which requires a certain residence time (depending on the allowable average temperature of the compound). The machine length with twin-screw extruders is limited by the absolute torsion of the shafts, which increases with increasing length and is about 60 D. Greater lengths would mean increasing wear.
Increasingly, the industry is demanding that the finished compounded mixture be formed through a die in the same operation and/or be pressed through a screen pack to screen out larger particles. Both are associated with a relatively large pressure buildup. Although the co-rotating twin screw extruder is very well suited for mixing single screw extruder, it is very poorly suited for building up high pressures due to its low pumping efficiency. In the case of highly viscous mixtures, very large amounts of heat are then produced by dissipation.