Foam XPS board Extruders

• Material Usage:
  • Extruded foam polystyrene (XPS) is the most commonly used material for thermal insulation.
• Environmental Adaptation:
  • Recent years have seen significant engineering modifications in XPS extrusion lines.
  • These changes were made to adapt to environmentally friendly blowing agents, replacing traditional CFC and HCFC gases.
  • The use of CFC and HCFC gases is now strictly limited.
• Research & Development Setup:
  • A new storage and distribution system has been installed in the research department.
  • The system can operate with three different gases (flammable or non-flammable) simultaneously.
  • This setup enabled long and extensive trials on both single and twin screw extruders.
• Extruder Modifications:
  • Trials led to modifications in:
    • Mechanical characteristics, due to alternative gases requiring different pressures and temperatures.
    • Extruder configuration, including:
      • Screw L/D ratio
      • Screw geometry
      • Geometry and length of the mixing zone
      • Position and number of bores for gas injection
      • Number of heating/cooling zones
• Line Configuration Based on Output:
  • For outputs below 400 kg/h:
    • A slow co-rotating twin screw extruder is used.
  • For outputs up to 2000 kg/h:
    • A Tandem system is used to separate process stages:
      • Primary extruder: handles melting, mixing, and gas injection at high screw revolutions.
      • Secondary extruder: handles cooling at low screw revolutions.

Applications:

• External Building Insulation:

  • Used to increase thermal inertia in buildings.

• Automotive Industry:

  • Applied as thermal insulation in:

    • Vans

    • Campers

    • Caravans