Energy consumption in polymer extrusion

Energy consumption in polymer extrusion

The energy required in an extrusion or any other processis associated with the economic as well and environmen-tal factors.CO2 emissions cause an irreversible impact tothe environment while the increased energy bills reducethe profit margins for producers and hence, increase theend product prices for customers. Consequently，it isimportant that the development of a framework whichallows measuring, managing, predicting, and minimizingthe energy required for the polymer processing industry.The extrusion process is a polymer conversion techniquewith a sequence of three main functional steps: meltingof the solids,forming into a desired shape and solidifica-tion of the final product. Melting (or plastication) is thegreatest energy demander in comparison with the lowmechanical energy required for forming and cooling.Here,the drive motor and the heating system are themajor energy consumers.For this reason, it is importantto analyze not only their power consumption，but alsothe losses.Unfortunately, these values cannot be quanti-fied in general and will depend on the specific character-istics of the machine,material being processed and theoperators experience. Seversproposed an energy flowdiagram for polymer extrusion as presented in Figure .