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The Onaga, Kansas production facility of MGP Ingredients produces biopolymers used to manufacture products made from wood composites. According to Operations Manager, Dustin VanDonge, the company would purge its compounding extrusion machine at least twice a day using resins running from the previous or next product. MGP Ingredients cut its use of resins for purging by 78% after switching to Dyna-Purge M, for an annualized saving of more than four tons of usable resin.
One of the purging challenges faced by MGP Ingredients, especially when changing from a dark color to light material, was keeping the screw clean and free of build-up that could contaminate finished products with black specks. An engineered thermoplastic purging compound, Dyna-Purge M cleans the screw and barrel in 10 minutes, a 75% reduction in downtime, and has lowered purging costs by 39%.
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Situation:
Headquartered in Atchison, Kansas, MGP Ingredients, Inc. manufactures ingredients used in food, personal care, and distillery products. The company also has a facility in Onaga, Kansas that produces plant-based biopolymers for wood composites used in the manufacture of board and decking materials.
The Onaga facility has a Berstoff extrusion machine with a screw size of 75mm to compound its wood composites, processing PP and PE at barrel temperatures ranging from 250°F to 600°F (121°C to 315°C). Purging at least twice each day, (e.g. before start-up, after shutdown, changing over from a dark color to a light material) the company would use either the resin it was running from the previous product, or the next resin to be used.
Dustin VanDonge, Operations Manager, reported it was a challenge to keep the screw clean and prevent material build-up, which could cause black specks and contaminate the finished products. Using 45 lbs. of resin every day, MGP Ingredients would spend 40 minutes purging at a calculated cost to purge of $67.90 per day.
Solution:
Use Dyna-Purge M, a grade specifically designed to purge a wide range of resins from the barrel and screw of extrusion machinery at processing temperatures from 350°F to 600°F (177°C to 315°C).
Results:
- It takes only 10 minutes to purge with Dyna-Purge M, a reduction in downtime of 75%.
- The daily cost-to-purge is now $41.20, lowering purging costs by 39%.
- Using only 10 lbs. of resin during post-purge, Dyna-Purge M cut the amount of wasted resin by 78%.
On an annualized basis, using Dyna-Purge M cuts purging costs by $6,500 and saves more than four tons of usable resin.
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