An Innovation that meets Market Needs
Dario Previero, Sorema manager, describes the new plant, “The international market had long been asking for a solution to recycle increasingly significant fractions of films used in consumer packaging, where the challenge was the printed fraction. More than a decade ago, Sorema began a series of industrial tests to understand the ink removal mechanism and design machines for this technology. In Sortology, we found the right partner to complete the process with chemical cleaners. Together, we have developed and are in the process of patenting a system that washes and de-inking printed films. Thanks to Coveris-ReCover, we had the opportunity to jointly develop and install a production facility where all films are deinked to a quality level that allows Coveris to reuse them in high percentages in the original packaging. The technology is already being used for both PP and PE films with full customer satisfaction.”
He added, “From a technical point of view, the deinking system has two basic components: the batch reactor in which deinking is carried out and the water filtration system needed to minimize water and chemical consumption.”
Cutting-Edge Technology with a Focus on Sustainability
The ink industry has thousands of different formulations, pigments, primers and substrates; therefore, the batch reactor is by far the best solution as it allows perfect control of time, friction and chemical concentration. To support new projects, we have installed a 1:1 scale deinking line in our lab for test validation, which has attracted great interest in the packaging-to-packaging market. Sorema is already looking ahead, developing solutions for post-consumer films and highly contaminated packaging in the food industry, in fact another challenge for our technical center, and of great interest to the market, is the combination of the deinking process with our delamination technology, which is also patent pending.”
Tangible Results for a Strategic Partnership
Sorema delivered the first post-industrial film deinking plant to Coveris-ReCover in 2023 and, in the summer of 2024, upgraded the line with a series of innovations, taking productivity to the highest level. The chemical formulation developed and supplied by Sortology enables economical deinking, opening up the possibility of processing other inked plastics.
We asked Coveris-ReCover technical director about the purpose of the plant. “This was a pioneering collaborative project in which the ReCover plant's deinking solution removes ink from heavily printed LDPE films, allowing them to be reprocessed as high-quality recycled feedstock for use in Coveris' high-performance film extrusion and packaging for major food brands. We chose Sorema and Sortology because we were looking for high-end partners who “never leave the customer alone.”
At Coveris we produce for several customers, so we have many custom printing solutions that require flexibility and vendor support. We are incredibly pleased with the results of the project, and today we can use high percentages of recycled material in the original packaging to meet the recycling mission of both Coveris and our customers. Specifically, the Sorema plant has a production capacity of up to 1,000 kg/h for films and up to 1,500 kg/h for rigid packaging. With the combination of the line's flexibility and Sortology's support, we can customize chemicals to minimize process costs.
A Future-Oriented Partnership
The collaboration between Sorema, Sortology, and Coveris represents a model of innovation and sustainability for the packaging sector. The technologies developed are not only revolutionising the recycling of printed films but also laying the foundation for a new era of circular economy in the packaging industry.
