KEYCYCLE has worked for two years with Cadel Deinking to advance the innovative process for removing inks printed on plastic surfaces. The process has proved to be efficient in both in-house and post-industrial plastic film waste recycling. KEYCYCLE has now acquired the Cadel Deinking brand and will market the process under KEYCYCLE Deinking.

"We have already been exclusively responsible for the worldwide distribution of this patented technology since January 2021, including the operation of the pilot plant together with Cadel in Sant Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante). By acquiring the trademark rights, we are now taking the final step of integrating this process technology into our product portfolio," says Michal Prochazka, Managing Director of KEYCYCLE. 

This technology is a milestone in safely feeding back into the production process of recycled pellets made from plastics that were originally printed. "The product not only delivers top quality, it now also meets industrial standards," explains Prochazka, referring to the new larger deinking line with a throughput of 1,200 kilograms per hour, an innovation that was recently presented for the first time at K 2022. With plants on this scale, the KEYCYCLE deinking process also opens the door to the post-consumer recycling segment, where the removal of printing inks enables another significant quality upgrade for the recycled pellets.

How the KEYCYCLE Deinking Process Works

During the decolorization process, the ink is dissolved from the surface of the shredded film or regrind material. Only water-based chemical components are used, which makes the deinking process particularly environmentally friendly. The material is then fed into the recycling extruder. Of the eight plants ordered since the market launch, five are now in operation at customers' sites, where they are delivering very impressive results.

The Cadel company continues to operate as Cadel Recycling Lab, dedicated to its core competence of developing new innovative technologies for plastics recycling plus laboratory and software techniques for decontamination assessment.

KEYCYCLE GmbH is a global provider of turnkey solutions for new plastics recycling projects including the KEYCYCLE Deinking process and system optimizations. Our range of services includes engineering and consulting, project management, manufacturing, and logistics planning and complete implementation up to a turnkey system ready for operation. The company is based in Ansfelden/Linz and is part of the Austrian EREMA Group, whose experience and technological know-how also benefit KEYCYCLE customers.