MechChem Africa July-August 2021

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

BLTWorld launches new recycling trommels in Africa

B LT WOR LD h a s l a u n c h e d i t s MDS M518R recycling trommel into Africa. “TheMDSM518Rtrommel –which has beendevelopedbyMDS International tomeet exact customer requirements – is especially useful for recycling and light- duty applications. Typical functions are in processing general waste, compost, soil, woodchip, rubber and plastics,” ex- plains Ken Mouritzen, managing director, BLT WORLD, the exclusive distributors for MDS in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. “We believe this robust and versatile trommel will optimise productivity in the recycling industry by increasing output. Quick drum changes minimise downtime and there are significant cost savings by using one trommel for many applications. Accessibility of this machine to various recycling centres is also enhanced by easy haulage from site to site.”

for easy changes to the configuration of its drums, giving users the flexibility to produce different grades of materials us- ing the sameunit. Themachine is equipped with an hydraulic drum removal system that enables quick drum changing using a standard forklift. BLT WORLD offers three different styles ofMDS drums – fully-welded, mesh andpunchplate–all designed for highout- put indifferent applications. Thesedrums, withopenings from1.0mmto150mm, are made as frames ontowhichdifferent sized meshes canbefixed. For user convenience, the MDS design team has standardised dimensions of theM518R, to ensure com - patibility with other OEM drums. The ful l range of MDS trommel screens and apron feeders is supportedby BLT WORLD’s technical advisory, supply and repair service throughout Africa. www.bltworld.com efficient process to encapsulate sensitive actives, says principal researcher at the Centre forNanostructures andAdvanced Materials of theCSIR, PhilipLabuschagne. The CSIR recently developed and li - cencedthis technology toa local SMMEfor commercialisation of a range of probiotic- containing health supplements. However, amajor barrier for full-scale commerciali- sation is that there are no pilot-scale su- percritical CO 2 encapsulation facilities in SouthAfrica to produce products at scale. Inresponse, theCSIRwill nowestablish a pilot-scale SCEF facility with a produc- tion capacity of up to 100 kg/product/ hour for awide range of applications from personal care products to nutraceuticals. In addition, as the end-products will be for use for nutraceuticals for human and animal use and personal care products, theHazardAnalysisCritical Control Point (HACCP) safety system will be imple- mented across the facility. The establishment of this pilot facility at the CSIR will allow industry access to CSIR scientists for new product develop - ment, as well as technology transfer. www.csir.co.za

The M518R, which weighs less than 20 t and has an overall reduced height at 3.14 m, can easily be transported on regular low body trailers. Other notable features include a low centre of gravity and the ability to achieve high stockpile heights. The trommel has been designed The M518R trommel has a brush cleaner attached to the unit and is especially useful for recycling and light-duty screening applications.

CSIR to establish SA’s first supercritical CO 2 -based encapsulation facility

in investigating themarket uptake of their technologies. Theunique advantageof the technology is that it encapsulates sensitive actives used in animal and human health suchasprobiotics, proteins andvitamins in an inert environmentwithout exposure to moisture, oxygen and solvents, while op- erating at low temperatures and thereby preserving the activity of the materials. This is key to providing a balanced nutri- tion for humanhealth, livestock, improved feeddigestibility, and reducedoverall feed requirements, all of which lead to produc- tion cost savings. “Currently, the encapsulationmethods that are being used commercially are spray drying or extrusion. However, these processes expose sensitive actives to high temperatures, shear, organic solvents, moisture and oxygen. All these can com- promise their stability. Therefore, as an alternative, our teamhas developed novel encapsulation technologies using the supercritical CO 2 process. This is a more

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been awarded R25.9-million by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) to establish SouthAfrica’sfirstpilot-scaleSupercritical CO 2 Encapsulation Facility (SCEF), which is set to be operational in 2022. The facilitywill address the innovation chasm that exists in the industrialisation of supercritical CO 2 -based encapsulation technologies, while enabling local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and firms to conduct field trials and assist The CSIR team of researchers responsible for developing a novel supercritical CO 2 -based encapsulation technology. From left: Lonji Kalombo, Andri Swanepoel and Dr Philip Labuschagne.

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