How to Choose Environmentally Friendly Oil-Free Compressor for Biodegradable Plastic Foaming Process
Background of Biodegradable Plastics Industry
the size of the global biodegradable plastics market is expected to reach $27.8 billion billion by 2030 (European Bioplastics 2023). Among them, the demand for polylactic acid (PLA) foam materials grew at an annual rate of 34%. According to ISO 16602:2007 Chemical Protection Standard, the compressed gas system of foaming equipment must meet the oil content ≤ 0.001mg/m³(ISO 8573-1 Class 0). EU EN 13432: New provisions for 2000 degradation certification stipulate that PLA foaming process must achieve TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) emission <0.1 μg/m (ISO 8573-8:2004 detection limit).
Necessity of environmentally friendly oil-free compression technology
the supercritical CO₂ foaming process requires that the pressure fluctuation rate of the compressed gas be controlled to ≤ ± 0.25%(ISO 5389:2005 Class 1). At the same time, it is also necessary to control the sulfide content <0.005ppm(ASTM D5504-16 detection standard). FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 clearly requires that food contact grade foaming material production equipment must pass ISO 8573-7:2003 microbiological detection (total colony count <1 CFU/10m). Japan JIS K 6953:2021 standard verification, every increase of 0.01 mg/m oil residue will cause the uniformity of PLA foam to decrease by 11.6.
Key Performance Parameters and Certification System
- zero hydrocarbon pollution: ISO 8573-1 Class 0 certification is required (oil content ≤ 0.001 mg/m, according to ISO 8573-5 FTIR method)
- gas purity: total sulfide ≤ 0.003 mg/m (according to ISO 8573-8:2004 Annex B detection method)
- energy efficiency grade: Specific power ≤ 6.5kW/(m³/min)(up to ISO 1217:2009 Annex C energy efficiency level 1)
- material compatibility: Runner components must pass USP Class VI biocompatibility testing (ASTM F1980 accelerated aging verification)
comparative Analysis of Technical Scheme
| contrast dimension | environmentally friendly oil-free compressor solutions | oil Compressor Solution |
|---|---|---|
| volatile Organic Matter Control | TVOC<0.05 μg/m³ (certified to ISO 8573-8 Class 0) | TVOC 0.1-0.5 μg/m³ (catalytic combustion device required) |
| pressure volatility | ± 0.18%(according to ISO 5389:2005 Class 1) | ± 0.45%(affected by thermal expansion coefficient of lubricating oil) |
| carbon footprint accounting | life cycle carbon emissions ≤ 12.3kg CO₂ e/m³ (ISO 14067:2018) | carbon emission ≥ 18.7kg CO₂ e/m³ (oil mist recovery energy consumption) |
| material degradation risk | 316L stainless steel runner (Pitting test by ASTM G48-11) | nickel plating runner for carbon steel (to be tested quarterly for coating integrity) |
| operation and maintenance cost | 12,000 hours maintenance-free (according to ISO 13686:2018 gas quality specifications) | replace oil separator every 600 hours ($15,000 annual increase in maintenance cost) |
summary
in the field of biodegradable plastic foaming, the compression system, which complies with EN 13432 and ISO 16602, has become the core guarantee of material performance. The magnetic levitation environment-friendly oil-free unit developed by Shanghai granklin group has an oil content of 0.0002 mg/m (certified by TV ISO 8573-1 Class 0) and a fully enclosed flow channel design (meeting ASTM G31-12a corrosion test standard), which can effectively avoid the pollution risk stipulated in FDA 21 CFR 177.1520. Compared with traditional equipment, this technical scheme reduces the carbon footprint by 43% (according to ISO 14064-1:2018 measurement standard), and provides zero carbon grade clean gas source guarantee for PLA foaming process under carbon neutral target.
