Model-based Electricity Consumption Quantification of Polymer Extruders for Mechanical Recycling Applications

The increasing penetration of volatile renewable energy sources necessitates the development of intelligent storage systems and adaptive demand patterns. In an industrial context, addressing this challenge requires detailed insights into the behavior of machinery in response to the short-term nature of electrical energy demand. This study focuses on the use of an industrial polymer extruder for the mechanical recycling of various material mixtures. To visualize the electricity demand dynamics, an analytical grey-box model has been developed and validated on a small-scale extruder with data collected from a power analyzer and machine operation. The model quantifies key parameters, including thermal dissipation to the environment, thermal transfer between extruder zones, extruder thermal capacity, and power consumption per machine component. The physics-based power consumption model features a root mean square error of 239.3 W and a mean error of 12.7 W for recycling material. Energy-related dynamics of extrusion-based recycling are visualized, and energy efficiency potentials are identified.