Can recycled EPE foam be used to produce EPE foam sheets?

Note: EPE foam recycled material is produced by feeding EPE foam scraps and die-head waste into a pelletizer for crushing and heating. The material is then extruded into long strips through the die of an EPE foam pelletizer. These extruded strips are immersed in water to cool and solidify. After cooling, the EPE foam strips pass through a drainage device to remove excess moisture before being directly cut into pellets by a pelletizer. Currently, domestic EPE foam recycling processes typically employ stainless steel mesh filters with 60-mesh or 80-mesh specifications at the extruder head. These filters remove impurities during the pelletization of EPE foam scraps.

Regarding whether Chinese EPE foam sheet manufacturers use recycled material: - Sheets over 3mm thickness can be produced using 100% recycled EPE foam (provided the recycled material is clean, low in impurities, and consists solely of EPE foam scrap pellets). Such pellets are classified as Grade 1 recycled material. - Sheets over 2mm thickness can be produced using virgin high-pressure low-density polyethylene (HDPE) blended with recycled EPE foam. The recycled content can range from 50% to 30%.

is considered Grade 1 material). For producing EPE foam sheets over 2mm thick, virgin high-pressure low-density polyethylene can be blended with recycled EPE foam, using 50% or 30% recycled material. The exact blending ratio is determined by the customer based on actual requirements. Recycled material is not recommended for EPE foam sheets between 2mm and 1mm thickness. Using recycled material will cause the sheets to crack immediately after extrusion from the EPE foam extruder head. Recycled material is completely unsuitable for EPE foam sheets thinner than 1mm.

Why is recycled material unsuitable for sheets thinner than 1mm? Why is recycled EPE foam not recommended for 1-2mm thick sheets? This is because: 1.  During production of 1-2mm thick sheets, the wire mesh filter at the die head screen changer is 150 mesh. However, the finest mesh used during pelletizing is 80 mesh. This discrepancy frequently causes clogging at the die head filter. Frequent filter replacements halt production, rendering the manufactured EPE foam sheets unusable. Additionally, impurities in recycled material occasionally bypass the filter. Due to the extremely narrow gaps in EPE foam extruder dies, these impurities easily become lodged at the die lips. This causes the resulting EPE foam sheets to crack immediately upon exit, making them unusable.

For EPE foam sheets under 1mm thickness, production requires 200-mesh filters, making recycled material completely unsuitable.

When manufacturing EPE foam tubes, rods, U-shapes, L-shapes, and other profiles, the die head typically uses 40- or 60-mesh filters. Therefore, recycled EPE foam material is entirely viable for producing these shaped profiles.