For film waste, the short answer is: choose an agglomerator when you need dense, extrudable feed from LDPE, HDPE, or PP film, and choose a granulator when you are cutting rigid plastics — or when film is only a small share of a mixed stream. The two machines are often quoted against each other, but they do different jobs: a granulator cuts, an agglomerator densifies. Picking the wrong one shows up immediately as a wrapped rotor or an extruder that starves on fluffy regrind.
This comparison walks through how each machine behaves on film, the six factors that decide between them, and the washing-line scenario where a plant genuinely needs both. The figures come from machines we build and test-run at Energycle.
The Quick Answer
| Granulator | Aglomerator | |
|---|---|---|
| Princip rada | Cold cutting with rotary knives against a screen | Friction heating + water quench in a batch tank |
| Izlaz | Flakes / regrind, size set by screen | Dense irregular granules (agglomerate) |
| Output bulk density (film feed) | ~30–60 kg/m³ — still fluffy | ~250–400 kg/m³ — free-flowing |
| Best feedstock | Rigid parts, pipe, sheet, bottles | Film, bags, raffia, non-wovens |
| Film behaviour | Tends to wrap the rotor and blind the screen | Designed for it |
| Energy (film feed) | ~0.05–0.08 kWh/kg | ~0.2–0.25 kWh/kg |
| Downstream fit | Regrind for molding or washing lines | Како бисмо вам помогли? |
Pravilo: Како бисте удобније обрадили материјал, можете користити агломератор за денсификацију материѐала који се савија и трзи, као и гранулатор за секање матери.
How a Granulator Works — and Where Film Jams It
A granulator is a rotary cutting machine. A bladed rotor spins against fixed bed knives, and everything stays in the chamber until it fits through a screen — typically 8–12 mm for recycling work. On rigid plastics it is the standard answer: fast, predictable, and cheap to run per kilogram. Our guide to industrijski granulatori covers rotor styles and screen selection in detail.
Kao profesionalni prevodilac specijalizovan za industriju recikliranja plastike, mogu vam objasniti kako se ovi problemi rešavaju u praksi.
How an Agglomerator Works
An agglomerator skips cutting-to-size entirely. High-speed knives at the bottom of a steel tank heat film by friction until it shrinks into semi-plasticized crumbs; a shot of water then quenches the batch into dense, pourable granules. No screen, no external heaters — the main motor supplies all the process heat. The full cycle-by-cycle breakdown is in our guide to što je aglomerator i kako radi, and model specs are on the plasticna folija aglomerator stranica.
Head-to-Head: Six Factors That Decide
1. Output density
This is the deciding factor for most film processors. Agglomerate at 250–400 kg/m³ feeds an extruder steadily and cuts freight and storage volume by a factor of five to ten. Granulated film at 30–60 kg/m³ solves nothing downstream — the material is smaller but just as unmanageable.
2. Feed tolerance
Как ви можете да го обезбедите стабилну работу и енергијску ефикасност? Какви су ваши мерки за сигурноста?.
3. Energy per kilogram
Cutting is cheaper than heating: a granulator draws roughly 0.05–0.08 kWh/kg on film against 0.2–0.25 kWh/kg for agglomeration. But the comparison is honest only if granulated output were actually usable — for film, the extra kilowatt-hours buy the density that makes everything after the machine cheaper.
4. Blades and maintenance
Both machines live and die by knife condition. A granulator adds a screen to inspect and unblock; an agglomerator adds water-dosing hardware. Expect comparable sharpening schedules on clean feed — and budget tool-steel blades (D2/SKD-11 grade) either way.
5. Capital cost
Size for size, the two machines sit in a similar price band, so purchase price rarely decides. The real cost difference appears downstream: fluffy regrind needs bigger silos, force feeders, and more handling labor than dense agglomerate.
6. Downstream fit
Granulator regrind suits injection molders blending rigid flake back into virgin material, and washing lines that need small wet flake. Agglomerate suits extrusion and pelletizing — which is where nearly all recovered film ends up. For the wider machine map, see our Vodič za odabir drobilice, granulatora ili peletizera.
Kada je potrebno izabrati granulator za otpadne filmove?
- Film is a minor share of a mixed stream that is mostly rigid plastic, and one machine must handle everything.
- You are wet-granulating inside a washing line, where flake — not density — is the requirement.
- Your downstream process is compounding or molding that specifies flake feed, not granules.
When to Choose an Agglomerator
- Your stream is predominantly PE film, PP raffia, woven bags, or non-wovens.
- An extruder or pelletizer downstream starves, surges, or bridges on loose film feed.
- Vi šaljete ili pohranjujete stari materijal i plaćate za premještanje zraka — gomiljanje se isplaca samo zbog cijena prijevoza.
- Želite proizvod koji se može prodati bez uloživanja u cjelokupnu liniju za proizvodnju granula.
Kada vam treba oboje
Post-consumer film lines routinely run both machines. Dirty agricultural or post-consumer film is wet-cut by a granulator inside the washing section — small flake washes and rinses far better than whole film. After drying, an agglomerator densifies the clean flake so the pelletizing extruder receives a uniform, meterable feed. In that layout the machines are stages, not rivals: the granulator serves the washing step, the agglomerator serves the extruder. Our linija za rezanje i zagusinjenje PE/PP filma pokazuje cijeli niz, a naša usporedba drugih mogućnosti za tu poziciju film agglomeratora s film kompaktorom s preklopom i gredom za zagusčavanje pokriva druge mogućnosti za gomiljanje.
Često postavljana pitanja
Mogu li granulatora rukovati plastičnim filmom?
Da, s film-specifičnim rotorima i pažljivim doziranjem – mnoge pralne linije su dnevno u mogućnosti vlažno granulirati film. Ono što granulator ne može je zagustiti: granulirani film ostaje oko 30–60 kg/m³ i još uvijek loše se obavlja.
Je aglomerat bolji od pregrijenog materijala za ekstruziju?
Za filmski ulazni materijal, da. Agglomerat teče i dosevne kao čvrsti prah, tako da se sekcija za primještanje extrudera radi puno i ravnomjerno. Puhani film regrind se premoštava u hokcima i često treba silni dopunjač za premještanje.
Koja mašina troši manje za pogon?
Po kilogramu kroz stroj, granulator — rezanje zahtjeva manje energije nego fricciono zagrijavanje. Po kilogramu uporabljivog ulaznog materijala za extruder, agglomerator obično pobjeđuje jednom kada se cijene pohranjivanja, prijevoza i problema s doziranjem ukučuju.
Mora li mi još uvijek imati rezancer prije jedne od ovih mašina?
Za prevelike ulazne materijale poput velikih vreća, valova ili baliranih filmova, da — jednospratni režnik prije linije održava konzistentnu veličinu ulaza i štiti nože sljedeće mašine.
Suština
Kao profesionalni prevodilac iz Hrvatske specijalizovan za industrijsku translaciju, pružim vam profesionalne traducije tekstova sa stranica industrijskog mašinerstva za recikliranje plastike.
Pošaljite nam mješavinu materijala, trenutnu gustinu valjka ili uobičajenu gustinu, te ciljnu količinu, i naši inžinjeri će izložiti pravi stroj — ili pravu sekvenцу. Zatražite konfiguraciju i ponudu.
