Separator's Digest 2004/1 - GEA Westfalia Separator Group

In conjunction with the Munichbasedprinting institute Fogra,Westfalia Separator MineraloilSystems has initiated a research projectto process developers in a cost-effectivemanner, to extend their servicelives and also to reduce cleaning anddisposal costs. Two practical indicationsshow that this has been achievedalong the whole line.Removing particles fromdeveloper solutionsDeveloper liquids for printing plates canhave very different chemical compositions.A common feature of all thesedeveloper solutions is that the particleconcentration increases as the solutionis used. Despite the regeneration process,which normally takes place, the servicelife of these solutions is limited. Oneof the main reasons for this is the increasein the concentration of solid particles.This effect is known as ’sludgeaccumulation’. Despite the use of regeneratorsto extend the service life, largequantities of spent developer liquidsoccur during operation.The process of disposing of suchliquids is relatively expensive. Accordingly,it is desirable for the spent developerliquid, which occurs during plate developmentin offset printing, to be processedor cleaned.minimaXx in bypassThe aim of the research project carriedout by Westfalia Separator MineraloilSystems and Fogra was to solve theseproblems. Contaminated developerliquid is fed continuously to aminimaXx separator for processing ina bypass arrangement. The impuritiesare separated efficiently in thedeveloper liquid in the centrifugalfield of the separator, and the actualplate production process is not affected.“The separatortreats the developerliquid so that itcan be recycled.”The result is impressive. A constantlycleaned development bath guaranteesconstant quality of the exposedplates and the unpopular cleaningintervals are significantly extended.The minimized addition of developerresults in a dramatic reduction inpurchasing and disposal costs and hasobvious benefits for the environment.The high cleaning efficiency of theseparator enables up to 3 CtP systemsto be connected and clarified if necessary,while the same developer liquid isused, aa further demonstration of theconsiderable cost-effectiveness of thisinnovative and unusual system. The separatoris easy and inexpensive toclean.Very good practical valuesThe process was initially installed atDruckhaus Teamsatz & Litho GmbH inNeudrossenfeld near Bayreuth. Thedifference before and after the separatorwas used demonstrates theeffectiveness of the minimaXx OTC 2for cleaning developer.Whereas theRalf Kleinhausdeveloper machineProduct Managerpreviously wasfinished after 1,000Oeldeplates, this now lastsfor around 3,000plates. The numberof plates that can be exposed usingone batch of developer liquid has alsoincreased dramatically from 800–1,500(without a separator) to 2,500–4,000(with a separator). In the previousarrangement, approx. 5 litres of developerhad to be drained from thesystem every two to three days andreplaced by new developer. This is nowno longer necessary. In total, Teamsatz& Litho achieves annual savings ofmore than EUR 5,000 as a result oflower personnel expenses for cleaning,lower developer/regenerate costs andlower disposal costs.The pay-back time for the installationis approximately two years. Anewspaper printer in Münster with athroughput of approx. 1000–1200plates per day has also installed theOTC2, which operates effectively withpotential savings of at least 70 % interms of developer consumption anddisposal. Extrapolated over a full year,this represents a reduction of costsrunning into five figures. And this doesnot even consider the fact that thecosts of cleaning the developingmachines and in particular the developerbath are now much lower than inthe past.The minimaXx separator is ideal forthis task as a result of its compact design.Space is always at a premium in aprinting shop, and the machine can beset up next to the developer batch. Thismeans that the pipe work for the developerliquid is short, the low volume of separatedsolids means that a cleaningcycle of several months is sufficient forthe separator itself. The process representswelcome cost savings for all printingworks and the pre-press stage. ■Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems,Tel.: + 49 25 22/77-15 93kleinhaus.ralf@gea-westfalia.deSeparator´s World29Separator´s Digest 1/2004