PP PE Soft Film Recycling Washing Line

The SUHUI PP PE film washing line is a fully automated plastic film washing line designed to recycle polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) film waste into clean, high-purity flakes ready for pelletizing or direct sale. It efficiently processes diverse film types including agricultural mulch film, greenhouse covers, stretch wrap, LDPE and LLDPE packaging film, and post-industrial film scrap — whether loose or baled.

The line integrates automated feeding, anti-tangle shredding, multi-stage washing, friction scrubbing, float-sink density separation, two-stage mechanical dewatering, and thermal drying into one continuous film washing and recycling process. Output flakes meet the quality requirements of downstream pelletizing, film blowing, and plastic manufacturing applications.

Available in five standard capacity configurations from 300 to 2,000 kg/h, with custom-engineered solutions for higher throughput. All wetted and structural components are manufactured from S.S 304 stainless steel, and a closed-loop water recycling system keeps operating costs and wastewater discharge low.

One washing line handles the full PP and PE film range: soiled agricultural mulch film, greenhouse film, stretch and packaging film, and baled post-industrial film.

Key Features of SUHUI PP PE Soft Film Recycling Washing Line

• Comprehensive Film Compatibility: Processes PP, LDPE, LLDPE, and HDPE films including agricultural film, greenhouse covers, stretch wrap, packaging film, and industrial scrap from loose or baled feedstock.
• Anti-Tangle Shredding System: Specially designed film crusher cuts film into 10–20 mm flakes while preventing the tangling and jamming that stops standard granulators.
• Multi-Stage Washing: Sequential pre-wash, friction wash, and optional hot wash (60–80°C) stages progressively remove soil, sand, adhesives, inks, and organic contaminants from film flakes.
• Float-Sink Density Separation: The float-sink tank separates light PP/PE film (density below 1 g/cm³, floats on water) from heavier contaminants — sand, metal fines, PET, and PVC sink and are discharged from the tank bottom. Saline solution can be dosed to fine-tune the separation cut point.
• Two-Stage Mechanical Dewatering: Centrifugal dryer followed by screw press reduces moisture to below 12% before thermal drying, significantly lowering energy consumption.
• Thermal Drying to <5% Moisture: Hot air drying with cyclone separation produces dry flakes ready for pelletizing or direct packaging and sale.
• Closed-Loop Water Treatment: Integrated filtration and water recirculation system reduces fresh water consumption and wastewater discharge.
• Scalable Modular Design: Modular layout supports flexible configuration for diverse feedstocks and capacity expansion without full line replacement.
• Automated Metal Removal: Magnetic separator removes ferrous metal debris from incoming film waste; optional optical sorting is available for mixed-material streams.
• S.S 304 Stainless Steel Construction: All wetted components and structural frames are fabricated from S.S 304 stainless steel for long-term corrosion resistance.
• Certified to International Standards: CE, ISO9001:2008, QS, and GMP certified — meeting the compliance requirements of European and international buyers.

The float-sink tank in operation: PP and PE film floats because its density is below 1 g/cm³, while sand, metal, PET and PVC sink and are discharged from the tank bottom.

Technical Data

Exact configuration depends on feedstock contamination level, facility layout, and downstream requirements. Contact SUHUI for a customized technical proposal.

PP PE Soft Film Recycling Washing Process

1. Material Feeding & Pre-Sorting: Loose or baled PP/PE film is fed onto the belt conveyor. A manual or automated sorting station removes non-plastic debris including metals (via magnetic separator) and paper.
2. Shredding / Crushing: Film waste passes through a specialized anti-tangle film crusher that cuts it into 10–20 mm flakes, ensuring consistent feeding into downstream washing stages.
3. Pre-Washing: Shredded flakes enter a pre-wash tank where agitated water removes loose sand, soil, and surface contaminants in the initial cleaning stage.
4. Friction Washing: High-speed friction washers intensively scrub flake surfaces, dislodging embedded adhesives, inks, and contaminants. Detergent can be added for heavily contaminated feedstock.
5. Hot Washing (Optional): For film containing oils, grease, or stubborn chemical residues, a hot wash tank at 60–80°C dissolves contamination that cold washing cannot remove. Recommended for agricultural and post-consumer film.
6. Float-Sink Density Separation: Flakes pass through a float-sink separation tank where PP (0.90–0.92 g/cm³) and PE (0.92–0.97 g/cm³) float — both are lighter than water — while sand, metal fines, PET, and PVC sink and are discharged from the tank bottom.
7. Rinsing: Clean flakes are thoroughly rinsed in a fresh water rinse tank to remove residual detergent and cleaning solution.
8. Two-Stage Mechanical Dewatering: A centrifugal dryer followed by a screw press reduces flake moisture to below 12% before the thermal drying stage. For film destined for direct pelletizing, a plastic film squeezer granulating machine can combine squeezing-drying and compacting in one step.
9. Thermal Drying: A hot air drying system with cyclone separator reduces residual moisture to below 5%, producing dry PP/PE flakes ready for pelletizing or direct packaging.
10. Pelletizing (Optional): Dried flakes are fed into a PP PE film compacting pelletizing line, where they are compacted, melted, filtered, and extruded into uniform recycled PP/PE pellets.
11. Water Treatment & Recycling: Process water is continuously filtered and recirculated through the closed-loop water treatment system, minimizing fresh water consumption and wastewater output.

The complete film washing route in real equipment photos: feeding and crushing, pre-washing, friction washing, hot washing, float-sink separation, rinsing, dewatering and drying — ending in clean, dry film flakes.

Why Film Washing Quality Decides Pellet Quality

Plastic film is the hardest plastic waste stream to wash. It is lightweight, carries far more surface area per kilogram than rigid plastics, tangles in standard machinery, and arrives loaded with soil, sand, inks, adhesives, and organic residue — especially agricultural film. Any contamination that survives washing ends up in the melt filter and the final pellet, which is why the washing line, not the pelletizer, sets the ceiling for recycled pellet quality.

The SUHUI film washing plant is engineered around this constraint: an anti-tangle crusher keeps material flowing, washing intensity is staged progressively from pre-wash to friction wash to optional hot wash, density separation removes what scrubbing cannot, and two-stage dewatering plus thermal drying brings moisture below 5% so flakes run stably on the pelletizing line. As a plastic film washing line manufacturer based in Zhangjiagang, China, SUHUI configures each film washing machine group around the customer’s feedstock and contamination profile and supplies it factory-direct with export and after-sales support.

Every line is assembled and test-run in the SUHUI workshop before shipment:

SUHUI workshop: film washing line sections assembled and test-run before delivery.

Main configuration of the SUHUI PP PE film recycling washing line in the workshop: belt conveyor and crusher, friction washers, float-sink separation, screw conveyors, dewatering machine and thermal drying system.

Output Quality and Applications

The line delivers clean PP and PE film flakes with final moisture below 5% after thermal drying and contamination removed through staged washing and density separation. Flakes at this quality level feed directly into film compacting pelletizing without pre-treatment, and are dry enough for stable extrusion and consistent pellet output.

Washed and dried PP/PE film flakes at the end of the line: moisture below 5%, contaminants removed, ready for pelletizing or direct sale.

Recycled film flakes and the pellets made from them re-enter production as garbage bags, agricultural film, packaging and stretch film, and injection-molded products. Many SUHUI customers pair the washing line with a film compacting pelletizing line to sell pellets instead of flakes, capturing more value per ton. For guidance on matching a plastic film recycling machine configuration to your feedstock, see our film washing line buyer’s guide.

From waste film to new products: dirty PP/PE film in, washed flakes out, then back into production as garbage bags, pipes, pallets and recycled pellets.

Customer Installation

SUHUI film washing lines run at customer recycling plants processing agricultural and packaging film waste. The photos below are from a customer installation: crusher feeding, washing and float-sink separation tanks, dewatering and screening, and the downstream film pelletizing sections in daily operation.

Customer site: SUHUI film washing plant in daily production, from crusher feeding to washing tanks, dewatering and pelletizing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can plastic film be recycled?

Yes. PP and PE plastic film — including agricultural film, stretch wrap, and packaging film — is fully recyclable through mechanical recycling. Because film is lightweight, tangles easily, and carries heavy surface contamination, it requires a dedicated film washing line rather than a standard rigid-plastic washing plant. The industrial route is shredding, multi-stage washing, float-sink separation, dewatering, and thermal drying, after which clean flakes are pelletized back into raw material. For the full process overview, see our guide on how a plastic film recycling line works.

What types of plastic film can the SUHUI PP PE soft film recycling washing line process?

The line processes a wide range of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) film waste, including LDPE and LLDPE packaging film, agricultural mulch film, greenhouse covers, stretch wrap, and post-industrial film scrap. The system accepts both loose and baled feedstock, with sorting and magnetic separation to remove non-plastic contaminants such as metals, sand, and paper labels before washing.

What are the available capacity options?

The SUHUI PP PE soft film recycling washing line is available in five standard model configurations: SHW300 (250–300 kg/h), SHW500 (400–500 kg/h), SHW1000 (800–1,000 kg/h), SHW1500 (1,250–1,500 kg/h), and SHW2000 (1,700–2,000 kg/h). Space requirements range from 29m × 10m × 5m for the SHW300 to 90m × 15m × 6m for the SHW2000, with installation power from 195 kW to 760 kW. Contact SUHUI for a configuration recommendation based on your feedstock volume and facility layout.

How does the multi-stage washing process remove contaminants from film waste?

The film washing system uses a progressive cleaning sequence: pre-washing in agitated water removes loose sand and soil; high-speed friction washers dislodge embedded adhesives, inks, and organic contaminants, with optional detergent dosing for heavily soiled feedstock; optional hot washing at 60–80°C dissolves oils and chemical residues; and a final fresh-water rinse removes residual cleaning solution. This staged sequence is what allows one line to handle both muddy agricultural film and cleaner packaging film.

Can the line automatically separate PP film from PE film?

No — water-based float-sink separation cannot split PP from PE, because both are lighter than water (PP 0.90–0.92 g/cm³, PE 0.92–0.97 g/cm³) and float together. What the float-sink tank does separate is PP/PE film from heavier contaminants: sand, metal fragments, PET, and PVC sink and are discharged. In practice this is rarely a problem, because PP and PE film are often processed and pelletized together as a mixed polyolefin stream. If your end market requires separate PP and PE streams, the split is handled at the sorting stage before washing — ask SUHUI about adding a sorting station to the feeding section.

What moisture content does the output achieve, and how is drying handled?

Freshly washed film can hold up to 30% surface moisture, which is why drying is handled in two stages: mechanical dewatering (centrifugal dryer plus screw press) first reduces moisture to below 12%, significantly lowering the thermal energy load, and a hot air thermal drying system with cyclone separator then reduces final residual moisture to below 5% — ready for pelletizing or direct packaging. For lines feeding straight into pelletizing, an optional film squeezer granulating machine squeezes out moisture and compacts the film in one step, eliminating the separate thermal drying stage.

Does the washing line include a water recycling system?

Yes. The line integrates a closed-loop water treatment system that continuously filters and recirculates process water throughout all washing stages. This minimizes fresh water consumption and reduces wastewater discharge, lowering operational costs and supporting compliance with environmental regulations.

What happens to the washed film flakes after the washing line?

Most operators feed the clean, dry flakes into a PP PE film compacting pelletizing line, which compacts, melts, filters, and extrudes them into uniform recycled pellets that sell at a higher price than flakes and run directly on film blowing and injection molding equipment. Flakes can also be bagged and sold to third-party processors. Contact SUHUI to configure a complete washing-to-pelletizing plant matched to your feedstock and target output.