Influencing Parameters at Drum Screens for Packaging Screening

Drum (trommel) screens are widely used to classify packaging waste by particle size. This study quantifies the size‐classification behaviour of elongated, hollow packaging‐like items (representing bottles, tubes and cups) using cylindrical and tubular test pieces. Experiments were conducted with a 70 mm screen opening size (often referred to as mesh size). The time to reach 90 wt% classified mass ranged from 18 to 111 s. Faster classification was observed for PET‐bottle oversize particle feeds compared with mixed oversize particle feeds, for heavier (residue‐filled) samples, and for samples with lower fine particle height and lower diameter. These results provide quantitative guidance for predicting and optimizing drum screening performance in packaging waste treatment.