In January-February 2024, the first secondments of PROMATAI project participants took place.

The host organization was the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes (IEP, Poland), which hosted representatives of four beneficiaries: University of West Attica (UWA, Greece – 2 people), LPH a.s. (LPH, Slovakia – 3 people), Cerca Trova LTD. (CET, Bulgaria – 3 people) and Dirmeta UAB (DIR, Lithuania – 2 people). The guests were given a tour of the institute's laboratories, during which they got to know the IEP structure in detail.

All secondees and IEP representatives worked on Task 1.1 “Feed Opening Section (FOS) concepts”. A workshop and plenty of meetings took place, during which the participants discussed more than 10 single-screw extruder FOS concepts presented in the world literature. As a result, three Feed Opening Section concepts were selected for further design, fabrication, and comprehensive research. FOS concepts were chosen based on a comparative assessment of their technical capabilities (primarily increasing the productivity of the extruder), economic feasibility, and manufacturing complexity. A significant amount of world literature was reviewed for the analysis.

Secondees shared their impressions from the time spent at the IEP and in Toruń. They confirmed that they gained new knowledge and skills in the field of designing the loading section of the extruder, and also got acquainted with the traditions and culture of Poland. Secondees noted the high level of internship organization by IEP employees.