Lightweight construction, functionality and design are characteristic of material development in all areas of application for PC compounds, composites and films. The range of materials has enormous opportunities when it comes to the mobility of the future, lightweight structural construction with continuous fiber-reinforced composites, 5G technology and medical technology.

Polycarbonate (PC)

Automotive

Elektronik

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Technische Kunststoffe

Thermoplaste

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Medizintechnik

Polycarbonat

Medizinprodukte

Present in a Multitude of Trends

Plastics processors have a wide range of colors at their disposal to color their products. Choosing the right color can ultimately be the key to success. But colors are just as subject to trends as materials and designs. Kunststoffe asked manufacturers of pigments, masterbatches, and colorants which colors would be particularly popular in the coming year.

Trend Report on the Coloration of Plastics

Pigmente

Additive

Pigmente, bunt

Masterbatches

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Kunststoffe

Photonik

Optik

Streifinger, Florian

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farbstoffe

Effektpigmente

Farben, flüssig

What Will Be the Color of 2021?

Plastic waste in the sea has been shaping the negative image of the industry for several years. Various initiatives and mergers of companies have therefore launched projects to tackle this Ocean-bound Plastics (OBP). Components made of OBP could become a symbol for a sustainable use of plastics.

Flame Retardant for Compounds Based on Recycled Ocean-Bound Plastics

Polybutylenterephthalat

Polyethylenterephthalat

Flammschutzmittel

From the Sea to Electronics

Plastics are among the materials most widely used for food contact applications. While there is pressure to use recycled plastics in packaging in order to combat plastic waste, certain conditions must be met before food packaging can be considered safe.

Plastics Recycling for Direct Food Contact and Alternative Applications

Verpackungsmittel aus Kunststoffen

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Food Safe Post Consumer Recyclate

Polymer materials, including synthetic polymers, have a bad reputation. These image problems do not just arise from the current environmental debate but also have earlier origins. In the past, too, polymer materials were subject to unjustified criticism. This often stemmed from non-scientists and frequently betrayed a lack of scientific knowledge.

On the Image of Plastics and their Responsible Use

Polymer Materials

For almost two decades, an expert committee, meeting once a year, has supported Kunststoffe magazine in determining the state of play in the plastics industry and identifying current technical developments. This time, the traditional spring meeting gave it an opportunity to debate the consequences of the Corona virus.

Current Challenges and Options for Action in the Plastics Industry

Wirtschaftspolitik in Deutschland

Wirtschaft

Verpackungsmaterial

Logistik

Klotz, Karlhorst, Dr.

Internationale Wirtschaft

Verpackungsanlagen

Coilhandling

Kunststoff-Verpackungsmaschine

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Sondermaschinen

Starting up under the Shadow  of Corona

The increasing volume of plastic waste and the growing pollution of the oceans by such waste have brought the sustainable handling of plastic products into the focus of society and politics. Both recycling and bioplastics can be a part of a strategy for greater sustainability, but they are not free of side effects. In order to avoid irrational decisions, it is important to assess their effects comprehensively.

3D View of Sustainability

Flachfolienanlagen

Extrusionsanlagen

Blasfolienextrusion

Flachfolien- und Plattenextrusion

Extrusion

Nachhaltigkeit

Folien

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Folienblasanlagen

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Why Recycled Films Are Not Necessarily Sustainable

The beneficial processing and service properties of plastics are increasingly determining the ecological fate of the world. The plastics industry has now realized that it is not enough to put the blame on consumer behavior. As K 2019 showed, numerous initiatives and technical developments are paving the way for the urgently needed establishment of a circular economy.

A Stock-Take of K 2019: The Plastics Sector Has Owned up to Its Responsibility

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

Wiederaufbereitung

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

The Dawning of the Circular Economy

There is little doubt where we are heading: multilayer packaging will have to become easier to recycle – but what does that mean for the technology? And what solutions will the market need and accept? Manufacturers of branded goods are not the only ones who will have to rethink their specifications.

How Film Packaging Will Have to Develop

Europe Needs to Catch up

Currently, recyclates are in high demand, including the automotive industry. Previously, component suppliers had reservations about using recyclates in safety-related areas, because mechanical properties varied too widely. Now, materials producer JSP has developed an expanded polypropylene with 25 % recyclate content precisely for these application areas. But to ensure high quality, close cooperation with the recycling company is essential.

Circular Economy for Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)

Polypropylen

Automotive Components  Made of Packaging

By means of high-performance processes, chemical recycling converts plastic waste into high-grade material for new plastic products. Moreover, freedom of design results by selecting a suitable process and the matching waste material. Hereby, the right combination permits customized polyols to be created for the desired application area.

Solvolysis Using Different Solvents in Practice

Polyurethan-Schaumstoffe (PUR)

Polyurethan

Plastic Waste into  Custom-Made Polyols

Borealis, Clariant, Remondis, LyondellBasell – many of the big names in the plastics industry announced partnerships with Neste at, or in advance of, K 2019. The Finnish company is a sought-after partner in the industry.

Interview with Mercedes Alonso, Executive Board Member at Neste

Biokunststoffe

“Chemical Recycling Is Not yet Ready for Commercial Use”

Renouncement is the trend that determines public perception of plastics today. Many consumers prefer products that are better for the environment, which is often equated to using less plastics. It is true, though, that plastics are important materials when it comes to finding answers to the challenges posed by the increase in population, high energy demand as well as growing urbanization and mobility.

Guest Commentary by Dr. Michael Zobel

Leichtbau

Kunststoffhandel

Dienstleistungen

Handel

Werkstoff

The Answer to Many Questions

From 2025, every new vehicle from Volvo will contain 25 wt. % of recycled plastics. In this way, the car manufacturer aims to take not only itself but also its supply chain in the direction of recycling. Can it succeed? The first prototype launched by Volvo has provoked hot debate.

With Ambitious Goals and Prototypes, the Swedish Auto Manufacturer Aims to Increase the Content of Recycled Material in Vehicles

Fahrzeugbau

Volvo Shows the Way

PET bottles can be recycled into new food packaging. Large-scale recovery systems and recycling procedures have become established since many years. PET bottles made of 100 % post-consumer recyclate are already available in the market, and a version made of renewable raw materials also exists. No other packaging plastic can show such a positive balance. Nonetheless, PET is under criticism.

Prime Material for a Circular Economy

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

KIT and Audi Launch Pilot Project for Chemical Recycling

Closed loop for plastics from the automotive industry: waste from engineering plastics is processed into pyrolysis oil that can be used for new components.

A large number of components in automobiles are made from plastics. They have to meet high safety, heat resistance, and quality requirements. That is why so far only petroleum-based materials have been suitable for manufacturing plastic components in cars that are subjected to extremely high wear. In most cases, such materials cannot be recycled. Whereas plastics of the same type can often be recycled mechanically, recycling of mixed plastic waste poses a major challenge. The Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Audi are therefore launching a pilot project for chemical recycling in order to feed such mixed plastic fractions back into a resource-conserving circular system.

“Recycling automotive plastics has not yet been possible for many components. That is why we are doing pioneering work here together with Audi,” says Professor Dieter Stapf, Head of KIT’s Institute for Technical Chemistry, who also is involved in the Thinktank. “If we want to close these loops, we need to develop suitable methods.” So far, chemical recycling has been the only method that can be used to convert such mixed plastic wastes into products, whose quality matches that of new products.

As a result, a wider range of plastics can be recovered, Stapf says. “Such closed material loops save valuable resources, because less primary material is required. This, in turn, saves energy and costs – and is beneficial to the environment,” says Dr. Rebekka Volk from KIT’s Institute for Industrial Production.

Pilot Project of the Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies

The pilot project “Chemical Recycling of Plastics in Automotive Engineering” is conducted by the Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies that has been established at KIT by the Baden-Württemberg State Government together with industry and the support of academia. “Responsible use of resources is the joint obligation of industry, science, and politics. The Thinktank pools all competencies to master this big challenge and to serve society and the environment,” says Professor Thomas Hirth, KIT Vice-President for Innovation and International Affairs and Spokesperson of the Thinktank.

“Chemical recycling can be a major component of comprehensive plastics recycling. This makes it an interesting proposition for the automotive industry. The Thinktank and Audi are jointly addressing a central issue of making automobiles more sustainable and environmentally friendly in future irrespective of their type of powertrain. The Thinktank is focused on a holistic view of raw material loops,” says Dr. Christian Kühne, Managing Director of the Thinktank.

Audi is among the first automotive manufacturers testing this recycling method in a pilot project with plastics from automotive engineering. “We want to establish smart circular systems in our supply chains and make efficient use of resources,” says Marco Philippi, Senior Director Procurement Strategy of Audi.

“Chemical recycling has a great potential for this: If plastic components can be produced from pyrolysis oil instead of petroleum, it would be possible to significantly increase the proportion of sustainably manufactured components in automobiles. In the long run, this method can also play a role in end-of-life vehicle recycling.”

Pyrolysis Process for More Sustainable Products

The “Chemical Recycling of Plastics in Automotive Engineering” pilot project targets the creation of smart circular systems for plastics and establishing this method as a complement to mechanical recycling and replacement of energetic recovery. Partnering with KIT’s Thinktank, Audi intends to initially test the technical feasibility of chemical recycling and to evaluate the method in terms of its economic efficiency and environmental impacts. For this purpose, the company provides plastic components that are no longer needed, such as fuel tanks, wheel trim parts, and radiator grills, from Audi models returning from the German dealership network, for example.

The plastic components are processed to pyrolysis oil by chemical recycling. In the medium run, components based on pyrolysis oil can be used in automobiles again. If technical feasibility will be demonstrated, Audi will industrialize the technology and progressively apply it to more and more components.

Research and technology development for sustainable circular economy are major topics at KIT. “We are systematically studying the potentials of pyrolysis and how pyrolysis processes have to be designed on a large scale for maximum recycling of resources,” Stapf says. Chemical recycling of plastic wastes can help make modern products more sustainable and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Audi AG  

KIT Karlsruher Institut für Technologie Inst. f. Mikrostrukturtechnik (IMT)

https://www.fzk.de

Pyrolysis oil from mixed wastes is to close the loop for plastics from automotive engineering

16:9

News KITAudi 16.12.2020

<b>About the Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies</b>

The Thinktank Industrial Resources Strategies is a joint initiative of politics and industry with the support of science. It provides politics and industry with scientific advice on central technological and strategic aspects of resource efficiency, use of resources, and resource policy. The Thinktank compiles data and facts in an objective way, processes them understandably, and produces results that are recognized equally by politics and industry, thus contributing largely to fact-based decisions of all parties. The Thinktank was established on January 09, 2018 and is located at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Spokesperson of the Thinktank is Professor Thomas Hirth, KIT Vice-President for Innovation and International Affairs. Operative management of the Thinktank lies in the hands of Managing Director Dr. Christian Kühne. The Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies is financed from funds of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection, and the Energy Sector.

<b>Virtual Event on Chemical Recycling</b>

The virtual event “Highway or Holzweg – Chemisches Recycling von Kunststoffen“ on January 25, 2021, 18.00 hrs, at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation in Berlin will provide a platform to discuss opportunities and challenges of chemical recycling of plastics. The event will be organized by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection, and the Energy Sector.

<a href="https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/en/home/ " target="_blank">um.baden-wuerttemberg.de</a>