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

Wiederaufbereitung

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Automotive

Fahrzeugbau

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Volvo Shows the Way

Current requirements for product quality and rising demands for sustainable products are dictating ever stricter requirements regarding the quality of recyclates. Further technological developments aimed at material purity and quality are unavoidable.

Expanded Machine Portfolios from Turnkey Solutions to Integrated Systems

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Aufbereitungsmaschinen

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Circular Economy Is the Buzzword  of the Hour

As expected, the K 2019 displayed a wide range of machine technology and complete system solutions for plastics recycling. At least since the trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, it has become obvious that industry today can offer solutions for closing the plastic cycle.

The Technology to Close the Plastic Cycle Exists

Sensorik für Kunststoff-Verarbeitungsmaschinen

Industrie 4.0

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

IR-Sensor

Messtechnik

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Mahlgut

Schmelzefilter

Filteranlagen

Extruder

Extrusionsanlagen

Waschen und Entfetten

Sortierer

Mahlanlagen, fein

Sensoren,  optische

Schneidmühlen

Compoundieren

Mühlen

A Closed Recycling Cycle – Now!

Munich-based mechanical engineering group KraussMaffei is repositioning itself and uniting all divisions under a single brand. At a time of accelerated technological change, the company is increasing its efforts to develop new products for digital solutions and new business models – and that includes plastics recycling.

KraussMaffei Consolidates Three Divisions and the Previous Group Brands under a Single Brand

Extrusion

Spritzgießen

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Spritzgießmaschinen

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Nachhaltigkeit

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

Moving with the Times

The Circular Economy is not only the theme topic at the K 2019. It is also the “green” thread running through the fair exhibit by Engel, the provider of injection molding machines and integrated system solutions. Industry 4.0 is turning out to be a driving force for recycling. This is a most timely insight, since the branch is in for several economically cool years.

Engel Supports Strong Involvement by the Plastics Industry in a Circular Economy

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Folientechnik (IMD, IML, FIM, u.a.)

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Organobleche (gewebeverstärkte Thermoplast-Halbzeuge)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

A Second Life for Plastics

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)

Elektronik

Technische Kunststoffe

Thermoplaste

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

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

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

Verpackungsmaterial

Logistik

Klotz, Karlhorst, Dr.

Internationale Wirtschaft

Verpackungsanlagen

Coilhandling

Kunststoff-Verpackungsmaschine

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

Blasfolienextrusion

Flachfolien- und Plattenextrusion

Folien

Folienblasanlagen

Why Recycled Films Are Not Necessarily Sustainable

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

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

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.

The triumphal march of plastics began back in the day when it became possible to produce long-lasting materials for long-lived applications from perishable natural materials such as natural latex, vegetable oils, casein, and cellulose. However, in the intervening years, the precious long-lived polymer materials have often been used for short-lived products for which there is no guarantee that they will be properly disposed of.

A further factor in the success of plastics is the ability to adjust the polymers’ property profile within wide ranges. Accordingly, polymer manufacturers and converters developed a large number of inexpensive materials of variable properties. But here again, the very success of plastics has more than likely contributed to their downfall at the same time.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the beneficial processing and service properties come with ecological disadvantages and difficulties in environmentally sound disposal. For example, with chemical resistance in use comes lasting durability after use and persistence in the environment; ease of processing and myriad shaping possibilities eventually lead to mountains of waste; and the wide availability of inexpensive grades of materials and additives makes it possible to tailor materials that ultimately hamper high-grade single-polymer recycling.

However, polymer materials will remain key to satisfying human needs in the future, and there is no alternative but to establish a circular economy for plastics. So, it was only logical that the circular economy, the main theme of this year’s K 2019 trade fair, was omnipresent – at almost every booth in almost every hall and in every outdoor space. Discussions centered not so much on whether the circular economy would dominate the plastics agenda in the future. Instead, they had already moved on to the next agenda item, with an emphasis very much on progressive questions as to “how”, “who” and “who with whom”.

There is nothing new about the idea of making plastics recycling a keystone of a circular economy. What is new, though, is an awareness that the responsibility rests not just with the entity doing the recycling or the disposing, but with every link in the value chain (Fig. 1). Instead of going it alone or producing “island solutions”, players from all areas are increasingly joining forces. In this way of thinking, the mantra “design for recycling” only makes sense if the resulting products are indeed recycled and if a product design exists for the resulting recycled materials so that they in turn can be used again.

Many of the platforms over the duration of K 2019, such as the PlasticsEurope booth or the VDMA pavilion, were thronged with players presenting a wide range of solutions for a functioning circular economy. These included specific applications for more recycling-ready designs and the reuse of recycled materials. One example is detergent bottles that derive their color not from the material itself, but rather from shrink-fit sleeves that are easy to remove after use.

Also in evidence were numerous new networks, foundations, alliances and partnerships seeking to journey together away from linear economic thinking and toward a circular economy. These alliances, with the involvement of forward-looking material manufacturers and brand owners, are targeting consumer awareness, waste logistics and politics in particular. Examples of regional and global foundations are the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Oak Foundation and The Ocean Cleanup.

They have all adopted different approaches and touch on different aspects of the circular economy. Since 2014, for example, the Oak Foundation has been working with numerous NGOs such as WWF, Zero Waste Europe, Greenpeace, Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Ocean Conservancy to reduce the number of disposable plastic products, while the Trash-Free Seas Alliance has set up an investment fund to drive waste management and recycling systems in Southeast Asia.

Recycling as an Opportunity for the Plastics Industry

Furthermore, the circular economy is increasingly being viewed as an opportunity that the plastics industry must seize. Consequently, new alliances, company networks and partnerships are being forged among plastics manufacturers, brand owners, waste disposal companies and plastics recyclers with a view to establishing more recycling solutions or, in their capacity as technology leaders, to jointly developing appropriate solutions. Not uncommonly, it is start-ups, flushed with idealism, that are coming up with thought-provoking recycling solutions. Bureo, for example, recycles used fishing nets (Fig. 2).

Material manufacturers are increasingly tackling the end-of-life issues of plastic products, e. g. and revealing approaches that will promote the buildup of waste-logistics systems in developing countries. On the technical side, they are driving various chemical or feedstock recycling techniques. The acquisitions of recycling companies mtm plastics by Borealis, QCP by LyondellBasell and Wipag GmbH by Albis illustrate how material manufacturers are integrating companies engaged in mechanical recycling into their structures.

Digital Solutions for the  Recycling Chain

Manufacturers of clean-up and recycling systems are continually working on optimizing the processes and on more intelligent machines capable of better analyzing the composition of input streams, of using inline diagnostics to reproducibly diagnose the processes occurring inside the machine, and of boosting the quality of the output streams. In addition, traditional machine manufacturers such as KraussMaffei, Reifenhäuser, and Erema have had the courage to step outside their comfort zone by developing new recycling approaches, e. g. trading platforms for suppliers and users of recycled materials (“Polymore”), and cell-phone apps for determining the content of recycled material, the recyclability of packaging (“cheqpass”) and documenting the products’ previous incarnation in the recyclers’ input stream (“R-Cycle”).

Innovative methods are also being further developed alongside plant technology in the field of recycling processes. Research institutes such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV) and recycling companies such as APK are looking into the question of how to broaden the input streams, and are increasingly exploring the recycling of engineering plastics or multilayer films with the use of solvents, i. e. through a combination of physical and chemical process steps aimed at recovering the polymers.

New approaches from research were also presented at the trade show, specifically for marking plastics or packaging. For example, special marking techniques, such as Polysecure’s tracer-based sorting technology for plastics, and printed holograms, make it possible to identify specific products or one’s own material in the waste stream.

Another example of research aimed at optimizing recyclability is IR-compatible inks for coloring plastic products black (Fig. 3). The scientific community is developing black coatings that permit material identification by means of IR spectroscopy. Research is also ongoing in the field of recycling processes, e. g. waterless washing, and mobile recycling plants.

There is also a growing awareness of the need for corresponding quality standards for recycled materials. These are still very patchy at the moment, yet at the same time they also form the basis for quality assessment and for trading in high-quality recycled materials. For this reason, new partnerships are increasingly being formed in this area with the involvement of the scientific community.

This is just a selection from a plethora of positive and inspiring circular economy examples that were presented at K 2019. In summary, it can be said that the recyclability of a plastic product is increasingly evolving into a performance indicator, alongside its mechanical properties, barrier properties or suitability for injection molding. K 2019 showed that not only have politicians and consumers become sensitized, but that the plastics industry too is prepared to grapple with the task of developing recycling concepts just as successfully as it did when developing plastics and their processing technologies over the last 100 years.

With the trade fair now over, it is a matter of taking this positive momentum for sustainable economic activity back home with us. The circular economy represents an opportunity for the plastics industry and for society as a whole, because it will enable the needs of tomorrow to be met as sustainably and economically as possible without any loss of quality of life in either the industrialized or the newly industrializing and developing countries. The industrial nations can and should live up to their role as technology leaders here as well as promote the responsible use of plastics from an ecological and technical point of view.

Leibniz Universität Hannover Institut für Kunststoff- und Kreislauftechnik IKK Fakultät für Maschinenbau

https://www.maschinenbau.uni-hannover.de

Ausgabenartikel

The motto of K 2019, printed on a stand-up pouch

Fig. 1. All links in the value chain are responsible for maintaining the loop between product design and recycling

Fig. 2. In the recycling pavilion run by Erema , an injection molding machine from Engel produced slip boxes from processed fishing nets. The nets came from a collection point in Chile

Fig. 3. In collaboration with Ampacet, Henkel is working on implementing a solution for black plastic packaging that is fully recyclable

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<b> Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Josef Endres</b> is Head of the IKK – Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), Germany;  <a href="mailto:endres@ikk.uni-hannover.de">endres@ikk.uni-hannover.de</a>