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.

170 components in the prototype vehicle have been replaced by recycled plastics

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

From April 13 – 16, 2021 Hanser launches international virtual trade fair D-Expo Circular Economy for professionals with a focus on sustainability, recycling, eco-design, life-cycle, and more.

D-EXPO Circular Economy will take place as a digital event from April 13 to 16, 2021

16:9

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Nachhaltigkeit

Regenerieren

Kunststoff-Regenerate

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Digital Trade Fair for Plastics Sustainability

For a long time, chemical recycling was considered an unfinished addition to established material processes. In the meantime, however, some technologies are making the leap into large-scale industrial use: an overview of the various processes and providers.

Overview of the Various Processes and Suppliers

Polypropylen

Thermoplaste

Polyurethan

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

What Is Happening in Chemical Recycling?

Henkel significantly expands partnership with social enterprise Plastic Bank. The partners opened their first three plastic waste collection centers in Cairo

Henkel and Plastic Bank opened the first three collection centers in Cairo

Polyethylen

Polyethylenterephthalat

Kunststoffhandel

Dienstleistungen

Handel

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Henkel and Plastic Bank Open First Collection Centers in Egypt

A new chemical recycling unit at Borealis production site in Stenungsund, Sweden, is expected to commence operations in 2024.

Aerial view of Borealis production location in Stenungsund, Sweden

More Circular Base Chemicals and Plastic Products

Biodegradable plastics are special polymers designed to biodegrade after use. But conventional granulation equipment cannot handle biodegradable production rejects adequately. The new Bio-Gran technology by CMG Granulators was designed to accomplish this objective.

The range of capacities of the Bio-Gran line spans form 200 kg/h all the way to 2000 kg/h.

Recycling Made Possible with Bio-Gran

LyondellBasell starts commercial production of polymers using raw material derived from plastic waste at its Wesseling site.

The chemical company starts commercial production of polymers using raw material derived from plastic waste at Wesseling

Polymers Made from Plastic Waste

PlasticsEurope plans to significantly increase investment in chemical recycling: from EUR 2.6 billion in 2025 to EUR 7.2 billion in 2030. To further accelerate investments in this key technology and the transition towards a circular economy, the Association calls for a strong policy and regulatory framework.

1.2 million t of recycled plastics is the industry’s target for chemical recycling in 2025. By 2030, this figure is expected to rise to 3.4 million t per year

Verbände, Institutionen, Messen

Verbände

kunststoffe.de

European Plastics Manufacturers Invest in Chemical Recycling

Initial testing of the material at the Ineos Styrolution laboratory did not show any measurable differences to native material.

EU life project ABSolutely Circular: Indaver and Ineos Styrolution announced production of first ABS with recycled styrene

ABS with Recycled Styrene

Fraunhofer Institute Umsicht, Sabic and Procter & Gamble are collaborating on a pilot project for closed-loop recycling of single-use facemasks.

The pilot project with Sabic and Procter & Gamble demonstrate the feasibility of closed-loop recycling for single-use facemasks

Technik Trend

kunststoffe-international.com

Recycling of Single-Use Facemasks

PreZero, division of Schwarz Group, is planning the acquisition of Ferrovial’s waste disposal and recycling business in Spain and Portugal and thus will be active on the Iberian Peninsula for the first time.

PreZero is planning the acquisition of Ferrovial’s waste disposal and recycling business in Spain and Portugal

Contract Conclusion between PreZero and Ferrovial

A new process developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP is able to isolate carbon black ash recovered from old tires – allowing both the carbon black and the minerals from the ash to be reused.

Top, primary product from left to right: raw rCB, clean rCB (96+), pearlized clean rCB (96+). Bottom, secondary products recovered from the ash, from left to right: liquid sodium silicate or “water glass”, precipitated SiO2, precipitated ZnSO4

Pigmente

Additive

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Farbstoffe

Carbon Black Recycled from Car Tires

The circular economy, electromobility and the continuing corona pandemic are influencing color selection for plastics. Kunststoffe asked colorant manufacturers about the resulting color trends. We also wanted to know what effects the increased use of recyclates is having and the extent to which manufacturers are affected by the present supply bottlenecks.

Trend Report on the Coloration of Plastics

Masterbatches

Streifinger, Florian

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farben, flüssig

Colored Mood Enhancers

Both the quantity of recycled plastics waste and of processed recyclates is continually increasing. However, there are still difficulties with the quality of the recycled plastics, which are impeding replacement of virgin material. In recent years, machinery manufacturers and plastics producers have introduced various further developments that improve the properties of recyclates as well as eliminate unpleasant odors and contaminants.

Plastics recycling is a laborious process. For the recycled material to have the necessary quality, it must first be sorted into the different plastics

Overcoming Difficulties in Plastics Recycling

Extruder

Extrusionsanlagen

Trockner

Waschen und Entfetten

Trockner, Granulat-

Sortierer

Inspektion, Analyse und Sortierung von Rohmaterial

QualitÃ¤tssicherung

QualitÃ¤tssicherung Kunststoff

The Long Road to a Circular Economy

The plastics industry has a variety of materials and technologies available for significantly reducing the ecological footprint of products. There are very few applications for which it is not possible to replace at least a portion of the fossil material with recyclates or bioplastics. Various methods, standards and software tools are available to determine what savings this can achieve.

Determining CO2 Savings from Recycled Materials and Bioplastics

Simulation

Software

Normen / Standards

Recht allgemein / sonst.

Biokunststoffe

Reducing the CO2 Footprint

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

Name - Hauptartikel

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Josef Endres 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>