PLA – GreenDot Group and Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. have partnered to promote circularity in Europe’s chemicals and polymers market 23-07-2024
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New PLA venture aims to kindle bioplastics industry in MENA region
Production to be launched in Abu Dhabi
From left to right: Dr. Shadi Jabari, Marc Verbruggen – CEO of Emirates Biotech, Shaikh Suhail Ali Saeed
Rashed Al-Maktoum and Hasan Hadi Saad Khalaf at Emirates Biotech headquarters in Dubai, UAE.
The partnership agreement was signed by Theodorus Everwijn on behalf of Global Biopolymers Industries, and by Shaikh Suhail Ali Saeed Rashed Al-Maktoum and Dr. Shadi Jabari, on behalf of SS Royal Kit Emirates Investment, and investment company in the MENA region with interests in a range of different sectors, including biotech.
Emirates Biotech, which has emerged from the former Gulf Biopolyers Industries, plans to build a PLA production facility in the United Arab Emirates. The facility will be located in Abu Dhabi’s KEZAD Free Zone
Eunomia Report: Advanced Sorting for Circularity
A new report by Eunomia Research and Consulting, commissioned by Amcor and Tomra, examines how marker and object recognition sorting technology can enhance circularity and traceability in European plastic packaging recycling.
The report, “Advanced Sorting for Circularity,” concludes that existing sorting technologies can be optimized to improve circularity for many plastic packaging formats. However, for more challenging sorting tasks, object recognition technology is identified as the most cost-effective solution, even surpassing marker technology.
Focusing on the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK, the report identifies polymers and packaging materials that current technologies fail to sort adequately for circularity. It evaluates advanced sorting technologies, including object recognition, chemical markers, and digital watermarks, through detailed cost and performance modeling.
The study emphasizes sorting solutions that provide suitable feedstock for mechanical recycling, producing material for packaging manufacturers.
This is based on the premise that mechanical recycling should be prioritized before considering chemical processes.
Key findings highlight the need for advanced sorting in specific cases affecting circularity. For rigid plastics, advanced sorting is necessary for HDPE and PP applications where current solutions are insufficient. For flexible plastics, advanced sorting might be required for contact-sensitive grades, pending further evidence.
GreenDot Group and Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. have partnered to promote circularity in Europe’s chemicals and polymers market
Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. plans to use this pyrolysis oil in its Market Development Upgrader (MDU) unit, currently being constructed at the Shell Chemicals Park in Moerdijk, Netherlands. This state-of-the-art facility, set to begin operations later this year, will process the oil as part of Shell’s strategy to use more sustainable feedstocks in chemical production.
Vester emphasized that GreenDot’s provision of feedstock and Shell’s upgrading capabilities represent significant progress towards delivering large-scale circular polymers.
Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. will refine the pyrolysis oil to remove impurities, transforming it into cleaner feedstock for circular chemical production. These chemicals will be further processed into polymers suitable for plastic packaging applications, meeting strict standards for animal nutrition, food contact, medical devices, and cosmetics.
Both GreenDot and Shell are exploring future opportunities to supply additional circular chemicals and polymers.
Collaborating with downstream partners and brand owners will highlight the significant role of advanced recycling technologies in meeting the growing demand for recycled materials in food contact products, supporting the EU’s goal of achieving 10% recycled content in contact-sensitive plastic packaging by 2030.
Avantium partners with leading textile innovators to create PEF fabrics for Auping mattresses
Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, announces a strategic collaboration with leading textile innovators Auping, Monosuisse and Antex. This partnership aims to develop PEF-based yarns, to be used in mattresses for Auping. This collaboration demonstrates the broad potential of fibers and yarns made from Avantium’s PEF across different application areas, supporting the introduction of PEF to the everyday life of consumers.
This strategic collaboration brings together the unique strength of each partner. Avantium will spearhead the development, production, supply and recycling of PEF. The textile innovators Monosuisse and Antex will focus on creating PEF-based yarns. Monosuisse will specialize in monofilament PEF yarns, while Antex will supply multifilament PEF yarns. Their expertise ensures high-quality, versatile materials for various textile applications. Auping, renowned for its commitment to quality sleeping solutions, will test the design and manufacturing of mattresses utilizing the PEF-based fabric. These mattresses will combine sustainability with superior comfort.
Recycling Plastics – Protecting Ecosystems
The Hansgrohe Group puts a technical world first into operation: an individually developed recycling process for galvanized plastics
The Hansgrohe Group is using an individually developed recycling process for galvanized plastics at its production site in Offenburg/Elgersweier. The facility, which was developed in cooperation with the plant manufacturer ImpulsTec GmbH, allows the production waste from chrome-plated components to be processed in such a way that the decoated ABS plastic can be used again directly on site to produce new parts.
“With this technical world first, we are closing the material cycle at the site,” says Frank Semling, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Operating Officer of Hansgrohe SE. “Every resource that no longer needs to be extracted, but can be recycled, protects our ecosystems. With this innovative process, we are taking a further step on our path to green transformation.”
On June 14, Frank Semling and Stefan Eisert, Managing Director of ImpulsTec GmbH, ceremoniously opened the new plastic recycling machine in the presence of media representatives, project participants and employees of the plastic injection molding department.
While headlines focus on record jail terms for Just Stop Oil protesters—a move criticized as a “low point for British justice” yet praised by some as a decision by a “judge who spoke for all of us,” per the Daily Mail—an important environmental story has slipped under the radar. PLA
Shell has quietly abandoned its commitment to increasing the ‘advanced recycling’ of plastics, a decision with potentially substantial environmental repercussions.
The energy giant had pledged to enhance its use of “advanced recycling,” promoted by oil and petrol producers as a solution to plastic pollution. This process breaks down plastic polymers into molecules that can be turned into new plastics or synthetic fuels. Since 2019, Shell invested in pyrolysis, the most common advanced recycling method, even producing oil via pyrolysis in a US chemical plant. PLA
“Our ambition is to use 1m tonnes of plastic waste annually in our global chemicals plants by 2025,” Shell announced.
However, by 2023, Shell deemed this goal “unfeasible.”
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