European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling 04-06-2022 - Arhive
European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling
The European plastics industry is tackling challenges on multiple fronts. In packaging, by far its biggest market, it has become a victim of its own success, particularly as the ideal material for single-use applications and people on the move. In building and construction, some infrastructure projects may go on hold as governments divert some funds away from infrastructure projects to defence, although business is being boosted as consumers get help to improve energy efficiency in their houses. In automotive, component suppliers are suffering because car makers have been cutting production – not as a reaction to reduced demand, but because they cannot obtain the chips they need for their electronics.
Since early 2019, COVID-19 has had major effects on production, occasionally positive but mostly negative. And now, just as Europe and the rest of the world was recovering from the devastating two years of the pandemic, we have the tragedy of the Ukraine conflict. European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling
Discussing the situation in late March, Martin Wiesweg, Executive Director Polymers EMEA at consultant IHS Markit, said that, quite apart from causing a humanitarian disaster, the crisis is weighing heavy on the plastics business, in terms of cost inflation, the worsening of supply chain bottlenecks, including energy supply, while also raising the spectre of demand shock amid the fear of global stagflation.
Inflation across the EU hit an all-time high of 7.5% in March. S&P Global Economics said on March 30 that it expects eurozone growth to be 3.3% this year, compared to 4.4% in a previous forecast, and inflation to reach 5% this year and stay above 2% in 2023.
European machinery makers in good shape
The picture is bright with European plastics equipment suppliers. Thorsten Kühmann, Secretary General of EUROMAP, Europe’s Association for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, said in March that member companies’ order books were “filled to the brim. The current year will therefore be another very good year. We expect sales to increase by 5 to 10%.” However, here too, rising prices and now the war in Ukraine are increasing uncertainty.
Dario Previero is president of Amaplast, the association of Italian producers of plastics and rubber machinery and moulds. At the end of last year, he said: “According to our estimates, at the close of 2021 production should be a hair’s breadth from pre-pandemic levels, up 11.5% with respect to 2020. The clear recovery recorded in 2021 gives us good reason to expect performance beyond pre-crisis levels in 2022.” European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling
Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of Reifenhäuser Group and also chair of the K exhibitor advisory board, says the company has “an extraordinarily positive” order backlog for the current year.
-KBR announces investment in Mura Technology to advance the plastics circular economy
KBR, Inc.is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to invest an additional USD100 million in Mura Technology (“Mura”) bringing KBR’s aggregate investment in Mura to 18.5%, said the company.
This investment provides Mura incremental capital to accelerate development of its plastics recycling projects and enables KBR to participate more fully in this sustainability-focused, high growth sector.
Funding is expected in two tranches with the first payment in the quarter ended June 30, 2022 and the remainder in 2023. European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling
“Building on our strong partnership of collaboration and innovation, we are very excited to announce our expanded investment in Mura,” said Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO. “With a strategic approach to commercializing and scaling its proprietary, differentiated plastics recycling solution, Mura is very well positioned for profitable growth and value creation as the plastics circular economy develops and matures.”
Mura’s mission is to commercialize its differentiated plastics recycling solution to enable a plastic-neutral, sustainable future by providing an end-to-end process to convert mixed waste plastic back to high quality chemical feedstocks. Targeting 1,000,000 tonnes of annual recycling capacity in operation or development by 2025, Mura licenses its technology through KBR to a global client base and is also developing its own portfolio of global sites.
In early 2021, KBR entered into an alliance to become Mura’s exclusive licensing partner, broadening the addressable market and customer access for this highly differentiated plastics recycling technology. Together, KBR and Mura have won numerous license awards and feasibility studies. This alliance has also produced advances in process technology innovation such as closed loop power, water recycling, modularization and digital operating solutions. Through this partnership, KBR may also expand its engagement on Mura’s own projects to provide advanced engineering, program management and integration expertise.
A circular economy, in which plastics are reused, remade, and recycled, could slash CO2 emissions by almost 40% across the globe.
Mura’s plastics recycling solution will play a central role in a global circular economy by providing an innovative new way to recycle all forms of end-of-life plastic, many of which would otherwise be incinerated, sent to landfill, or leak into the environment as plastic pollution, helping to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic and cut carbon emissions. European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling
–KBR announces investment in Mura-Technology to advance the plastics-circular-economy
–Sustainable-Nylons from PCR and PIR-Recovery
–Oerlikon-Barmag – Focus On Eccentric-Screw-Pumps And Pumps For Shear-Sensitive Materials
-Overcoming today’s supply chain bottlenecks
–Phillips-66 taps FreeWire-Technologies to support its first EV-charging program in U.S.
–Sabic to Showcase Innovative-Foam and Lightweight-Products at Foam-Expo
–Anaergia biomethane facility to produce 2,190,000 cubic metres of renewable-natural-gas yearly
European-plastics-industry – MURA-recycling