Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging Carbon Footprint 23-11-2021 - Arhive

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Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging Carbon Footprint

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-Flexible packaging still under pressure
FPE reports in the third quarter costs of raw materials and energy at record levels, with limited availability, in the face of a sustained final demand for packaging.
European producers of flexible packaging FPE (Flexible Packaging Europe) notes a slight slowdown in the inflationary pressure on raw materials in the third quarter of the year, compared to the unprecedented trend of the previous quarter; with prices that in any case remain at very high levels.
The continuous interruptions of supply chains, the association reports, are now aggravated by the increase in the costs of auxiliaries (adhesives, inks and solvents) and, above all, of gas and energy, in the face of a sustained demand for flexible packaging.
According to the ICIS survey, the prices of low and high density polyethylene have increased, respectively, by + 72% (LDPE) and + 49% (HDPE) in comparison with the last three months of 2020 and do not seem destined to decline. in the short term, while demand remains high, due to the recovery after the year of pandemic and lockdown.
The findings of Wood Mackenzie – note FPE – highlight, in the third quarter of this year, similar and unprecedented trends for other substrates used in flexible packaging: compared to the end of 2020, the prices of PET films increased by + 24%, those of 20 micron BOPP by + 63% and the prices of 15 micron BOPA recorded an increase of + 30%. And the same goes for aluminum and paper, with costs increased respectively by + 36% (aluminum foil) and + 10% (paper coated on one side), with delivery times doubled, from one to two months from the order.

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging Carbon Footprint

-Oak Hill Capital and CPP Investments Lead the Recapitalization of Berlin Packaging

Oak Hill Capital (“Oak Hill”) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) have entered into a definitive recapitalization agreement with Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (“Berlin Packaging”) to facilitate the next stage of its growth.

The Berlin Packaging management team, including Global CEO and President, Bill Hayes, will make a significant investment in the company alongside Oak Hill and CPP Investments. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

Berlin Packaging is a global supplier of packaging products and services across multiple substrates and end-markets, providing customers of all sizes with solutions to meet their business needs. With annual sales approaching US$2.5 billion, Berlin Packaging is the world’s largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier® of glass, plastic, and metal containers and closures. The company’s unique business model combines the best elements of manufacturers, distributors, and value-added service providers. Berlin Packaging’s range of services includes structural packaging and brand design, sustainability solutions, worldwide sourcing, global warehousing and logistics, and quality and lab testing services.

“We are excited that our relationship with valued investors, Oak Hill and CPP Investments, will continue. We have multiple strategic initiatives underway, including expanding our digital and e-commerce capabilities, increasing our portfolio of sustainable products and solutions, and continuing our track record of accretive acquisitions across the company’s key geographic regions of Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific (APAC). This recapitalization will help accelerate all of those important initiatives,” said Bill Hayes. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging Carbon Footprint

Oak Hill Capital and CPP Investments Lead the Recapitalization of Berlin Packaging

-Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

We take a look at ways you can help reduce your own carbon footprint which will result in reducing greenhouse gasses and help combat climate change.

The question on everyone’s minds is what actually is ‘carbon footprint’ and how can I reduce it to help protect the environment and help combat global warming. Carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

Everyone needs to play their part in helping reduce all the emissions that are being produced. By making a small change in your life you can help reduce emissions. By recycling/reusing 1kg of plastic we can save 1.5kg of CO2.

We take a look at ways you can help reduce your own carbon footprint which will result in reducing greenhouse gasses and help combat climate change.

Always reduce, reuse and recycle

Recycling reduces the need for extracting, refining and processing raw materials all of which create substantial air and water pollution. As recycling saves energy it also reduces the pollution caused by waste. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

Avoid single use plastic

Single use plastic is one of the main culprits of polluting the environment. Plastic pollutes our oceans and land, harms our sea and land animals and takes 450 years to decompose. The less single plastic we use the less demand there will become of it meaning that less will be produced. So, make sure to say no to single use plastics like strats, plastic cutlery, cups bags and any other kinds of plastics when you can.

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

-Closed Loop studies advanced recycling techniques

Recycling investment fund says chemical, or molecular, recycling methods for plastic can “move the needle” on the material’s recycling rate.

New York-based Closed Loop Partners has released a 171-page report designed to examine the potential role of plastic scrap chemical recycling (also referred to as advanced recycling and molecular recycling) “in a circular and safe future for plastics.”

The report, prepared by Closed Loop’s Center for the Circular Economy and titled “Transitioning to a Circular System for Plastics: Assessing Molecular Recycling Technologies in the United States and Canada,” has as its premise that plastics production in North America is set to triple by 2050. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

According to the report, “To move the needle on the 9 percent of plastics currently recycled globally, a suite of solutions must be deployed, first emphasizing reduction and reuse, and also acknowledging the role of recycling in keeping valuable plastics in play for longer and reducing the need for fossil fuel extraction.”

Some producers and users of plastic have increased their investments in mechanical recycling (shredding, washing, extruding and otherwise reprocessing scrap). Some of these same companies also have researched and invested in chemical recycling, which Closed Loop says “refers to a diverse sector, which encompasses dozens of technologies that use solvents, heat, enzymes and even sound waves to purify or transform plastics at the molecular level.”

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

-Will we shift from fossil-based to biobased plastic packaging?

Biobased plastic packaging is capturing market share from traditional petroleum-based plastic packaging. With a number of technologies available or under development, biobased plastic packaging could eventually dominate.

There’s no doubt bioplastics is a growth area. “For example, the biobased polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 68.25% until 2019, per…[Technavio’s] report, Global Biobased Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Market 2015-2019,” says Patrick Krieger, assistant director of regulatory and technical affairs at SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, Washington, DC.

Some biobased plastics such as polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoate are biodegradable; others such as biobased polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and biobased, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are not. However, these biobased versions of traditional petroleum-based resins result in containers and packaging components that are identical in appearance, function and recyclability. As a result, biobased PET, HDPE and PP packaging resins can serve as drop-in replacements for conventional resins.

Whether biodegradable or not, biobased bioplastics offer numerous environmental benefits, including the reduction of carbon footprint and/or global warming potential. “Biobased feedstocks are appealing to some companies and consumers because they reduce reliance on petroleum, capture carbon dioxide, etc.,” says Krieger.

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, GA, has filled more than 35 billion biobased PET containers worldwide since 2009 and is sharing its technology with other brand owners. Coca-Cola’s patented PlantBottle technology converts natural sugars found in plants such as sugarcane and bagasse into the ingredients for making PET. Initially, PlantBottle containers consisted of up to 30% plant-based material, but a 100% plant-based container was showcased in 2015 at the Milan World Expo. It relies on BioFormPX™ paraxylene from Virent, Madison, WI. Far Eastern New Century, Taipei, Taiwan, worked with Virent and Coca-Cola to convert the BioFormPX to bio-PET resin. Whether 30% or 100% plant-based, the PlantBottle containers are identical to traditional PET containers in appearance, function and recyclability. By 2020, Coca-Cola intends to switch all products in PET bottles to PlantBottle containers. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

Another collaborative venture to commercialize 100% biobased PET containers for soft drinks and spirits involves Suntory Holdings Limited, Osaka, Japan, and Anellotech, Pearl River, NY. Suntory currently uses 30% plant-derived materials for its Mineral Water Suntory Tennensui brands.

Will we shift from fossil-based to biobased plastic packaging?

-Radianza™ Fiber Is Now “bluesign® APPROVED”

Radianza™ fibre, the flagship acrylic fibre brand of Thai Acrylic Fibre Company (Aditya Birla Group), is now “bluesign® APPROVED” – making it the first and only acrylic fibre to get this certification. This bluesign® APPROVED certification is another feather in the cap for Radianza™, which is now the only acrylic fibre which has Higgs MSI scores, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study and digital tracking & tracing facility.

The gel-dyeing technology behind Radianza™ is the key driver for its superior sustainability performance. Water pollution and water consumption are two of the biggest environmental problems facing the fashion industry and conventional dyeing processes contribute immensely towards these two problems. In gel-dyeing, the dye is absorbed in the fibre within 4-5 seconds with close to zero discharge of unused dye and minimum requirement of water. The LCA study as well as the MSI scores show significant reduction of environmental impact while using Radianza™ fibre in place of conventional acrylic fibre and processes. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

bluesign® APPROVED articles go through a rigorous certification process by Bluesign Technologies ag – the organization behind the certification – and it certifies that these articles are produced in a resource conserving way with a minimum impact on people and the environment. “We are very proud of getting the bluesign® APPROVED certification for Radianza™ fibre.

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

-ECHA report calls for REACH requirements for chemically recycled materials

A recent report commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has called for further studying of chemical recycling processes for waste rubber and plastics as well as the relevant regulatory issues for each technology to ensure “toxic-free” recycled materials.

In a Nov. 11 statement, the ECHA said the report had found that regulatory issues in chemical recycling are currently not discussed in scientific papers.

The agency stated that the opportunities and challenges posed by REACH and other chemicals, waste and product safety legislation were “specific to each chemical recycling technology.”  Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

As a result, the report recommended that the regulatory issues are studied on a case-by-case basis, separately for each type of chemical recycling technology.

In addition, the report suggested that investigations should be carried out at chemical recycling plants, as there is little knowledge about the abilities of different processes to eliminate substances of concern.

Noting that chemical recycling technologies differ in their potential, the report suggested that specific technologies should be evaluated case-by-case to avoid “false generalizations.”

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

-Techtextil India 2021 Exhibitor Preview: International Technology Group ANDRITZ

International technology group ANDRITZ will present its innovative nonwovens and textile technologies at the booth of its Indian representative PRN Techtex at Techtextil India 2021 in Mumbai, India, from November 25 to 27, 2021 (Hall 7, at DN Associates’ booth A02). A special focus will lie on its technologies for air-through bonding, needlepunch, textile recycling, and processes for biodegradable wipes, like spunlace and Wetlace™.

Andritz air-through-bonding technology – a reliable solution for the hygiene market

Air-through-bonding lines are the preferred choice for producing nonwovens with the best quality of softness and bulk for acquisition distribution layers, top sheets, and back-sheet products. Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging

With ANDRITZ carding machines and the new flat belt oven, customers benefit from high-performance fabrics from 16 to 80 gsm, produced with bicomponent fibers. Several Chinese customers have already invested in ANDRITZ aXcess carding machines, which provide perfect web uniformity. In addition, the CETI (European Center for Innovative Textiles) in Lille, France, has installed an air-through-bonding oven from ANDRITZ. Customers can compare the technical results obtained from two different options: bonding with the flat belt oven or with the drum (both supplied by ANDRITZ).

Textile recycling technologies by Andritz

Recently, ANDRITZ acquired Laroche SAS, a leading supplier of fiber processing technologies such as opening, blending, dosing, airlay web forming, textile waste recycling, and decortication of bast fibers. The product portfolio further complements and increases the ANDRITZ Nonwoven product range. One focus of this product range lies on complete recycling lines for post-consumer and industrial textile waste to produce fibers for re-spinning and/or nonwoven end uses.

Techtextil India 2021 Exhibitor Preview: International Technology Group ANDRITZ

Petrochemicals Biobased Flexible Packaging Carbon Footprint

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