RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 17-11-2021 - Arhive

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RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

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-Relief Unlikely in PET and rPET Markets in 2022

The North American PET market can’t catch a break, while high demand from brand owners makes rPET hard to find.

For much of 2021, the ability to source packaging resins has been challenged unlike most years before. Much to the relief of many packagers’ procurement departments, finding polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in North America has become much easier as autumn gets set to transition into winter. Even a few resin sales teams are probably happy with a less stressful end to 2021 on tap, even if that ends up cutting into profit margins a tad thanks to declining PE and PP prices.

Those dealing in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market still need to take their stress balls to the negotiating table, and if they are also talking recycled PET (rPET), they might need to take along their favorite lucky charm as well.

While sustained increased production has bolstered PE and PP supplies, the North American PET market has had a difficult time catching a break and has been beset by sustained robust demand, upstream production issues such as a current force majeure from a Mexico PET producer and one in recent months from a US producer, and then the backbreaker — high logistics costs on imported PET from Asia.

Unlike PE and PP, North America absolutely needs PET from a region such as Asia to meet demand on this continent. Normally that is not an issue, but these are not normal times. Container rates from Asia to the US West Coast are adding upwards of another 50 cents/pound to Asia-sourced PET and leading to overall higher prices in the PET market. That is how you end up with a price graph like the one below that is severely averse to downward trajectories.

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

-Adipec 2021: Adnoc and Borealis sign $6.2bn partnership to expand Borouge’s output

Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5-million-tonne ethane cracker, two Borstar polyethylene plants and a cross-linked polyethylene plant

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Austrian chemicals producer Borealis have signed a $6.2 billion partnership agreement for the development of the fourth unit of a polyolefin manufacturing complex in the UAE’s downstream hub of Ruwais.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and the executive committee of the board of directors of Adnoc, witnessed the signing of the agreement.

“Adnoc and Borealis’ significant investment in the fourth expansion of Borouge ensures the long-term and sustainable supply of core materials to critical sectors vital to both the UAE and global economy,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnot RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

“This expansion will see Borouge become the world’s largest single-site polyolefin complex, as it continues to play an integral role in the development of Ta’ziz, enhancing local industrial supply chains and boosting in-country value opportunities,” he added.

Last year, Adnoc and industrial holding company ADQ announced plans to work on projects worth $5bn within the Ruwais Derivatives Park.

The joint venture, Ta’ziz, will look to invest in chemical projects worth $3bn, with $2bn expected to be spent on the development of port and infrastructure facilities in Ruwais.

Adipec 2021: Adnoc and Borealis sign $6.2bn partnership to expand Borouge's output

-On packaging recycling, EU aims to close the loop

Not all recycling is equal. As the European Commission prepares to revise the EU’s packaging waste directive, policymakers want to remove degradation and waste from the process.

As consumers, when we put our recycling bags in the bin or out on the street, that’s the last we hear of them. We trust that the effort we’ve taken to sort and dispose of our waste means that this material will be recycled and used in another product.

But that’s not always how it works.

How effective the recycling is depends on how closed the recycling loop is. With open loop recycling, a product is recycled but has to be mixed with new raw materials in order to become a new product, typically leading to downcycling – where the recycled product is of an inferior quality to the original. RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

With closed loop recycling, packaging is collected and recycled into new packaging, or converted back to a raw material, without mixing or downcycling. This loop can be performed indefinitely, without losing its properties during the recycling process.

Closed-loop recycling is obviously preferable from both an efficiency and an environmental standpoint. However, it isn’t always possible. The question confronting policymakers is, how closed can we get the loop with various waste streams?

Last year the European Commission launched a Circular Economy Action Plan as one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. The wide range of proposals listed in there are set to influence almost every aspect of our lives, by ensuring that products and materials we see everywhere – from home to office, or school and doctors’ clinics – are brought into a circular process of reuse and recycling.

Part of the EU action plan is an upcoming review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) that will aim to ensure that “all packaging on the EU market are recyclable or reusable in an economically viable way by 2030”. It will build on the last revision of the directive that set new recycling targets for packaging, measuring the actual recycling of packaging materials – not just collection rates.

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

-Primaloft backing for Plastics Biodegradation Laboratory

Establishing a centre for the validation of new biodegradable fibres and technologies.

UMass Dartmouth has received a $739,936 award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to support the development of a new research and development laboratory in New Bedford to study biodegradable and ocean-safe plastics.

The new Plastics Biodegradation Laboratory will enable efficient testing of plastic biodegradation, helping address the significant waste caused by traditional plastics used in textiles, packaging and other products that accumulate in the ocean and other water resources.  RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

The state grant was awarded by the Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant programme, an effort managed by the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), and will be paired with $1 million in match funding, more than $450,000 from private industry partners, including leading advanced materials companies such as PrimaLoft.

The Commonwealth’s capital investment will fund new lab equipment which will address material biodegradability and its environmental impact, specialising in the ocean impacts, and advancing the development of new, environmentally-sensitive products.

In addition to PrimaLoft, partners on the project include Radical Plastics of Beverly, Paramount Planet Product, UMass Boston, UMass Lowell, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Boston-based SeaAhead, and the US Army Soldier Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center.

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

-Morrisons to co-own world-leading soft plastic recycling site in UK

Morrisons will become the first supermarket to own its own recycling operations through the acquisition of a significant stake in a new recycling site in Fife. The site will reprocess ‘hard-to-recycle’ soft plastics. Uniquely within the industry, Morrisons already owns 18 of its own food making sites. RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

Morrisons has also committed that by 2025, it will recycle and reuse the equivalent amount of plastic it puts on to the market within its own recycling facilities, to develop greater recycling in the UK. It has already announced it will reduce its own brand plastic packaging by 50 per cent by the same year.

The Fife site is the first of its type in the world. It is co-owned and being constructed by recycling plant specialists Yes Recycling. The plant will turn hard-to-recycle flexible food packaging into plastic flakes, pellets and boards. At current capacity, the site will take 15,000 of tonnes of flexible plastic packaging a year*.

The hard-to-recycle soft plastic – including chocolate wrappers, crisp packets, and food film – will be sent to the site from Morrisons distribution sites**, and by Cireco Scotland to process kerbside collection material. In the past this material may have gone to landfill or been incinerated for energy.

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

-Upcoming Event Looks into Ongoing Role of Plastics in Automotive Industry

On 17 November 2021 the British Plastics Federation (BPF) is hosting its annual seminar looking at plastics in automotive applications.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Senior Supply Chain Manager Luke Hampton will begin Plastics in Automotive 2021 by providing an overview of the current situation in the automotive sector, exploring current trends and developments.

He will be followed by Ian Ray, head of the BPF’s Automotive Forum and subject matter expert for plastics, injection moulding and process for cockpit CoC cockpit systems at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Ray will explain JLR’s plans for the future and how this relates to the plastics industry. RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

Andrew Mills, principal research fellow in composites manufacturing at Cranfield University’s Enhanced Structures and Composites Centre will explore the impact of legislative changes and policies from major players in the automotive sector and how this may impact lightweighting technology.

Birmingham University’s Professor of Business Economics David Bailey will provide insights into the future of automotive trade in the EU. Dan Jarvis, technical business development manager at Plastribution, will then discuss the car interior of the future and what plastics manufacturers should consider planning for.

TH Plastics Managing Director Lee Thomas will explain the merits of an innovative new drying system and how this improves injection moulding efficiency before Paul Mayhew, general manager at MBA Polymers, looks at the current state of the market for recycled content in the automotive industry and what the future may hold.

-SABIC debuts at Automotive Tech Week 2021, colorable, PTFE-free LNP™ LUBRILOY™ N2000 compound to reduce BSR noise

SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, launched today at Automotive Tech Week 2021 LNP™ LUBRILOY™ N2000 compound, a new internally lubricated material that helps prevent buzz-squeak-rattle (BSR) noise in automotive interiors. Showcased here at the company’s booth (#330), the new LNP compound is based on an amorphous blend and offers both molded-in color capability and paintability. The proprietary, compatibilized olefinic alloy is free of silicone and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). By replacing standard PC/ABS with this innovative, drop-in material, automotive OEMs and tiers can significantly reduce friction and stick-slip behavior between molded parts to limit or prevent unwanted noise. RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable 

“A quiet, smooth ride is a hallmark of automotive quality and luxury, but cabin sounds can be more noticeable in electric and hybrid vehicles due to the absence of source noise from their powertrains,” said Ed Williams, senior product manager, LNP Compounds, SABIC. “Our new LNP LUBRILOY N2000 compound is highly effective at limiting buzz-squeak-rattle noise and eliminates the need for secondary applications such as felts or tapes. This latest material innovation helps our customers provide a more enjoyable driving experience for consumers.”

Excellent Wear and Friction Performance

SABIC’s proprietary lubricating technology is based on a fully compatibilized olefinic alloy. It enables the LNP LUBRILOY N2000 compound to deliver a low coefficient of friction (COF) and excellent wear performance in plastic parts moving over metal and plastic surfaces.

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

-New EPS recycling trial launched

A new initiative from the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) aims to promote and boost the amount of expanded polystyrene that is collected and recycled at its eight reuse and recycling centres – RRCs – across north London.

The result of a partnership between NLWA, the British Plastics Federation BPF, NLWA-owned LondonEnergy Ltd, and Greenbank Recycling Solutions, the initiative saw the launch of a new trial on 8 November 2021, when NLWA added polystyrene to the list of 29 waste streams that get recycled at RRCs. Greenbank has provided the onsite compactors being used in the trial and is also managing the processing of the material.

Each year across the UK over 10,000 tonnes of polystyrene is thrown away. EPS is fully recyclable but because it is 98% air it provides unique challenges when it comes to collecting and reprocessing the material. Although it is light, it is also bulky, so the NLWA is urging north London residents to participate by bringing their unwanted polystyrene to one of the participating RRCs.

Currently in the UK, 54% of the material is recycled. With the implementation of initiatives like this one, it is far more of it will be able to be collected from UK households.

The reprocessed material from the scheme will be made into insulation panels for use in construction. These panels decrease running costs and carbon emissions from buildings, as well as reducing the use of virgin material. At the end of their life the panels can be recycled again, making the process truly circular. The recycled material can also be used to make products like coat hangers, toys and picture frames.

However, up until now, the only solution was to dispose of EPS through energy from waste – in other words, incineration, said Chair of NLWA, Cllr Clyde Loakes, “But this new recycling infrastructure will enable us to manage it efficiently and with less impact to the environment.” RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

RPET Plastic Recycling Automotive Biodegradable

Plastic Barrier CrudeOil Additive 16-11-2021