Plastics News Europe - October 2019 - 43

K2019 - MATERIALS

A sustainable future
with plastics
As public opinion turns
against plastics, raw
materials manufacturers
and suppliers around the
world have responded
with pledges and
commitments aimed
at accelerating the
transition towards
a more sustainable
industry. At K 2019, this
ambition is reflected in
many of the innovations
being showcased - by
Karen Laird

A

t the joint stand of BOREALIS, BOROUGE and NOVA
CHEMICALS (Hall 6, A43),
solutions will be presented for a more
sustainable future under the motto
'Building tomorrow together', a direct reference to the need for innovation and collaboration along the entire value chain if the transformation
to a circular system is to be achieved.
As the very first virgin polyolefins
producer to be active in the mechanical recycling space, Borealis has developed a technology called Borcycle,
described as a 'tailored set of operations designed to keep polyolefin materials at the highest possible quality
level'. The aim is to produce
high-quality recycled polyolefin compounds by optimising every step of
the entire process - improving the
yield and 'keeping the molecules intact' as Maurits van Tol, Senior Vice
President Innovation and Technology
at Borealis, explained.
While Borouge is active in various
programmes - Water for the World,
Waste-free Environment - Nova
Chemicals is working with converters and brand owners on projects to
develop packaging that more effectively preserves perishable foods and
is easily recyclable. The company is
also examining the use of recyclate
in the use of film and rigid products
traditionally made with 100% virgin
plastics.
INEOS STYROLUTION (Hall 6,
D28), has pledged to use 30% recy-

OCTOBER 2019

Waste plastic sculpture at Borealis

cled content for styrene packaging by
2025. The theme at the K show will
be 'the recycling of styrenics', said
Sven Riechers, Business Management, Standard Products, EMEA. The
company has focused, among others,
on using its compounding knowhow
and modification technologies to develop new recycled ABS grades with
improved aesthetics and other properties. Ineos will be introducing at
least two new Terluran grades - with
30% to 50% recycled content - at
K 2019 that, 'while still black and
grey, will have high gloss,' promised
Riechers. Better sorting technologies
make it possible to 'have a cleaner
input - you can sort out the white,
for example, to use in white applications, and focus on grey and black.
It's a big topic. We are working with
OEMs on a few examples we will
show at K.'
Ineos is also examining ways to
bring bio-feedstock - such as bionaphtha - into the chain.
Hammering home the fact that
regulators, industry and society must
work more closely to drive design for,
and innovation in, the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastics, speciality chemicals company CLARIANT
(Hall 8a, J11) is orchestrating a "Symphony of Collaboration".
Various collaborative sustainability
projects and the products behind
them will be highlighted, including
the launch of a major new company-wide initiative specifically focused

43

on plastics recycling. More will be revealed at K, including new products
for plastic applications based on
mass-balance certification for the usage of renewable polyolefins.
Clariant will launch its new patented oxygen scavenger based on a
new molecule that goes beyond existing solutions for PET. It has proven
highly successful in preliminary customer trials and can address several
challenges, including organoleptic
effects of PET on the contents of the
bottle. In a further drive for collaboration, Clariant is also expanding its
EcoTain sustainability label - currently
awarded to over 200 products that
show outstanding sustainability advantages - to include EcoTain Partnerships. These aim to foster collaboration between at least three partners
in the value chain to create actual
sustainability and business impacts
and advance environmental protection and the circular economy.
Likewise, SABIC (Hall 6, D42) is
highlighting its commitment to circular solutions and reducing plastics
waste under the theme of "Making
a world of difference together". The
company will present packaging
solutions designed to extend the
shelf life of food and other perishable goods and show how it has
applied its materials expertise to
'reduce waste and increase performance'. Another focus will be on

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