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additives | Recycling Right:


Amorphous PHA from


Metabolix has been used in


these PVC fl oor mats to optimise


performance Metabolix is a biomaterials company focused on Right:


Metabolix’s new amorphous PHA serves as a


process aid and performance modifi er for


wood polymer composite railings


sustainability and has impressed the outside world with its voluntary commitment that enables economic growth and job creation with taking care of the planet’s future,” says Brigitte Dero, VinylPlus general manager. “Further proof of how far we have come is the London 2012 Olympic Games. The organisers specifi ed strict sustainability requirements for materials used. Many tonnes of PVC manufactured in accordance with VinylPlus principles were used in the buildings and some of the PVC was recycled or reused afterwards.” With a reported 20% increase in European PVC recycling in 2013, Max Senechal, vice-president, strategy and commercial development at


Metabolix, believes that VinylPlus and Recovinyl are gradually closing the loop. “Waste collection, of course,


is the starting point for any recycling process,” he says. “This is why Recovinyl was established to motivate


the collection and recycling processes through fi nancial incentives. This strategy proved to be a highly effective way of taking the modest PVC recycling volumes that existed in the pre-Vinyl 2010 EU to an impressive more than 250,000 tonnes a year of post-consumer PVC waste. However, preventing material from being landfi lled is not a sustainable end in itself. To close the loop and preserve resources in a more sustainable system, product manufacturers need to be encouraged to keep increasing the volumes of recyclate that they include in their new products,” Senechal says. “VinylPlus has increased its target for recycling to


800,000 tonnes by 2020. This now includes ex-factory industrial waste as well as post-consumer waste, and has switched its focus to stimulating the re-use of recycled material. The goal is to create a Pull Market where the increase in recycled volume of PVC will be paired with an increase in demand for recyclate. In order to achieve that, Recovinyl will act as a mediator between recyclers and converters by certifying the quality and volume of the recycled PVC that is being produced and purchased,” he says.


48 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2016


delivering sustainable solutions to the plastics industry. Senechal says that the company has developed amorphous PHA (a-PHA) materials suitable for use as process aids and performance additives for PVC. In addition, he says that customers using PVC recyclate have now become interested in the use of Metabolix’s a-PHA materials as additives in formulations. “We see a trend in PVC for use of post-consumer and post-industrial PVC recyclate. The enquiries we are getting at Metabolix involve customers looking for better compatibilisers for successfully incorporating recycled PVC into a virgin PVC matrix, or alternatively full replacement of virgin PVC with PVC recyclate. Our high molecular weight amorphous PHA is highly miscible with PVC and PVC recyclate, therefore acting as an effective compatibiliser. We also see permanence as an issue to address through the prevention of plasticiser migration. Our a-PHA products can provide permanence to a formu- lation because they anchor the components of the formulation, including plasticisers and other additives, to the PVC matrix,” he says.


Senechal adds that amorphous PHA is able to increase the use of PVC recyclate. “We recently


launched a product we call i6002,” he says. “It is an amorphous PHA


that can be used as a process aid and


performance modifi er for PVC and PVC recyclate. We see wide application for our product in PVC applications including fl ooring, wire and cable, and roofi ng. We also see use for i6002 in applications where there is a desire to increase the use of mineral fi ller.”


Flooring is seen as a key market for Metabolix. “We


have been working with several customers on PVC fl ooring applications using our a-PHA additive. Examples include vinyl mats and runners, fl ooring backing, and luxury vinyl tiles (LVTs). We expect this area to expand in the coming years,” says Senechal. “We also have a PHA material called i6003 that has signifi cant potential in extruded rigid construction parts, vinyl siding, and wood polymer composites. These are all areas where there is a trend to use recycled PVC and/or reduce the use of virgin PVC by increasing the use of wood fl our or mineral fi llers.”


Click on the links for more information:  www.nexamchemical.comwww.polyadservices.comwww.4kenrich.comwww.clariant.comwww.vinylplus.euwww.metabolix.com


www.compoundingworld.com


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