MATERIALS | PVC RECYCLING
how quickly hydrochloric acid is produced. The acid produced can be used by industries as
a reagent for other chemical reactions. The chloride ions can also be used to chlorinate small molecules called arenes – which can be used in pharmaceutical and agricultural components. Fagnani says the study shows how scientists might think about chemically recycling other difficult materials.
Bio-attributed PVC In addition to recycling, there is also a move towards making PVC from sustainable sources. Vynova has supplied ‘bio-attributed’ PVC to Nicoll – which it is using in its Hometech silent wastewater evacuation system.
Above: Kömmerling is to begin installing window frames made from ‘bio-attributed’ PVC in the Netherlands this year
The launch is part of the company’s larger PVC In Motion project with sister company Vestolit. The project aims “to find avenues where local process- ing companies separate and clean the material, and then process and ship it to us so we can incorporate into our compounds”.
Phthalates drive recycling Researchers at the University of Michigan in the USA have devised a way to recycle PVC electro- chemically – using phthalate plasticisers within the material to drive the reaction. “PVC is the kind of plastic that no one wants to
Right: US researchers have used phthalate plasticisers within PVC to recycle the material chemically
deal with because it has its own unique set of problems,” said Danielle Fagnani, co-author of a paper on the research in Nature Chemistry. “PVC usually contains a lot of plasticisers, which contami- nate everything in the recycling stream and are usually toxic. It also releases hydrochloric acid really rapidly with some heat.” When PVC is mechanically recycled, the heat used in the process can cause plasticisers to leach out of the material and into the recycling stream, say the researchers. In addition, hydrochloric acid is released – which can corrode equipment and threaten worker safety. To find a way to recycle PVC that did not require
heat, the researchers looked at electrochemistry – and found that the presence of plasticisers helped to improve the efficiency of the process. “We found that it still releases hydrochloric acid,
but at a much slower, more controlled rate,” said Fagnani.
Using electrochemistry – rather than heat – intro- duces an electron into the system, which gives it a negative charge. This breaks the carbon-chloride bond in PVC, producing a negatively charged chloride ion. Controlling the rate at which electrons are introduced into the system helps to control
26 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | July/August 2023
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Nicoll says this will enable it to offer a low-car- bon solution without compromising on quality, durability or performance. Under the agreement, Vynova is supplying
bio-attributed PVC – under its VynoEcoSolutions brand – to Nicoll in France. It is estimated to have a 60% lower carbon footprint than the conventional end product. “This new bio-attributed resin is a logical next step in our sustainability ambitions,” said Benoît Fabre, vice president of Aliaxis France – Nicoll’s parent company. The bio-attributed PVC is produced from biomass feedstock that does not compete with the food chain. The VynoEcoSolutions portfolio also includes circular-attributed and renewable PVC ranges.
Similarly, window profile producer Kömmerling will use a sustainable grade of PVC – made from renewable feedstock – in renovation and construc- tion projects in the Netherlands this year.
IMAGE: INOVYN
IMAGE: DANIELLE FAGNANI
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