MATERIALS | RECYCLED CONTENT
Mass balance approach explained
The mass balance approach is employed by companies around the world, including a number of plastic producers, for chemical recycling of post-industrial and post-consumer waste. With this approach, recycled raw materials are incorporated into production together with the petro- chemical or mineral feedstocks commonly used normally and then
arithmetically allocated to the end-product. The basic principle is similar to the way in which environmentally friendly electricity or gas is fed into the electricity grid or gas network. The amount of sustainably produced energy in the electricity grid rises with demand, although it is not possible to make any physical distinction be-
Below: Lanxess has introduced a new Dure- than ECO polyamide product range featuring fibres from waste glass
recycling of used plastic and certified renewables products from bio-based feedstock. Typical applica- tions for the portfolio will include consumer electron- ics and accessories such as chargers and adapters, printers, copiers and laptop housing. SABIC is also involved with Plastic Energy to construct a first commercial unit to produce Trucircle polymers. The facility will be based in Geleen, The Netherlands and is expected to become operational in the second half of 2022. The project will be realised under a 50-50 joint venture called SPEAR (SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling) and is being executed with a Top Sector Energy Subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands. As part of the project’s market foundation stage, SABIC has worked together with Plastic Energy and leading customers and converters to produce and commercialise certified circular polymers since early 2019. The new unit will enable SABIC to upscale production significantly, it says. Plastic Energy’s Thermal Anaerobic Conversion technol- ogy converts low quality, mixed plastic waste into a feedstock called Tacoil. This is produced in the new commercial unit and will be used by SABIC in its production process as an alternative to traditional
tween the sources of energy at single-household level.
One point in the mass balance
method’s favour is that the character- istics of the finished product – such as a polyamide compound reinforced with recycled waste glass fibres – are identical to those of virgin quality material, so the method sidesteps performance concerns.
fossil raw materials for polymers. Lanxess has introduced a new Durethan ECO polyamide product range featuring fibres from waste glass. The company says that it is increasingly making use of recycled raw materials in the production of its thermoplastic compounds and composites. Durethan ECOBKV30H2.0, ECOB- KV35H2.0 and ECOBKV60XF are the most recent examples of products made in line with this strategy. Recycled fibres manufactured from waste glass make up 30, 35 and 60% by weight respec- tively of these three new PA 6 compounds. Ecocy- cle, an independent inspection company, has examined the amount of recycled material in each compound and the long-term use of the glass waste stream using the mass balance method and awarded an Ecoloop certificate in accordance with ISO 14021:2016. The glass comes from PIR waste left over from glass fibre production. The Lanxess High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit’s primary target for the three new compounds is the automotive industry. “For instance, Durethan ECOBKV60XF offers exception- al strength and rigidity, which makes it suitable for manufacturing structural components such as front ends, pedal bearing brackets and A-, B- and C-pillars, as well as lightweight battery trays for electric vehicles,” says Guenter Margraf, Global Product Manager.
HPM is going to be gradually increasing the number of ECO product types certified in accord- ance with the mass balance method. For example, it is planning to launch a new PA 6 with a glass fibre content of 30% and a reduced carbon footprint. The caprolactam required to produce this more environmentally friendly PA 6 is based on a selection of petrochemical raw materials which support this concern. HPM is not currently using PCR waste glass fibres but says it does view them as a particularly sustainable raw material for use in manufacturing new glass fibres.
36 INJECTION WORLD | April 2021
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IMAGE: LANXESS
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