MATERIALS | MEDICAL
material include increased lubrication for parts that require smooth, minimum force movement and reduced noise. The material is compatible with hospital disinfectants and resistant to high energy gamma sterilisation without significant changes to its original appearance or physical properties. A silent partner in this partnership conducts the
Above: Solvay is partnering with Ostium Group to target metal replacement in surgical instruments
period from 2022 to 2026. It says the global medical disposables market, which has a current valuation of $385bn, is expected to experience a 7.3% CAGR increase over the forecast period and is projected to hit $510bn by 2026. Plastic materials are expected to assume a 60% market share of the global medical disposables market, says FactMR. Surgical instruments and supplies hold the
largest share of the global market, with continued growth in that sector due to the rapid development of technology and the increasing adoption of minimally invasive treatment. The use of plastics in the healthcare industry has increased due to the accessibility of several types of plastics with a wide variety of qualities, says FactMR.
Recycling initiatives Solvay has formed a partnership project designed to enable the mechanical recycling of end-of-life single-use surgical instruments moulded from its glass-fiber reinforced Ixef polyarylamide (PARA) specialty polymers. The initiative targets recycling, and upcycling of valuable polymers used in healthcare devices. Success of the project will also further promote the replacement of metal surgical instruments with lighter weight designs made from polymer and will help medical facilities reduce their time and cost for sterilisation and disposal, as well as lower their carbon footprint. Ostium Group, a French start-up specialising in the design and manufacture of surgical instruments for hip, knee, shoulder, and trauma orthopedic surgery will supply hospitals with new custom surgical kits made from Solvay’s Ixef PARA polymers. Ostium will also collect the contaminated instruments after use, which are suitable for single-use surgical instruments with moving parts, like stent crimpers and biopharma processing com- ponents with rotating parts. Properties of the PARA
36 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2023
critical recycling steps that allow “customers in the healthcare industry to meet strict regulatory demands while at the same time striving to minimise the carbon footprint of their products and support the reduction of hospitals and clinics’ end-of-life waste,” says Claire Guerrero, Global Marketing Manager, Sustainability at Solvay. Solvay and the partners “identified a gap between these challenges, which prompted us to forge a unique collaboration for developing a breakthrough recycling process for used surgical instruments,” says Guerrero. The partnership includes the team-up with a regionally recognised leader in the treatment and recycling of waste from healthcare activities with infectious risks. The partners developed a dedicated mechanical process to disinfect, clean, sort and mechanically recycle the collected material into a reground PARA compound. Additional processing steps are taken to create a high-quality polymer feedstock that can be used in the production of new polymers. “In this way, end-of-life surgical instruments can become part of a circular ecosystem,” says Guerrero. Controlling every step in the loop, from produc-
tion of the original Ixef PARA material used in the production of the surgical instruments to the upcycled PARA compound, ensured the high quality, purity, and performance for use in demand- ing downstream applications. The recycling process that was developed prevents the disposal and incineration of the high value materials, which is common in medical applications, and makes a significant contribution to a more sustainable polymer economy. Solvay is evaluating upcycling options and how
to integrate the recycled feedstock into new high-performance compounds. Initial tests have shown that the recycled PARA compound provides up to 85% of flexural properties with no loss in excellent surface appearance when compared with the virgin grade, while offering the advantage of a lower carbon footprint. In view of regulations in place in the healthcare
market with constraints on the use of recycled materials, Solvay is targeting open-loop down- stream solutions in which the recycled material will find a second life in high-end markets such as
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IMAGE: SOLVAY
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