NEWS


Collect all flexible packaging waste in Europe, says Ceflex


Ceflex, the large-scale European consortium for flexible plastics packag- ing recycling, has issued a new position statement regarding collection of waste. This position statement is part of an ongoing alignment on key issues among the Ceflex stakeholders. More than 300 stakeholders took part in a process from September 2020 to February 2021 involving two webinars, interviews and two-day workshop, to agree the statement. There are four main elements in the


Ceflex position statement regarding collection in European countries: n All flexible packaging must be targeted for collection and sorting, including on-the-go packaging; especially in those few countries where


SK Global invests in


Loop SK Global Chemical (SKGC), a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Group, has taken a 10% stake in Canadian PET depoly- merisation technology company Loop Industries. The two companies have also signed an MoU to form a 51-49 joint venture to build four facil- ities throughout Asia. SKGC’s investment amounts to a total of $56.5m. The first tranche will be used to help fund construction of Loop’s Infinite Loop manufactur- ing facility Bécancour in Québec. � www.skglobalchemical.com � www.loopindustries.com


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it is not yet collected, like the UK n Flexible plastic packaging should be collected as a separate stream or with other light packaging and not mixed with paper, board or glass, to maximise recycling quality n Additional sorting of flexible packaging from mixed waste is likely


necessary to access all flexible packag- ing materials and enable circularity n Ceflex and its stakeholders aim to work with the national authorities and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes to develop effective collec- tion systems that allow for these materials to be sorted and sent for recycling. The ongoing work of Ceflex includes a study of economic and environmental collection costs in selected countries, in collaboration with Suez and the MARECIE Mapping Recyclability in Europe work, and a study of recycling infrastructure and EPR schemes, in collaboration with Flexible Packaging Europe and Recyda. � https://ceflex.eu


Coperion supplies lab line for chemical recycling


Coperion has supplied a ZSK 18 Megalab twin-screw extruder to Ghent Univer- sity, in Belgium, for research into chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste. The machine, which


offers a throughput of up to 10 kg/h, is equipped with a Coperion K-Tron feeder and


vacuum unit. According to Coperion, its twin screw extruder technology is particularly well suited for chemical recycling of plastics and can typically produce a homogenous and devolatilised melt with a temperature of up to 350°C within 30s.


In the Ghent R&D


programme, the prepared polymer is delivered to a reactor, where it is further heated to 500°C. This results in pyrolysis leading to a broad mixture of liquid and gaseous phase hydrocar- bons. � www.coperion.com


Rewind Mix removes impurities


Repsol and its partners Axens and IFPEN have developed a new process for chemical recycling of plastics waste that is claimed to remove challeng- ing impurities. Developed at the Repsol Technology Lab and IFPEN


PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2021


facilities using Axens’ industrial technologies and catalysts, the Rewind Mix process is said to remove impurities such as silicon, chlorine, diolefins and metals from the mixed plastic waste to produce pyrolysis oils that can be fed


direct and undiluted into petrochemical units. The partners now intend to trial the process, which will be licensed by Axens, on an industrial scale in a Repsol facility. � www.repsol.com � www.axens.net


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: CEFLEX


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