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Features 10 Building – The building and construction industry, which accounts for a significant amount of final energy consumption and carbon emissions, could use carbon capture technologies to create new materials from its own carbon output 16 Engineering Plastics – Advancement of engineering plastics that are recyclable, reusable, and made from recycled materials is bringing circularity at the forefront of the material development agenda
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German machine manufacturer Arburg is evaluating climate protection activities for its customers across the entire value chain as it investigates how to calculate the PCF and specific energy requirements of its machines With recycling technologies and certified circular materials, advanced material manufacturers and global brands are collaborating to close the loop in packaging Austrian machine maker Engel, in collaboration with partners, has a new processing method for rPET in thinwall moulding In this interview, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Josef Endres, head of the IKK at Leibniz University Hannover looks at recycling and the lack of higher quality recyclates Faced with volatile sales, Malaysian glove makers are challenged to think outside the box in order to strengthen resiliency, boost competitiveness, meet growth targets, and maintain a healthy cash flow In the lead-up to the K2022 in October, industry association VDMA provides an interview with Daniela Dingfelder, COO of Deguma-Schuetz, on the potentials of recycling rubber PRINT/DIGITAL
A S l A’ S L E A D l N G m A G A z l N E f o r thE pLAStlcS AND rubbEr lNDuStry
Angelica Buan
Stephanie Yuen
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On the Cover Carbon capture technologies provide a circular solution for carbon-intensive industries seeking to achieve netzero emissions
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JUNE 2022
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Industry News
M&As/Tie-ups/Investments •
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German speciality chemicals company Lanxess and private equity firm Advent International will acquire the DSM Engineering Materials business (DEM) from Dutch materials group DSM for EUR3.7 billion, which will become part of a new joint venture that will also merge operations of Lanxess’ own high-performance materials business. DSM is also merging with Swiss peer Firmenich. Materials firm Borouge, a joint venture between UAE’s Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) and Austrian chemical producer Borealis, has successfully closed its US$2 billion initial public offering, the biggest to be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), with demand for the IPO topping almost US$83.4 billion, an oversubscription level of almost 42 times. After the listing, Adnoc will own 54% of the company, while Borealis will control 36% Malaysia-based Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) is to acquire the entire equity interest in Swedish materials firm Perstorp Holding from Financière Forêt Sarl, a company under private equity firm PAI Partners, for a JUNE 2022
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base purchase price of EUR1.5 billion, based on an enterprise value of EUR2.3 billion minus adjusted net debt of EUR762 million. •
US material supplier Geon Performance Solutions, a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners, has acquired US PVC compounder Cary Compounds. The deal is the second for Geon in six months – in December 2021, it bought Roscom Inc.
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CBD Global Sciences has executed a binding letter of intent with Pure Vision Technology for the 100% acquisition of US-based Pure BioPlastics.
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Thailand-based Indorama Ventures has completed the 97.8% share acquisition of Vietnamese PET packaging firm Ngoc Nghia Industry for 3 billion baht. It has four facilities in Vietnam with a total capacity of 5.5 billion units of PET preforms, bottles, and closures, totalling 76,000 tonnes/year of PET conversion. Indorama Ventures has also fully acquired a 100% stake in Brazil- based Oxiteno, formerly a subsidiary of Ultrapar Participações.
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Viva Energy Group is to acquire LyondellBasell Australia (LBA), a Geelong-based polymer manufacturer and distributor.
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Celanese Corporation has completed the restructuring of Korea Engineering Plastics, a joint venture owned 50% by Celanese and 50% by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company. It will allow Celanese greater access to OEMs in Asia, as well as more direct participation in key markets outside China. Hungarian petchem firm MOL Group has acquired ReMat, a recycler with production plants located in Tiszaújváros and Rakamaz, Hungary, and a logistics hub in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes/year. US materials firm Dow and Swiss recycling firm Plastogaz, a spin-off from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), have tied up to simplify the process of converting plastic waste to feedstock. SCG Chemicals is to acquire a 70% stake in Portuguese recycler Sirplaste, to boost manufacturing capacity while also marking its entry into PCR markets in Portugal and Europe, in line with its goal of producing 1 million tonnes/year of green polymers by 2030. Israel's largest petrochemicals group Bazan (formerly Oil Refineries) has bought control of VPM Plast,
which specialises in post-industrial recycling, in a deal that valued the company at US$12 million. •
Swiss composites firm Gurit has acquired a 60% share of Danish manufacturer of pultruded carbon and glass fibre products used in the wind blade production, Fiberline Composites, for CHF58 million.
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Investment firm H.I.G. Capital is to sell its portfolio company Valtris Specialty Chemicals to an affiliate of funds managed by SK Capital Partners. Valtris is a US manufacturer of specialty polymer additives and specialty chemicals.
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Italian materials firm RadiciGroup has acquired the engineering plastics business of India’s Ester Industries for US$37 million. Ester has a strong market presence in polyester packaging films, a business the Indian firm intends to continue and strengthen.
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Borealis and material recovery management firm Reclay Group have set up a joint venture, Recelerate GmbH, to focus on improving sorting of postconsumer lightweight plastic packaging (LWP) for recycling.
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South Korea’s LG Chem will enter into a
INDUSTRY NEWS US$434 million joint venture with Chinese miner Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to strengthen its supply of raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. Planned for 2025, Huayou will acquire a 49% stake in the joint venture that will produce nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminium. •
Shokubai and French materials firm Arkema are in a joint venture for an industrial plant for the production of LiFSI (Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide) ultrapure electrolyte salts, a key component of battery cells for electric mobility. •
Japanese catalyst supplier Nippon
German private equity firm Mutares SE & Co. is to acquire the plastic
parts business of Mann+Hummel to strengthen its automotive and mobility segment. In addition, the companies have agreed on a manufacturing cooperation, which will contribute to the total revenues of EUR500 million. •
Plant Expansions/Set-ups •
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NextChem has completed the construction of the first demo plant in Chieti, Italy, for the chemical recycling of PET and polyester from textiles, as part of the European Union’s DEMETO project. Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical has constructed at its Chiba Works, Japan, a pilot facility to manufacture ethylene using renewable ethanol as a raw material, from ethanol produced from waste by Sekisui Chemical, as well as from bioethanol derived from biomass, such as sugarcane and corn. German materials firm Covestro is expanding its production capacities for Platilon TPU films, as well as associated infrastructure and logistics, in its
German centre in Bomlitz, Lower Saxony. Covestro has also launched the production of Desmodur 15 prepolymers at its Spanish site of Barcelona. •
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Dow is expanding its alkoxylation capacity in the US and Europe to meet increasing demand across a wide range of fast-growing endmarkets where the company is delivering 10% to 15% annual growth rates, from home and personal care to industrial and institutional cleaning solutions and pharmaceuticals. Asahi Kasei Europe has opened a new Foam Lab at its R&D Centre in Düsseldorf, Germany as part of its expansion of its SunForce family of particle foams,
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French construction firm Saint-Gobain will acquire Canadian
made of modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE) and PA. •
India’s Cosmo Films is setting up a US$18 million CPP film production line at Aurangabad with a capacity of 25,000 tones/ year. It is expected to commence commercial production in two years.
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CJ BIO, a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang, has begun manufacturing PHA at a newly commissioned 5,000-tonne facility located in Pasuruan, Indonesia. CJ BIO, which acquired US firm Metabolix biopolymer assets in 2016, will produce amorphous PHAs (a-PHAs).
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family-owned manufacturer of exterior building materials Kaycan for US$928 million in cash, to reinforce its leadership in light and sustainable construction.
Materials firm Milliken & Company is expanding the additives capacity it acquired last year
Technology firm KBR has invested an additional US$100 million in UK-based recycler Mura Technology bringing its share to 18.5%.
via its purchase of German additive/ blowing agent maker Zebra-chem GmbH, at the Bad Bentheim plant by 60% by yearend. Milliken is also starting up its new clarifier plant in Blacksburg, US, to increase production capacity of its Millad NX 8000 PP clarifier by more than 50%. Meanwhile, it has also made a significant investment in the coating additives laboratory it acquired in 2020 as part of its purchase of Borchers Americas, in Westlake, Ohio. •
German speciality chemicals firm Evonik has invested a doubledigit million euro sum to increase production capacity for isobutene derivatives at its Marl location.
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Italy’s Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, is licensing its proprietary continuous JUNE 2022
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Industry News
mass technology to Shandong Eco Chemical, a Chinese company part of Shandong Haike Holding, for a 210 kilotonnes/year ABS unit to be built in Dongying, Shandong province. •
Perstorp is expanding capacity of around 70,000 tonnes/year for production of carboxylic acids by 2024, to meet growing demand in various applications, including nonphthalate plasticisers for PVC, engineered fluids for applications such as refrigeration lubricants.
Netherlands-based LyondellBasell has licensed its EVA and LDPE technology to China’s Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical for its facility located in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, China. The Lupotech process technology will be used for both a 100 kilotonne/ year autoclave and a 300-kilotonne/ year tubular line. Furthermore, an additional 400 kilotonnes/year tubular line producing LDPE homo polymers will be built at the same site. LyondellBasell has also licensed its Lupotech PE technology to Jiangsu Hongjing New Material for two 200 kilotonnes/year EVA lines, located in the
Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province. •
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JUNE 2022
German firm Röhm is adding on capacities for its impact-resistant Plexiglas PMMA in Worms (Germany) and Shanghai (China). A new section has also been added to a plant producing impact-resistant Plexiglas Resist special moulding compounds in Worms. Australian firm Worley has been awarded a FEED contract by Trinseo for its firstof-a-kind chemical recycling plant in Belgium, Europe. The 15-kilotonne/year plant will use gasification technology to depolymerise postconsumer PS waste into pure styrene and is planned to begin by year-end.
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US firm Encina is building a US$1.1 billion recycling manufacturing facility, processing 450,000 tonnes/year of recyclable plastic materials, near its existing Strong Industries plant.
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US supplier of instrumentation Thermo Fisher Scientific recently inaugurated its new R&D and Engineering facility in Hyderabad, India.
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Austrian recycling machinery maker Erema has broken ground at its site in
Ansfelden to start work on a new R&D centre, in line with its strategy of allocating 5% of its turnover into R&D. Two halls with a total area of 1,550 sq m and a new office building with 50 workplaces will be built. Completion is scheduled for February 2023. •
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Xycle, a joint venture of NoWit, Patpert Teknow Systems and Vopa, will commence construction of a plant in the port of Rotterdam that will convert 20,000 tonnes/year of non-mechanically recyclable plastic. For this purpose, the Rotterdam Port Authority has leased a site at Rijndwarsweg in Europoort to Xycle. Process technology firm Lummus Technology and its Swiss catalyst partner Clariant have been awarded a major contract by Fujian Meide to supply Catofin technology and catalysts for a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Fuzhou, China. Already operating one PDH unit at its Fuzhou petrochemical complex, Fujian Meide is now building one of the largest PDH units in the world, producing 900,000 tonnes/ year of propylene and scheduled to commence in 2023.
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Borouge has awarded Australian engineering firm WorleyParsons the project management contract for its Ruwais petrochemicals complex. The complex will include the world’s largest mixed feed cracker with an estimated 1.8 million tonnes/year of ethylene output and a production capacity of 3.3 million tonnes/ year of olefins and aromatics using a variety of feedstocks.
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Chemical firm Sabic has started the precommissioning activities at its jointly owned US$1.7 billion PC production complex in the Tianjin Binhai New Area of China. The project is developed by Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC), a joint venture between Sabic and state-owned oil major Sinopec. Phase One of the project, with a capacity of 1 million tonnes/year of ethylene, began production in 2010.
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Chinese petchem supplier and one of the world’s largest producers of PU chemicals Wanhua Chemical is to invest US$3.6 billion to build a chemical complex in Penglai, China, by 2024. The project will comprise a PDH plant with 900,000 tonnes/ year of capacity and will also make
INDUSTRY NEWS propylene oxide, polyether polyols, ethylene oxide, acrylic acid, PP, and other products. •
Oil/gas firm TotalEnergies and recycler New Hope Energy are in a commercial agreement under which New Hope Energy will build a 310,000-tonne/year advanced recycling plant in Texas to transform end-of-life plastic waste into a recycled feedstock that TotalEnergies will partly purchase and convert into virginquality polymers, for food- grade packaging.
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German chemical firm BASF and Sinopec’s 50:50 joint venture BASF-YPC Co. is expanding in Nanjing including new capacities of several downstream chemical plants. The partners will expand the production capacities of propionic acid, propionic aldehyde, ethyleneamines, ethanolamines and purified ethylene oxide, and build a new tert-butyl acrylate plant. The expanded and new plants are planned to come on stream by the end of 2023. Japanese chemical firm AGC is to
increase the production capacity of AGC Vinythai Public Company (to be established in July 2022 for AGC’s chlor-alkali business in Thailand). The 100 billion yen investment will be at two manufacturing sites in Thailand, scheduled for 1Q 2025. With this expansion, AGC’s production capacity of chlor-alkali products in Southeast Asia will increase to 1.64 million tonnes/ year of caustic soda, 1.7 million tonnes of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and 1.6 million tonnes of PVC.
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Chemical firm Ineos has awarded Técnicas Reunidas a project management contract for a EUR4 billion, world-scale ethylene plant, to be built in Antwerp and that will have a production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes/year. Start-up is expected in 2026.
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Battery separator firm Entek is expanding its global manufacturing footprint of Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) separator materials into the US and India for lead-acid batteries to serve the demand for energy storage solutions for inverters, industrial applications and electric vehicles.
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22.04.2022 11:00:40
Materials News
Ocean-bound plastics: gamechanger sustainable material Waste plastics that would otherwise end up in the ocean are being repurposed for packaging and other potential end-use products, says Angelica Buan in this report.
A
ccording to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050, the amount of waste plastic in the oceans will have surpassed the 895 million tonnes of fish. Given the amount of poorly managed plastic waste in the environment, this prediction is not exaggerated. Single-use plastics are estimated to have tripled during the pandemic, and waste management has remained largely unsustainable. This risk can be mitigated by shifting to a circular economy and abandoning the traditional linear "take-make-dispose" model. Opportunities to repurpose plastic waste into highvalue products are ingrained in a circular economy. Ocean-bound plastics (OBPs), which are waste plastics that may end up in the ocean, are gaining traction in a variety of consumer applications. They are typically found within 50 km of coastlines where waste management is either lacking or ineffective, with around 80% ending up as marine litter. More than 11 million tonnes/year of plastic enter oceans, according to the Ocean Conservancy and the Pew Research Center, and by 2040 the rate could triple.
Asia’s pursuit for a circular economy Asia is a major hotspot for plastic waste leakage into the ocean. Every year, more than half of ASEAN produces over 31 million tonnes of plastic waste. Meanwhile, because of their shared river systems, connected coastlines, and international trade in plastic products and waste, national efforts by these member states to combat the risk of marine litter have not yielded significant gains, according to a 2021 statement by the World Bank on the ASEAN regional action plan to tackle plastic pollution. Despite this, the region continues to develop its circular economy strategy, improve its waste management systems and increase its adoption of biodegradable materials. According to the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, investments in Asia are also critical to assisting the region in its transition, with an estimated US$1.2 trillion required for the switch to a circular economy. Alliance, a non-profit organisation that brings together government, companies and community to end plastic waste in the environment, stated, “investment into a circular economy for plastic is vital to facilitate sustainable development in Asia, which is home to 60% of the global population.” Against this backdrop, Alliance is leading
Ocean-bound plastics, which are typically found within 50 kilometers of coastlines, are gaining popularity in a variety of consumer applications
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JUNE 2022
Materials News global and regional efforts to eliminate plastic waste by catalysing investments and forming collaborative partnerships. The Alliance Prize in Circular Solutions for Flexibles is one of its new initiatives to boost the circular economy in the region. Its goal is to find new ways to improve the collection, processing, and recycling of flexible plastics found in household waste, which are one of the most difficult materials to process and recycle. The prize will award US$3 million to one winner to help them develop a commercially viable solution that can be scaled widely. In addition, the winner will gain access to valuable mentorship opportunities and expertise from across the plastics value chain. Meanwhile, Alliance and Lombard Odier Investment Managers have teamed up to launch a US$500 million circular plastic fund as part of their ongoing efforts to support the transition to a circular economy for plastic. The fund, according to Alliance, will target institutional and other accredited investors for scalable solutions to remove plastic waste from the environment, increase recycling and drive a global circular economy for the plastic value chain. Conquering waste plastics through communities OBP's story does not end where the oceans and the shore meet. In fact, the devastation begins when these waste plastics degrade when exposed to salty water and sunlight within a few days, rendering them largely unsuitable for recycling, according to Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP), a brand by UK-based Bantam Materials, which recycles plastic collected from coastal areas. The programme engages communities to collect waste plastic bottles that could end up in the ocean. The collected plastic bottles are delivered to local collection facilities for payment, where they are sorted and pressed before being transported to plastic recycling plants.
Prevented Ocean Plastic, a project of Bantam Material, involves communities in collecting waste plastics, which are then processed into raw material flakes or pellets in accordance with US and European standards
Plastic waste is washed, sanitised, and processed into raw material flakes or pellets at the factory, all in accordance with European and North American quality standards. The programme, which to date, has recycled over 1,000 tonnes of these waste materials ensures that the recycled plastic has certified traceability from coastline collection until it becomes sustainable recycled packaging used by supermarkets and global brands. Raising standards of OBPs Bantam Materials’s POPs are made on an industrial scale from recycled plastic PET bottles (rPET). As part of its goal to raise standards for recycled packaging products, the company is the first recycled plastic supplier to join the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, trade unions, and non-governmental organisations that promotes worker rights around the world. Since 2005, Bantam has paid for the recycling of over 10 billion bottles and by 2020, it expects to have delivered over 10,000 tonnes of prevented ocean plastic into the market, with plans to expand further. Similarly, OceanCycle, a social enterprise focusing on reducing ocean plastic pollution, and UL, a US global safety certification company, have formed a partnership to raise OBP standards and ethical sourcing criteria. The partnership is expected to improve industry standards by establishing “new social standards, ethical sourcing criteria, third-party, independent validation of all recycled ocean-bound plastics, and clear definitions of ocean-bound materials and standards for where coastal collection should take place”. Both companies will tap their expertise in ocean plastics recycling and certification to promote more responsible sourcing, concentrate efforts and resources on countries and coastal regions most vulnerable to ocean plastic pollution, and expand the market for ethically sourced OBPs. Accordingly, recycled OBP standards promote genuine transparency, traceability, and accountability. The collaboration of UL and OceanCycle has provided fully independent, third-party certification of OBP recycling supply chains, assisting in ensuring that standards meet international quality, ethical, environmental, and labour requirements. Purchasers of OceanCycle Certified (OCC) materials have end-to-end traceability, from bottle collection through manufacturing. The partners said that they are working with other industry leaders to ensure that these new standards are recognised and followed. They are also focusing on improving market access for products made from OBPs, as well as assisting businesses in using more sustainable, responsibly sourced, recycled materials in their products. JUNE 2022
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Materials News Picking up steam in the packaging industry AVI Global offers rPET packaging made with verified OBP The market for recycled plastic has grown as consumers demand more environmentally friendly products, and is forecast to exceed 8% CAGR between 2022 and 2026, according to Fairfield Market Research. It is expected to reach over US$30 billion in 2026, up from US$19.5 billion in 2019. The value of recycled plastics is too obvious to ignore, and its potential to reach new markets and expand into new applications bodes well for industries focusing on OBPs. Envision Plastics, a US-based producer of PCRs, aims to remove 4,460 tonnes of plastic from the oceans over the next two years. Envision's OBP uses the company's global supply chain The initiative was said to have prevented over 60 tonnes and manufacturing expertise to create a resin that can be of plastic from entering the ocean each year, the equivalent used in a wide range of HDPE plastic applications. Envision of 2.5 million plastic bottles. The packaging was used on is joining forces with local communities in high-risk areas 13 different types of fresh fish, including white fish and around the world to recover plastic before it enters the salmon. ocean. This new packaging forms part of the company’s The company says it has developed a comprehensive initiatives to ensure 50% of packaging is made from recycled guide to assist communities in implementing a process for materials, and make 100% of own brand packaging widely collecting and shipping this material to Envision processing recyclable, reusable or refillable by 2025. facilities. Accordingly, these policies are designed to The packaging, which was created in collaboration with ensure that everyone benefits from the process, including Copernus, Sharpak, and Bantam Materials, is made of 80% customers and, ultimately, local communities. Many of recycled content and a minimum of 30% OBP. Sharpak, a the same rigid plastic packaging applications as traditional packaging company owned by Groupe Guillin, produced post-consumer resin can be used with Envision's OBPs. Lidl's new fish trays. Furthermore, they can be further processed into natural and In a similar development, AVI Global has started offering mixed colour, as well as the latter’s proprietary materials rPET packaging made with verified OBP. The certified including Prisma and Deodorised Resin. ocean-bound PET sheet and thermoformed packaging provider has been accredited as meeting the requirements Collaboration to advance OBP of French NGO, Zero Plastic Ocean's Ocean-Bound Plastic Using more recycled plastic content is an effective way to Recycling Subprogram, developed in collaboration with “close the loop” in the packaging segment. In this regard, Control Union, an international certification group. supermarket chain Lidl has succeeded in integrating By 2025, AVI Global expects to collect, recycle, and sustainability into its product by introducing what is convert millions of discarded ocean-bound PET bottles into claimed to be the supermarket's first OBP-based packaging valuable rigid packaging offerings through partnerships in 2020. with India's leading OBP certified waste-management networks. AVI claims that it can provide rPET packaging, including food-grade, with varying amounts of postconsumer OBP content ranging from 30% to 100% of verified rPET sheets, depending on the product application. Meanwhile, Sabic, a Saudi chemical manufacturing company, has collaborated on a project with value chain partners to assist UPM Raflatac in the launch of the Lidl has introduced a supermarket's first OBP-based packaging in 2020 world's first OBP-based label
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JUNE 2022
Materials News
UPM Raflatac’s new Ocean Action label is made using Sabic’s on advanced OBP
material. UPM Raflatac’s new Ocean Action label is made using Sabic’s certified circular PP based on advanced OBPs. The label materials are marketed under the UPM Raflatac Ocean Action trademark. The material is a simple drop-in solution designed specifically for food and cosmetics end-uses, according to UPM Raflatac. It performs identically to current fossil-based labels.
210X130mm
The OBP used in the project is recovered by HHI, a Malaysiabased recycling company that converts OBP into pyrolysis oil, which Sabic uses as an alternative feedstock to make certified circular PP polymer and Taghleef processes into film. Zero Plastic Oceans and Control Union have certified the OBP's sustainable sourcing, proper collection, and management. These label materials are ideal for fast-moving consumer goods, such as certified circular PP based household goods, personal care, packaged foods, and beverages, and are available in White and Clear Top Coated PP films with RP37, RF37, and RP74 adhesives and PET 23 PCR and glassine liners. The switch to the OBP material solution required no changes to the film and label material manufacturing processes because Sabic's certified circular PP performs similarly to comparable fossil-based virgin PP, according to the company.
Building and Construction Sector
Turning bad air into circular building materials Even the most noxious wastes, such as carbon emissions, can be used to create new materials for industries with significant carbon footprints in a circular economy, thanks to emerging carbon capture technologies, says Angelica Buan in this report.
T
he global construction market, predicted to grow into a US$1 trillion market within the next decade, shows no signs of slowing down. Across the globe, building super structures has become integral to economic growth agenda. Oxford Economics, in its new report, Global Construction 2030, has forecast the volume of construction output to grow by 85% to US$15.5 trillion worldwide by 2030, with three countries, China, US and India, leading the way and accounting for 57% of all global growth. Is the growth, however, worth the environmental risks, given that this sector is one of the world's largest consumers of energy and raw materials? According to the International Energy Agency's 2019 report, the building and construction sector accounted for 36% of final energy use and 39% of energy and processrelated carbon emissions in 2018, with manufacturing building materials and products such as steel, cement, and glass contributing 11%.
Shifting from a linear to a circular economy is proposed as a viable solution in the throes of conscionable production and consumption. In general, the circular economy encourages the reuse and recycling of resources, thereby lowering carbon emissions from the production of new materials. Emerging technologies that use carbon dioxide (CO2), on the other hand, are creating environmentally friendly materials for industries with a high carbon footprint, such as the building and construction industry. It may sound like an oxymoron, but in the circular economy, all wastes, including carbon emissions, are resources.
From carbon emissions to green materials "If you can't beat them, join them," as the saying goes, may apply to reducing carbon emissions from the construction sector through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that converts stored carbon into building materials. Carbon capture technology has been used to separate CO2 from methane gas found in natural gas reservoirs since the 1920s. More advanced carbon capture plants have built on the success of earlier carbon capture plants used for boosting oil recovery and as part of gas field development. For those taking an interest in CCS, however, it is not all rainbows and unicorns. While CCS is currently the only technology that can help reduce emissions from large industrial facilities, the capture process, including deployment and energy, is costly. To extract, pump, and compress CO2, a plant with CCS uses more fuel than one without, as explained In 2018, the building and construction sector accounted for 36% of total energy consumption and 39% of energy and process-related carbon emissions, with manufacturing in an article by the London building materials and products such as steel, cement, and glass contributing 11% School of Economics (LSE).
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JUNE 2022
Building and Construction Sector
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology converts carbon stored in the atmosphere into building materials.
Despite this, CCS's use in other carbon-intensive industries has continued to grow. CCS is also being used to manufacture circular materials for the construction industry. It is no surprise that it is attracting hefty investments, such as from the US Department of Energy (DOE), which has earmarked US$45 million in CCS technologies for building materials. The “Harnessing Emissions into Structures Taking Inputs from the Atmosphere” (HESTIA) project will receive US$41 million from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for the development and demonstration of net carbon negative building materials and whole-building designs; and building life cycle analysis tools and frameworks associated with carbon drawdown and storage in building construction will be developed with US$4 million. DOE reasoned that the development of new technologies that can transform buildings into net carbon storage structures will reduce CO2 emissions from the atmosphere during the development and manufacture of building materials.
Focus on net-zero industry Pressure to decarbonise the cement industry has risen as it accounts for roughly a quarter of all CO2 emissions. According to the C40 Cities, University of Leeds, and Arup Group report, Building and Infrastructure Consumption Emissions, emissions from building and infrastructure construction are expected to be the single largest category of consumption-based emissions for C40 cities between 2017 and 2050, accounting for 21% of consumption emissions. Nonetheless, several pathways, including the adoption of new technologies, have the potential to significantly reduce emissions by 2050. The DOE has granted US$2.1 million to US-based materials firm Solidia Technologies to develop CCUS for building materials.
Solidia Technologies manufactures low-CO2 cement alternatives in concrete that perform as well as or better than concrete made with commonly used SCMs
The grant will support the development of an efficient carbonation method for Solidia cement, as well as tests to determine the material's suitability as a lowCO2 cement alternative in concrete with comparable or better performance when compared to concrete made with commonly used supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag. SCMs will be produced by directly capturing CO2 from an operating cement plant's flue gas stream. DOE funds the HESTIA project to develop and demonstrate net carbon negative building materials and whole-building designs JUNE 2022
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Building and Construction Sector Solidia boasts production of next-generation building and construction materials with “outstanding physical properties, lower lifecycle costs and low environmental footprint”. Describing the benefit offered by Low Temperature Solidification (LTS) technology, Solidia said that it accelerates the natural bonding process of CO2 with minerals to form solids, ensuring that it happens in hours rather than years. In a similar vein, Solidia collaborated with French construction chemicals company Chryso to improve the sustainability performance and material properties of Solidia concrete. The addition of Chryso's admixture solution, which was tailored to Solidia's new binder, improved the concrete's final properties and streamlined the curing process, reducing the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 70%. According to Chryso, the partnership also aims to increase the use of low CO2 concrete, assisting manufacturers in producing highquality precast elements while also improving the environmental impact of cement and concrete production.
will store CO2 into olivine, a widely available mineral. The carbonated olivine will be used as a low emission raw material for the formulation of Holcim’s green cement. The partners’ global operations, combined with olivine’s broad availability worldwide, would make this CCUS solution highly scalable. According to Holcim, this new partnership will add to its CCUS portfolio, which currently includes over 30 projects across North America and Europe, ranging from recycling CO2 for crop growth in greenhouses to using it as an alternative fuel source for aviation. Carbonated materials from sequestered carbon Decarbonisation has led to developing valuable carbonated materials that use CO2 as a key ingredient. US sustainable chemistry company Novomer in collaboration with specialty chemical manufacturer Albemarle Corporation completed the world's first successful large-scale production of a PP carbonate (PPC) polymer using waste CO2 in 2013. PPC is a low-cost biodegradable thermoplastic that has a variety of construction applications.
Holcim and Eni have joined forces to evaluate CCS for green cement production.
Likewise, Swiss building materials manufacturer Holcim and Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni have partnered up to investigate CCS for the production of green cement. Cement (along with steel) accounts for roughly 14% of global CO2 emissions and 47% of CO2 emissions from industry, according to McKinsey & Company's The Net Zero Transition Report. Holcim says it aims to advance its carbon capture portfolio, and in doing so, it will be engaging the expertise of Eni in repurposing CO2 from its operations into its green cement. Eni with its carbon capture and mineralisation expertise
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The co-polymerisation of CO2 and chemicals known as epoxides was achieved using the Novomer catalyst technology. The method yielded polymers that contained more than 40% CO2 by weight. Depending on the size of the polymer chain, these polymers can be used for a wide range of material properties, from solid plastics to soft, flexible foams. Similarly, Professors Ippei Maruyama and Takafumi Noguchi of the University of Tokyo's Department of Architecture, have proposed and demonstrated a novel concrete to reduce emissions.
Building and Construction Sector The calcium source, also referred to as geomass, can be a range of materials, including demolished or returned concrete; cement kiln dust; steel slag; fly ash/APCr; bauxite residue; and silicate rocks. The CO2 is safely and permanently stored in aggregate. The Geomimetic process replicates the earth's natural process of creating carbonate rocks or limestone. Another distinguishing feature of this process is that its only inputs are waste concrete and CO2. Waste concrete is used as a source of alkalinity and calcium, but it also produces upcycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a by-product. Companies like Knife River and Mitsubishi Corporation have collaborated with Blue Planet to advance the manufacture of circular materials. Knife River, MDU Resources Group's construction materials subsidiary, collaborated with Blue Planet to develop construction-grade rock and Blue Planet Systems's proprietary technology for producing synthetic limestone concrete with a net-zero or netaggregate requires calcium and CO2 negative carbon footprint without Calcium carbonate concrete is made by sacrificing strength. mixing waste concrete with CO2 from the air Concrete can be produced while preventing or industrial exhaust gases. Though calcium CO2 from entering the atmosphere by capturing carbonate is a stable material that can be used CO2 from existing sources and converting it into in construction, it cannot currently replace synthetic limestone. Furthermore, the use of traditional concrete because it is not as strong. synthetic limestone would extend the life of natural According to Noguchi, the NEDO Moonshot aggregate sources, Knife River said. project, C4S Research and Development Mitsubishi has partnered with Blue Planet to help Project, Calcium Carbonate Circulation System commercialise the latter's CO2 capture technologies, for Construction, will continue to develop the which include capturing CO2 emissions from power calcium carbonate concrete because there are plants and other facilities to create CO2-sequestered still challenges to overcome, such as increasing aggregates and making effective use of industrial the strength and size limits and further reducing waste, such as demolished and unused returned the energy use of the production process. concrete, to create upcycled aggregates. Calcium and CO2 are also vital ingredients in These technologies have already been used to Blue Planet Systems' proprietary technology for construct an interim boarding area at San Francisco producing synthetic limestone aggregate. The International Airport. Commercialisation of the patented Geomimetic mineralisation technology technologies was expected to follow a feasibility of the US-based carbon capture technology study on potential applications conducted by company uses CO2 as a feedstock from any Mitsubishi and Blue Planet in Silicon Valley in 2021. source, including cement, iron or steel plants, These efforts are helping to advance CO2 capture natural gas power stations, refineries, direct air technologies for the construction industry, which capture, or hydrogen/SMR, to create carbonaspires to follow the circular economy path with a negative aggregate. lower carbon footprint. JUNE 2022
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Thermoplastic Elastomers
TPEs offer flexibility for a variety of industries KRAIBURG TPE, a global TPE manufacturer of a wide range of TPE products and custom solutions for multiple industries, offers TPEs that cater to the surfing equipment industry, medical/healthcare sector, beauty product/pet accessory applications, golfing equipment and consumer food packaging. Making waves in surfing A perfect day for surfers consists of warm sunshine, calm waters, and an off-shore breeze. However, choosing the right board for surfing is crucial and thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have a variety of properties that make it ideal for use in sports and leisure equipment. KRABURG TPE offers its AD/PAX/CR series that is resistant to skin oils, sunscreen, and olive oils, making it ideal for surfboard applications as well as leashes, foot rings, paddle handles, sealing, and other sports equipment parts. The compound is a solution for two-component seals with good adhesion to nylons such as PA12, PA6 and PA6.6, partially aromatic polyamides (PAX), and polyarylamides (PARA) via the injection moulding process. Meanwhile, the VS/AD/HM series provides smooth riding without the hiccups of scratches or grease. The compound series provides the answer to velvety surfaces and the need for wear resistance. Surfboard pads, fins, earplugs, GPS waterproof covers, and other parts are viable applications for this series. Furthermore, abrasion and scratch resistance are important properties for surfing equipment that must withstand harsh extreme environmental conditions and the sea water. TPEs unleash benefits for pet accessories The pet care market is rapidly expanding as pet ownership increases, as does spending on pet food, grooming tools, and accessories. Pet owners prioritise hygiene and wellness when purchasing products for their pets, setting the stage for manufacturers to provide products made of high-quality, food-safe materials.
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Among the many advanced materials used in product offerings, TPEs have emerged as the best of these breed. They can be used to make pet accessories such as pet toys, bowls, collars, leash handles, training equipment and grooming tools. KRAIBURG TPE offers TPEs that comply with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, US FDA CFR 21 (raw material conformity), China GB4806-2016, and EN71-3. Besides being food-safe, the TPEs meet DIN EN 71-3, REACH, SVHC and RoHS standards. The THERMOLAST K FC/AD/PP series does not contain latex and toxic substances such as heavy metals, phthalates, and bisphenol A, guaranteeing pet owners safe accessories for their pets. Furthermore, it has excellent adhesion to PP, optimised flow properties, and can be processed by injection moulding and extrusion, giving designers more design freedom. The FC/AD/PP series allows for soft touch surfaces with good haptics that are suitable for use on grip applications such as leash handles, pet collars, and other accessories such as pets feeding bowls, toothbrushes, and toys. Meanwhile, the hysteresis property of THERMOLAST K FC/HE/tl makes it ideal for pet chewing toys, as it aids in the preservation of the original shapes after extended use. These translucent compounds, which adhere well to PP and PE, can also be coloured in a variety of ways.
Thermoplastic Elastomers Beauty products with soft-touch TPEs KRAIBURG TPE offers the FC/ht series and VS/AD/HM series compounds for industry- compliant beauty tool applications. The FC/ht series provides the required functionality and design elements for massage brush handles, grips, and hairbrush bristles. The compounds offer a soft-touch surface and are available in clear colour with a variety of effects and colouring options. The FC/ht series is also halogen-free, IEC 61249-2-21 compliant, and free of animal ingredients. Plus, it adheres well to PP, allowing for flexibility in the designing of beauty products. Meanwhile, the VS/AD/HM series is resistant to skin sebum, sunscreen, and olive oil, making it ideal for use in skin-contact tools and parts such as electronic face massage brush handles and electronic ionic hairbrush grips. Advantages of the VS/AD/HM series are its high scratch and abrasion resistance as well as soft-touch characteristics for application on buttons, switches, thumb wheels and other functional design elements. The compounds are available in natural and black colours, with pre-colouring options. They can adhere with PA6, PA12, PC, ABS, PC/ABS, ASA, and SAN materials, making them a favourable material for use in beauty products. TPEs allow for winning colours in medical applications During a medical emergency, colour codes are used to enable medical personnel to respond quickly and decisively. Colours are also used to determine the status of medical devices and to aid identifying the equipment that is being used, which is especially important in a busy medical environment. Medical device designers and manufacturers can rely on advanced materials such as TPEs to create industrystandard and safety-compliant designs. KRAIBURG TPE provides TPE materials with an array of colour options that are widely used in medical devices such as nebulisers, glucose meters, forehead thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and on electrical device parts such as connectors, mouthpieces, valves, and buttons. They are also used in pharmaceutical packaging such as lid closures, valves, seals and gaskets, and other similar parts. As well, KRAIBURG TPE prioritises customer needs for quality, safety, and reliability by providing colourable TPEs to enhance the devices’ appearance and design. These include smart wearable products to home care medical devices like health-oriented smart watches, wireless glucometers, and wireless blood pressure testers.
Furthermore, KRAIBURG TPE’s in-house colouring team can provide the precise shade of colours and quickly distribute colour samples with exceptional delivery times for coloured compounds, and tested for worldwideconsistent colour quality. KRAIBURG TPE’s medical grade THERMOLAST M series is available in translucent, transparent, and natural colours, along with high transparency and precolouring options. The compounds are VDI 2017 and ISO 10993-5 compliant, and they are also listed in the Drug Master File. The TPE series has excellent resealing properties and compression set, as well as low friction and high elasticity. It exhibits good adhesion with polyolefins (PP, PE, COC, COP) and technical thermoplastics like ABS, PC, PET-G, and polyamides through a multi-component injection moulding process. In addition, KRAIBURG TPE's Medical Service Package guarantees optimum raw material purity and solid 24-month supply security. This compound series also assures optimum safety with excellent control management. Latest medical & healthcare TPE innovations at Medical Manufacturing/Medical Fair Asia 2022 KRAIBURG TPE will unveil its latest THERMOLAST H and THERMOLAST M healthcare and medical TPE series in the Medical Manufacturing Asia and Medical Fair Asia to be held from 31 August until 2 September at Booth 2M10, Marina Bay Sand, Singapore. THERMOLAST H is KRAIBURG TPE’s new TPE designed exclusively for Asia Pacific’s growing healthcare and medical device applications. The new high-quality TPE material solution complies with Cytotoxicity GB/T 16886.5, ISO 10993-5, as well as various global food contact and relevant medical standards. The series exhibits properties, such as adhesion to PP, resealing, haptics and compression set and others. THERMOLAST M is KRAIBURG TPE’s new medical grade series that emphasises quality, safety, and reliability with resealing properties and compression set, as well as low friction and high elasticity. Its Medical Service Package guarantees optimum raw material purity and solid 24-month supply security. This compound series also assures optimum safety with excellent control management and many more.
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Thermoplastic Elastomers Both THERMOLAST H and THERMOLAST M series offer design flexibility, quality, safety, and reliability. Ideal applications include medical devices, pharmaceutical packaging, lids and closure, sealing, syringe gasket, medical tubing, membranes, catheter, and more. KRAIBURG TPE’s booth will feature various activities such as product demonstration, medical 3D applications display, and product expert consultation. TPE, a perfect tee-off material for golfing equipment KRAIBURG TPE offers the AD/PA series to create soft-touch, dry haptics surface that is ideal for use in golf equipment handles and seals. The AD/PA series compounds ensure that golf putters or wedge grips, range finders, golf divot removers, and other similar parts are of the highest quality. The TPE series, which can have up to 50% glass fibre, also has good adhesion with PA6, PA12, and PA 6.6. It also has temperature stability up to 90°C and an optimised flow. Moreover, its hardness range of 20 Shore A to 80 Shore A allows it to be used in a variety of applications.
Meanwhile, the GP/AP series provides a dry haptics advantage for golf ball retrievers, club head covers, golf tees, and other applicable golf equipment parts. The series, which is a good material solution with adhesion to PP, has good mechanical and flow properties. Both compounds are available in natural and black colours, allowing for a variety of colour options, and can be processed via injection moulding and extrusion. Aesthetic appeal of TPEs for consumer food packaging With the food industry driving the packaging sector, consumer food packaging is turning to plastic materials to maintain food safety and ensure the quality of food throughout the supply chain. Food-safe TPEs are now widely used in the food packaging industry, for better food storage and preservation. The compounds not only protect contents from biological and chemical contaminants, they also prolong shelf-life of food products, thus making them safe for consumption. TPEs are commonly used in food packaging, especially in products used for the preparation, storage and dispensing of food and drinks, from beverage bottles that use the tactile nature of TPEs to enhance feel and function, to food containers.
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KRAIBURG TPE’s FC/AD/PA series is characterised by its adhesion to PA, thus allowing for flexibility in designing containers. It has good adhesion to PA6 and PA6.6, with up to 50% glass fibre content, as well as PA12. With its abrasion resistance characteristic, it is suitable for applications like ergonomic handles or wrap sleeves of bottle, gripper boots on the bottom of a mug and more. The series of compounds meets international standards such as the EU Directive No. 10/2011, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21. KRAIBURG TPE’s FC/LF series of compounds have a low friction coefficient and a good compression set, which makes it suitable for microwaveable containers and packaging. The smooth touch and soft, velvety feel of the compounds, allow the TPEs to be applied in applications such as flexible lids for containers. This is especially important due to the material’s ability to create a tight seal, which helps to keep the containers air tight and maintain food freshness. Other applications include seals, closures, squeeze bottles, packaging containers, beverage tubing and more. The series meets various international standards which include the EU Directive No. 10/2011, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, standard EN 71/3 regulations and the China GuoBiao (GB 4806: 2016) as well as the MERCOSUR (GMC Res. No. 03/92, 02/12, 39/19) In today’s competitive consumer food packaging market, colour and visual appeal is vital for manufacturers to attract consumers. For an enhanced visual appeal of food packaging through visual aspects, both TPE series are offered in a translucent colour for flexible colouration options. KRAIBURG TPE adds that it also provides worldwide consistent colour quality standards with various precolouration options available to its customers all over the world.
Engineering Plastics
Better plastics shaped by electronic/electrical market trends As consumer demands change, the market adapts to meet them, resulting in the emergence of high-performance materials with more advanced properties than traditional materials, according to Angelica Buan in this article.
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ngineering plastics' growth in the global market is being fuelled by their superior mechanical and/or thermal properties, chemical resistance, wear resistance, and high dimensional stability when compared to commodity plastics, especially in the electronic/electrical market. Engineering plastics are commonly used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and transportation, as well as electrical and electronics, consumer appliances, industrial machinery, packaging, construction, and medical. The materials are currently used in products where proper material selection is required to meet performance requirements and match manufacturing process demands Engineering plastics are used in products that require thorough material selection to meet performance specifications without incurring additional costs. Market trends such as sustainability, based on an internal life cycle analysis conducted in efficiency, and safety, on the other hand, accelerate the accordance with ISO 14040/14044 protocols, can offer development of engineering materials. potential reductions of up to 14% in carbon footprint and up to 25% in cumulative energy demand, when Sustainability of materials remains a priority compared to the virgin PBT compound reinforced with The latest generation of engineering plastics are designed glass fibre, adds Sabic. to be circular, meaning they are recyclable, reusable, and Sabic expects to upcycle 10 billion ocean-bound made from recycled materials, with sustainability at the waste plastic bottles in the next decade with its forefront of the material development agenda. proprietary upcycling technology, which involves Chemical supplier Sabic has introduced LNP Elcrin repolymerising ocean-bound PET into PBT with virgin-like WF0061BiQ resin, which uses ocean-bound PET bottles performance properties. as a feed stream for chemical upcycling into polybutylene Similarly, a recycled POM (polyoxymethylene) product terephthalate PBT resin. derived from both post-industrial and post-consumer The LNP Elcrin WF0061BiQ grade is a glass fibresources of POM has been developed by speciality chemicals reinforced PBT material that features non-brominated, firm Celanese and Japanese materials maker Mitsubishi non-chlorinated flame retardancy meeting the UL94 V0 Chemical Advanced Materials (MACAM). The Eco-R POM is standard at 0.8mm and F1 rating. It also delivers heat a recycled content option of Celanese’s Hostaform/Celcon resistance, toughness and stiffness, and high flow wellPOM. suited for moulding thin-wall applications for outdoor MCAM will handle the recycled feedstock collection, environments. separation, and processing, while Celanese will provide the This latest addition to Sabic’s portfolio is a material formulation, product technology, and production capability solution for consumer electronics applications such as fan for Eco-R. housings in computers and automotive seating, as well Celanese introduced POM Eco-B, a biobased, biomassas electrical connectors and enclosures. The compound, balanced polyacetal product, in 2020. Despite the fact that JUNE 2022
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Engineering Plastics Eco-B is commercially available, customer and industry adoption has been slow. Celanese adds that it expects to offer to existing and new customers its Eco-R solution with a recycled content offering of up to 30%. To promote Celanese's POM's global market growth, both companies have completed the restructuring of Korea Engineering Plastics (KEP), a 50:50 joint venture between Celanese and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC). KEP was formed in 1987 to manufacture and market POM in Asia, focusing on serving domestic demand in South Korea. Celanese adds that it will gain access to OEMs in Asia as well as more direct participation in key markets outside of China as a result of the restructuring. Safety in food processing The food industry is critical as it needs to meet the everincreasing demand for food products and packaging. As a result, faster output of food processing equipment is required, which means contending with high temperatures and having less downtime. Engineering materials allow food processing equipment to operate at temperatures that some conventional materials cannot tolerate without breaking down, leaking, or damaging equipment parts, resulting in waste, contamination, and low productivity. Ensinger, a German engineering plastics manufacturer, says it has doubled the benefit of engineering plastics with its newly launched detectable compound to improve food production safety. The new material, which is based on POM-C, has been specially developed for injectionmoulded components used in the food processing industry. The Tecacomp POM ID 1055303 is said to guarantee the components' mechanical and tribological properties. The compounds, which comply with the (EU) Regulation 10/2011 and of the FDA, are used in all situations where plastic fragments from Ensinger's Tecacomp POM equipment, cable ties, or ID 1055303 is a detectable compound to improve food transport boxes must not production safety, among contaminate the products other benefits being processed. Even small particles of the filled Ensinger ID compounds can be detected and separated using metal and X-ray detectors due to its visually noticeable blue colour. The base polymer from PP, PA66, POM and PEEK, and different fillers of POM-C, provide good sliding friction properties and a good combination of toughness and strength.
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A low glass transition temperature also enables them to be used at temperatures down to minus 50 °C, for example in freeze-drying units. Low moisture absorption and good hydrolysis and chemical resistance also make it a promising material for use in wet environments which are cleaned frequently. The compounds fulfill the requirements of (EU) Regulation 10/2011 and FDA, concludes Ensinger. Design flexibility in wearable devices For wearable devices, engineering materials are a good fit for design and performance requirements. Solvay, a Belgian chemical and specialty materials company, has newly launched the Kalix 10000 series, a partially biobased material made with renewable feedstock from nonfood competing sources, suitable for precision electronics components used in smart devices, to complement its Kalix product line. The high performance polyamide (HPPA)-based material delivers the highest elongation and weld line strength of all HPPA, offers stiffness; higher heat, chemical, and stain resistance; and lowest moisture absorption in the Kalix families, making it suitable for use in electronic applications with more demanding customer requirements, according to Solvay. Solvay's partially bio-based Kalix 10000 series is suitable for precision electronics components used in smart devices
Lightweighting transport for efficiency Because of increased awareness about reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel efficiency, the automotive and transportation sectors are expected to be the most important end-use industries for engineering plastics. Solvay has introduced the SolvaLite 714 Prepregs, a new generation of unidirectional carbon-fibre and woven-fabric products pre-impregnated with SolvaLite 714 epoxy resin for high-volume automotive applications. These prepregs offer fast-cure cycles, long life, and have been optimised for manufacturing automotive components, such as body panels, at short compression-moulding cycle times in serial production runs. According to Solvay, the prepregs have been specially developed to ensure strong product robustness in large-scale industrial compressionmoulding processes and deliver high structural part performance.
Engineering Plastics Sabic's LNP Elcrin WF0061BiQ resin delivers excellent heat resistance, toughness and stiffness, and high flow well-suited for moulding thinwall applications for outdoor environments
These fast-curing composites are currently Thermal runaway, according to LG, is the most manufactured in Europe, and will be commercially common cause of EV battery fires, in which various available worldwide beginning in the second quarter of stressors can cause heat to build up within a battery cell. 2022. A short circuit caused by factors such as overcharging Meanwhile, Sabic's new, thinner gauge of Elcres and over-discharging can cause a fire when a battery HTV150A dielectric film may be used for capacitors cell exceeds its temperature threshold. Because lithium in traction inverters, onboard chargers, and electrical reacts violently with water, the resulting fire is difficult to compressors of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric put out. vehicles (xEV) to reduce the weight of vehicle parts. LG's new advanced flame barrier product is said to The 3-micron film, which is 40% thinner than Sabic’s be a highly functional engineering plastic product made recently announced 5 micron film, is the first capacitor film from various composites, including polyphenylene oxide in the industry to be engineered for stable performance at (PPO) and PA resin, and is based on the company's operating temperatures of -40°C to 150°C, thus addressing proprietary technology and manufacturing methods. the critical performance gap experienced by traditional It has dimensional stability and keeps its shape even PP films above 135°C. It also caters to frequencies up to when the temperature changes. During LG's testing, 100 kHz, while offering stable capacitance, high insulation the product was able to stop flames from spreading resistance and good dielectric performance (dielectric due to thermal propagation for more than 10 minutes at constant (Dk) of 2.9, dissipation factor (Df) of 0.0017), 1,000°C, ten times longer than standard plastics. In the according to Sabic. event of a damaged and overheating battery, this safety In addition, high breakdown strength across the entire window may allow drivers and passengers to exit the temperature ranges, good self-healing, and adhesion vehicle. Commercial production of the new product is on to aluminium and zinc are also important properties of target to begin in 2023. these films. Sabic added that the film has been validated by customers for LG Chem has developed a new plastic product for battery application that is use with both film-foil and metalised capable of preventing the spread of electrodes. Capacitors built with 3 and flame in batteries 5 micron metalised films pass standard electrical and life tests at 150°C for 2,000 hours with low capacitance change and stable insulation resistance. Preventing fire risks in transport Globally, rigorous safety regulations are gaining traction, paving the way for the development of innovative flameresistant materials for a variety of industrial applications. South Korean chemical company LG Chem has developed a new plastic product for battery application that is capable of preventing the spread of flame in electric vehicle [EV] batteries. JUNE 2022
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Advertorial
Taipeiplas launches pre-show monthly campaigns featuring Smart Manufacturing, Innovation, and Sustainability
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he physical edition of Taipeiplas is scheduled to return from 27 September to 1 October 2022 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre, Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1) in conjunction with ShoeTech Taipei. A month-long online exhibition will continue till 27 October. This year’s Taipeiplas focuses on three major themes - "Smart Machinery," "Next-gen Materials" and "Circular Economy - Net Zero Carbon Emissions." Starting from June, the organiser, TAITRA, has launched monthly theme-based campaigns to unveil the highlights of the coming Taipeiplas with social media news, exhibitor & production introductions, e-newsletters and videos. E-newsletter subscription and visitor registration are both now available on the official website. The pre-show monthly campaigns for the show kick off with the first theme “Smart Manufacturing” in June. The plastics and rubber manufacturing has become greatly different from what it was, says TAITRA. In the past, the manufacturing processes of plastics and rubber such as the parameters setting, the material selection, and the processing of complex components relied on the operation and judgment of experienced labour. Smart manufacturing technologies today have turned the production line to be fully automated, more efficient, meanwhile, led the industry to create new business models.
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Key industry players from home and abroad such as ANN TONG, ARBURG, BASF, DIING KUEN, ENGEL, FKI, FSC, MULTIPLAS, WITTMANN BATTENFELD, YEI are all gearing up to make a splash at Taipeiplas 2022 by presenting their smart machines and smart manufacturing solutions. FCS and FKI for example, two leading plastic injection moulding machine manufacturers in Taiwan, have integrated Manufacturing Execution System (MES) into every section of their machine production and assembly lines. Multiple benefits are achieved, including more accurate production control, improved quality management and production cost reduction. Taiwan plastic and rubber machinery manufacturers are transforming to become smarter, and at the same time, providing a full line of services in building smart production lines overseas. Besides the onsite and online exhibition, Taipeiplas 2022 will have a line-up of seminars, forums and featured events, On-site Guide for Online Visitors, PLASpotlight Live, themed guided tours, and procurement meetings, all together to explore the innovative trends in plastic and rubber industry and also to create a refreshing exhibition experience. The online visitor registration for Taipeiplas and ShoeTech Taipei 2022 is available on the official websites: www.taipeiplas.com.tw / www.shoetech.com.tw For more updates and full events information, please visit the official websites, or follow the shows on social media.
Injection Moulding Asia Machinery & Sustainability
Carbon footprint of injection moulding machines As a supplier of Allrounder injection moulding machines, German machine maker Arburg is evaluating climate protection activities along the entire value chain for its customers. On the basis of ISO TS 14067:2018 standard, which defines a product’s greenhouse gas emissions or product carbon footprint (PCF), Arburg says it has investigated how the PCF and specific energy requirements of its machines can be calculated.
customer’s premises, in addition to emissions during distribution and disposal. Arburg says it records CO 2 emissions up to the finished machine in four process steps: painting or coating, mechanical machining and processing, electrical production, and assembly. The raw materials used and the respective electricity requirement can be assigned to this sequence and the other phases in the product life cycle.
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Raw material-related CO2 emissions The parts list of an injection moulding machine can consist of up to 11,000 individual items, down to the individual screw. For better managing, Arburg groups raw materials into eight material groups. Accordingly, an Allrounder consists of more than 55% plastic-coated cast iron, and another 35% or so of steel and sheet metal (hot-treated, painted, plastic-coated, or untreated). Plastic components, drives and electronic components account for only about 7% of the total weight. The material groups differ significantly in terms of the CO 2 emissions generated during their production. However, a weighted mean value can be determined along the lines of the distribution. This so-called emissions factor is around 1.83 (kg CO 2 equivalent per kg product) for an Allrounder. The CO 2 equivalent for the complete injection moulding machine thus corresponds to the emissions factor multiplied by the product weight specified in the data sheet.
nder the European Union’s Green Deal, the reduction of the carbon footprint of companies and their products is being strongly promoted. To be able to meet the strict legal requirements and achieve climate-neutral production by 2050, companies will have to significantly increase energy and resource efficiency in the future. Meanwhile, the German Climate Protection Act calls for a 65% reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045. The internationally recognised standard for CO 2 accounting – the Greenhouse Gas Protocol – considers different emission areas. Injection moulding machines are Scope 3 assets, which include indirect emissions from upstream and downstream business processes. Arburg says it is actively involved in carbon accounting in order to provide comparable indicators and meet the ambitious climate targets. This is also evidenced by its above-average “B” score in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Carbon footprint – raw materials
PCF – Product Carbon Footprint In contrast to the corporate carbon footprint (CCF), which is calculated for an entire company on an annual basis, the product carbon footprint (PCF) includes the quantities of greenhouse gases emitted and removed over the entire service life of a product. Expressed as CO 2 equivalent, the PCF is an important indicator in the life cycle assessment. The guidelines for quantification and reporting are provided by the international standard ISO TS 14067:2018. For injection moulders, the main priority is the carbon footprint with which the machine produced by the manufacturer arrives at the plant. In its “cradle to gate” analysis, Arburg draws the associated system boundary from raw material extraction through the manufacturing phase to the factory gate. However, this period only accounts for around 5% of CO 2 emissions. Over the entire product life cycle (cradle to grave), most of the PCF is generated during the use phase at the
Series* Weight Emission [in kg] factor** ALLROUNDER 370 H
CO2 equivalent raw materials [in kg]
3,300
1.83
6,040
ALLROUNDER 470 H 4,700
1.83
8,600
ALLROUNDER 570 H 8,300
1.83
15,190
*
Hybrid Hidrive series with 600 kN (370 H), 1,000 kN (470 H) and 2,000 kN (570 H) clamping force ** Weighted mean value [kg CO2 equivalent/kg product]
To calculate the CO 2 emissions of an Allrounder in terms of raw materials, its net weight is simply multiplied by an emissions factor of 1.83 as determined by Arburg A hybrid Allrounder 570 H with a clamping force of 2,000 kN and a net weight of 8,300 kg therefore causes raw material-related emissions of around 15,190 kg of CO 2 during its manufacture. 1
JUNE 2022
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Injection Moulding Asia Machinery & Sustainability For a 3,300 kg size 370 Allrounder with 600 kN clamping force, the CO 2 equivalent is around 6,040 kg.
Arburg makes its products exclusively at its central location in Lossburg, Germany. This involves the use of carbon-neutral renewable energies such as photovoltaics, wind energy and geothermal energy, Electricity-related CO 2 emissions during production as well as combined heat and power. In the manufacturing phase, the electricity Since 2016, electricity purchased regionally has requirement also contributes to the PCF. In relation to come entirely from ecological sources. This means the year 2020, the basis for standardised calculations that the emissions factor for the “Arburg electricity is an electricity requirement of 878.94 kWh per 1,000 mix” is only 0.17 instead of 0.366. kg of product and an emissions factor of 0.366 (kg CO 2 Arburg relies on in-house production and equivalent per kWh) for the German electricity mix. sustainable energies at its central manufacturing site in Lossburg. The electricity-related Carbon footprint – manufacturer CO 2 equivalent of an Allrounder is therefore around 53% lower than the Electricity CO2 equivalent German average Series* Weight requirement* Emission manufacture Thus, this means that the [in kg] [in kWh] factor** [in kg] electricity-related CO 2 equivalent for the Allrounder 370 H is only 490 ALLROUNDER 370 H 3,300 2,900 0.366 1,160 instead of 1,160 kg, while for the Allrounder 570 the emissions amount ALLROUNDER 470 H 4,700 4,130 0.366 1,510 to 1,240 instead of 2,670 kg CO 2 . ALLROUNDER 570 H 8,300 7,295 0.366 2,670 Due to the high degree of in-house production and the sustainable * Standardised electricity requirement: 878.94 kW/1,000 kg product electricity mix, this means that around ** Basis German electricity mix: (2020) 53% fewer emissions are produced in terms of electricity during the manufacturing phase Electricity-related CO 2 emissions in the production of of an Arburg machine than the German average. an injection moulding machine can be calculated on If the raw material and electricity-related the basis of the German electricity mix (0.366 for the emissions are added, the total CO 2 equivalent for a year 2020) cradle-to-gate analysis is 6,530 kg for the Allrounder On the basis of the German electricity mix, 370 H and 16,430 kg for the Allrounder 570 H. the electricity requirement is 2,900 kWh for the As a comparison, in Germany each person Allrounder 370 H, with a CO 2 equivalent of around generates an average carbon footprint of around 1,160 kg. For the Allrounder 570 H, the electricity 12,000 kg/year, depending on factors such as requirement is therefore 7,295 kWh and the consumption, mobility, housing and nutrition. emissions around 2,670 kg CO 2 . However, this example calculation cannot be Application-related carbon footprint in use applied 1:1 to Arburg, as the company manufactures Around 95% of the PCF of an injection moulding around 60% of its Allrounder components itself. machine is attributable to its use phase. How many CO2 equivalent emissions it actually produces in daily operation depends on a large number of 3000 factors. 2500 Already during the selection of the plastic, the product design and the 2000 construction of the mould, important decisions are made. An important 1500 application-related parameter here is 1000 the specific energy requirement (kWh per kg), which is calculated from power 500 consumption per material throughput. As a rule of thumb, the shorter the cycle 0 time and higher the shot weight, the smaller ALLROUNDER 370H ALLROUNDER 470H ALLROUNDER 570H the specific energy requirement and better CO equivalent of German electricity mix [in kg**] CO equivalent of Arburg electricity mix [in kg***] the CO 2 equivalent. As well, other factors are whether * Standardised electricity requirement: 878.94 kW/1,000 kg product the injection moulding machine has an ** German electricity mix: emissions factor of 0.366 electric, hybrid or hydraulic drive, whether *** ARBURG electricity mix: emissions factor of 0.170 2
2
2 JUNE 2022
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Injection Moulding Asia Machinery & Sustainability one or two-circuit pump technology or hydraulic accumulators are used and options such as servoelectric dosing or ejection are part of the equipment. Features that enable simultaneous, dynamic and fast movements and thus short cycle times have a positive effect on the carbon footprint during use. The same applies to the screw diameter and installed power – the greater the shot weight and the smaller the power consumption, the better. Thus, machine equipment that is precisely adapted to the requirements and processes can significantly improve the energy requirement. Arburg adds that it supports its customers in this task with its expertise in application and process technology and exploits the advantages of modular machine technology.
Measurement according to EUROMAP 60.2 Machine Size
Product Drive
Technical items
Packaging items
Material throughput [kg/h]
Emissions [kg CO2/kg PA66]
Material throughput [kg/h]
Emissions [kg CO2/ kg PP]
Hydraulic T2
4.2
4.43
10.08
2.87
Electric Comfort
4.2
2.13
10.08
1.58
Hydraulic T2
16.2
2.6
41.04
2.3
370*
570** Electric Comfort
16.2
1.39
41.04
1.23
Hydraulic T2
45.6
1.72
115.2
1.69
Electric Comfort
45.6
0.93
115.2
1.07
820***
* Clamping force 600 kN, injection unit 170, screw D30 ** Clamping force 2,000 kN, injection unit 800, screw D50 *** Clamping force 4,000 kN, injection unit 2,100, screw D70
By way of example, Arburg investigated the CO 2 emissions of Allrounders in three sizes and two drive types using measurements in accordance with EUROMAP 60.2. One technical part and one packaging item each were manufactured The electric Allrounder 820 A with a throughput of 115.2 kg/h produced emissions of 1.07 kg CO 2 per kg of plastic material while moulding the packaging item. The size 370 electric machine emitted around twice as much (2.13) when moulding the technical article with a throughput of 4.2 kg/h. With the hydraulic Allrounder 370 S, this value was as high as 4.43. However, depending on the application, there may be deviations, like the actual power consumed depends on the duty cycle, capacity utilisation, and efficiency of the connected loads. These factors are also influenced by the injection moulding process. But, in general, the energy requirement for both types of drive decreases as material throughput increases. In any case, an electric machine produces around 50% fewer CO 2 emissions. The same result can be seen when the CO 2 emissions are calculated consistently on the basis of the material throughput. The CO 2 emissions for the production of the plastic granulate and other loads such as peripheral devices for temperature control of the moulds or hall air conditioning (waste heat and cooling) are not included in this analysis. The energy requirements and, thus, the CO 2 emissions of the peripheral devices increase sharply, especially for technical items, and may even exceed those of the moulding machine on a proportional basis. The carbon footprint calculated for a single moulded part is another interesting parameter. The aim for the future is to be able to calculate a scientifically sound, holistic life cycle assessment for injection moulding machines. This is what the Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy (IKK) at Leibniz University in Hanover, headed by Professor Hans- Josef Endres, is working on in collaboration with Arburg, among others.
Measuring energy requirements in line with EUROMAP 60.2 Meanwhile, the EUROMAP 60.2 recommendation forms the basis for determining the energy requirements of machines in a customer-specific process. To enable an objective comparison of different machines, measurements are taken and documented at average power consumption under uniform specifications over a defined area. The values depend on the machine technology as well as the capacity utilisation and type of application. For example, the specific energy requirement for the production of technical moulded parts in smaller quantities is significantly greater compared to the production of fast-moving packaging items. The measurement results show that, in comparison to standard hydraulic machines, electric machines require around 50% less energy. The lower the material throughput, the more significant the differences. But energy-optimised hydraulic machines can also significantly reduce the carbon footprint. Application examples Arburg examined various scenarios as part of a practical application using hydraulic and electric Allrounders from the S and Alldrive series in three sizes – 370, 570 and 820 – with clamping forces of 600, 2,000 and 4,000 kN. A distinction was made between hydraulic drive systems with two-circuit pump technology (T2) and electric drive systems in the “Comfort” performance variant. Two items were produced: a technical item made of PA66 (GF30) in a cycle time of 30 seconds at 50% plasticising capacity, and a packaging item made of PP in a cycle time of five seconds at 100% plasticising capacity. The CO 2 emissions were calculated on the basis of the German electricity mix. 3 JUNE 2022
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Injection Moulding Asia Recycling
Lack of higher quality recyclates, more consistent input streams In this industry interview by industry association VDMA, on the road to K2022 show in October 2022, with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Josef Endres, head of the IKK (Institute of Plastics and Recycling Technology at Leibniz University Hannover) looks at recycling and the lack of higher quality recyclates and other issues.
Prof. Endres, the plastics industry is often pilloried. What does it have to do to make people appreciate its material? We have to show that our daily lives are unthinkable without plastics. We must make it clear that plastics make a decisive contribution to a sustainable economy. Only with plastics, not without them, can we achieve our climate targets and significantly reduce our carbon footprint. One way to achieve this goal is to use resources such as energy ever more efficiently. Another is to establish a circular economy. Improved recycling Prof. Dr.-Ing. HansJosef Endres says there technology is also a crucial is a lack of higher lever in achieving these quality recyclates, goals. The task is huge and more consistent input streams and standards extremely multi-faceted, but it can be done.
IKK Plastics Technology Centre
quality recyclate, for example with constant colour quality and delivery guarantee, were needed just to be able to meet the quotas in this one industry sector. Another example is the bottleneck of white or transparent recyclates. How far along are you in setting rules and standards in recycling? Both are enormously important, and at all levels. There are already approaches, albeit still very rough ones, on how to characterize input streams. These were essentially developed by the dual systems. In addition, we need standards for defining the resulting recyclate qualities. For example, it must be specified which volatile substances may still be contained, how this is to be measured exactly, and who is responsible for this. Up to now, people have said that if there is nothing of concern in the input stream, there is nothing of concern in the recyclate. We also have to have standards for colors. Every recyclate needs a trade name so that you get the same product the next time you order it. In addition, all recyclates lack information on long-term properties or characteristic values for processing or crash simulation. All this is not very difficult. After all, the manufacturers of virgin material show how it is done. They supply a great deal of information and characteristic values for each product.
What are the biggest challenges right now? It’s a triad: we don’t have enough higher quality recyclates yet, we don’t have enough input streams yet, and there are still too few standards in this area. And all of these challenges are interrelated. To start with the market: There is currently already a high demand for high-quality recyclates, but it cannot be satisfied. Let me give the automotive industry as an example. Let’s assume that in the future there is a quota of 25% recyclate per vehicle. Today, the proportion of plastics per vehicle is around 300 kg. This means that 75 kg of recycled material would have to be used in the future. Last year, about 2.6 million vehicles were built in Germany; it was a very bad year because of the Corona pandemic. So already for this, almost 200,000 tonnes of a high-
What contribution do the individual processes make to sustainability? That’s not very easy to say. Basically, chemical recycling could make large quantities of high-quality recyclate available. Conversely, mechanical recycling is much more sustainable 4
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Injection Moulding Asia Recycling in most cases, since the energy and resources required are much lower and the polymer structures are also preserved. It is also difficult to determine which actors in the recycling value chain are credited with the sustainability benefits achieved in each case, for example the input supplier, the recycler or the user of the recyclate. In chemical recycling, for example, the carbon is recycled, but not the actual material. In addition, the user does not get the physically recycled carbon, but receives a mass-balanced certificate, which even has to be purchased additionally. If the user waives the certificate, he receives the same material, but without the certificate.
delivery guarantee. Of course, better sorting of plastic waste is needed for single-variety material. But it is also a matter of improving the various recycling processes. Their degrees of maturity are currently still very different. Which is the most advanced? The mechanical processes are already established. For the physical processes, in which the plastic is dissolved out of other materials by a specifically effective solvent, there are the first industrial plants. The chemical processes, in which the plastics are depolymerised or broken down even further into hydrocarbons, still need to be improved, particularly in terms of energy efficiency and yield. However, they also have some fundamental advantages. The quality of their recyclates is high, they achieve colour purity and consistent material performance. Such recyclates also get approval much more easily for critical applications, such as in the food sector. Put simply, the higher the recyclate quality, the higher the technical effort and thus the costs.
How do you get the input streams needed to generate sufficient quantities of constant recyclate quality? That is a huge task. These input streams are still a very limiting factor, especially in the postconsumer sector. This is because today’s users cannot rely on receiving sufficient quantities of single-variety material with a longer-term
Injection Moulding Asia Machinery
Processing rPET in thinwall injection moulding
I n cooper
ation with partners Alpla Group, Brink and IPB Printing, Austrian machinery maker Engel is presenting what it says is a quantum leap for the packaging industry at K2022 show in October. For the first time, thin-walled containers made of PET can be produced in a single injection moulding process step. Engel is processing recycled PET (rPET) at its stand. An Engel e-speed injection moulding machine with a newlydeveloped injection unit is being used to do this. Featuring a wall thickness of 0.32, the transparent, round 125-ml containers are representative of a whole genus of packaging, especially in the food industry. Thanks to integrated in-mould labelling (IML), the containers are ready-for-filling as soon as they leave the production cell. The special feature in this application is the material.
Containers are being produced directly from rPET in thin-wall injection moulding at the K show
The thin-walled containers are produced directly from rPET in a single step. Up to now it has only been possible to process PET in thick-walled parts such as bottle preforms in injection moulding. The final packaging format was created in a second step of the process – by blow moulding for example. 5
JUNE 2022
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Injection Moulding Asia Machinery Bottle-to-cup and cup-to-bottle as the target Under the European Plastics Pact, the intent is for all plastic packaging to contain 30% recycled material and to be 100% recycling c a pa b l e b y 2 0 2 5. T h e typ ic al m aterials for p a c k i n g f o o d s in thin-walled containers are p o l y o l e f i n s o r polystyrene. However, experts e s t i m a t e t h a t i t will be impossible to achieve t h e st a t e d o b j e ctives with th es e m aterials. And t h e r e c y c l i n g f l ows lack the approval of the E u r o pe a n f o o d auth ority, E FSA . rPE T offers a s o l u t i o n f o r a vo id ing p enalties an d s p ecial t axes h e r e . A l t h o u g h the price for PET is high right n o w , t h i s m a k e s the material a cost effective a l t e r n a t i v e . E F SA has approved numerous r e c y c l i n g pr o c e s s es for PE T , en s uring that t he m a t e r i a l i s a va ilable in E urop e. P E T o f f e r s t he benefit of a close recycling l o o p a l r e a dy b ein g in p lac e. T o d ate, PE T is t he o n ly pa c k a g i n g m aterial whic h c an be p rocessed a s a r e c y c l e d material on an industrial s cale t o c r e a t e f o o d pac kaging. T h is innovatio n sees p a r t n e r c o mpa nies p ave the way for removing t h e n e e d t o d o wncycle packaging products o t h e r t h a n b o t t les, and opens up an opportunity f o r r e c y c l i n g o r even up c yc ling. T h is would s u b s t a n t i a l l y e xtend the range of uses for PET a n d r P ET . I n a dd ition to the bottle-to-bot t le c y c l e , t h i s a l so m eans th at the es tablis hment of bo t t l e - t o - c u p o r even a c up -to-bottle rec ycling is c o n c e i va b l e .
An Engel e-speed 280/50 injectio n moulding machine is t he heart of t he product ion cell. Eng el adds it specifi c a l l y developed t his hy b rid machine wit h i t s elect rical clamping unit and hy drauli c injection unit for the high performan c e requirements of thin-wall injection m o u l d i n g . At K2022, it will show a new hig h performance injection unit that achi e v e s injection speeds up 1,400 mm per sec o n d a t a maximum injection pressure of up t o 2 6 0 0 b ar when processing small shot weig h t s w i t h an ext reme wall-t hick ness t o flow pat h ra t i o. To process rPET, Eng el say s it co mbi n es the new injection unit with a plastic i s i n g u n i t from in-house development and pro d u c t i o n specifically designed for processing r e c y c l e d material. During plasticising and inj e c t i o n , the viscosity of the PET is configure d f o r thin-wall injection moulding. The ne w e-speed supports the processing of a r b i t r a r y recy cled mat erials up t o 100% rPET. Taking dif f er ent label tr ends into a c c ou n t Engel adds that it is presenting a mo u l d at the K show which can process dif f e r e n t lab els at t he same t ime. This sees t h e partners respond to the globally diff e r e n t trends in IML that are in line with t h e E P B P and/or Recyclass recommendations i n t h e EU, and wit h t he specificat ions from t h e Associat ion of Plast ic Recy clers (AP R ) f o r t h e US. The dyes used on in-mould labels f o r t h e American market and its requiremen t s c a n be washed off as the intent is to recy c l e t h e lab els and t he applicat ion for t his ma rket . A different t echnolog y is used in Euro pe: an in-mould label which floats off in t h e recy cling process mak ing it easy t o s epa ra t e t he dy es and t he lab el from t he PET.
In j e c t i ng a t a h igh er s p eed /s ec on d Th e mo di f i e d r P E T being p roc es s ed at the K s h o w c o m e s from drinks bottles recycled in t h e pl a n t s o f pac kagin g an d rec yc lin g s pecialist A l p l a G r o u p , h eadquartered in Hard, Austria. O t h e r pa r t n e r c om p anies involved in th e show e x h i b i t a r e B r i nk (Harskamp, Netherlands) for t h e m o u l d a n d IML automation and IPB Printing ( R e u s e l , N e t h e rlands) for the labels.
Engel will show a new high-performance injection unit on its e-speed injection moulding machine
6 JUNE 2022
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Injection Moulding Asia Packaging
Closed loop partnerships the way forward Four partners in PET multilayer packaging recycling The European Green Deal requires all packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030 – a regulation that is perceived as particularly challenging for multilayer packaging, since its layers first need to be separated before entering recycling streams. Now, multilayer packaging based on PET can have a bright and sustainable future. Sulayr, a recycling company operating in Europe, has successfully commercialised a multilayer recycling process that achieves ‘closed-loop’ status and enables PET to be reused with virtually zero waste. With this, a circular economy practice for PET containing packaging materials already exists, but this process can be improved and become more practical and effective. German industrial adhesives specialist BASF, packaging machinery OEM Bobst and films expert Evertis are supporting Sulayr in this endeavour. At the core of the process is a multilayer film produced by Evertis, comprising PET and PE layers, laminated with a BASF Epotal water-based adhesive and processed with a Bobst coater. Multilayer films are used for various packaging materials; after use, the waste is delivered to sorting facilities. Sulayr can use the so-called waste as raw material, ensuring a closed-loop. The company separates the multilayers and makes the PET available for re-use, with recycled PET (rPET) delivered to Evertis and other film producers who then restart the cycle. Sulayr has been able to separate different types of multilayers since 2009, but the speed and cost-effectiveness of the process depends on the debonding of the films. One way to optimise the recycling process is to produce all PET/PE trays under specific conditions that facilitate easy separation. This is an area in which the partners are collaborating: before bringing a new laminate to market, Evertis for example, qualifies it to be recyclable in Sulayr’s process, ensuring its layers can be separated easily. Sulayr and its collaboration partners also hope to change industry perceptions on a wider basis. Multilayers based on PET are necessary for many industrial uses, but were not thought of as a sustainable solution – until now. This bestpractice process could change the conversations about PET, waste, and sustainability that are taking place within value chain leaders and packaging associations, such as Petcore and CEFLEX.
Consumers are encouraged to return soft plastic packaging to collection points set up at Tesco stores. A portion of this collected plastic packaging is converted into recycled oils, called Tacoil, through a thermal anaerobic conversion process. Sabic uses the oil to produce certified circular PP of the same quality as virgin resin. With these polymer pellets, Berry Global then manufactures the new Beanz Snap Pots and sends them to Heinz for filling with Beanz and delivery to Tesco. Once emptied, the pots and sleeves can be returned to kerbside collection points. “We are happy to reaffirm our role as a provider of unique circular solutions,” states Lada Kurelec, General Manager PP, PET, PS, PVC, PU & Elastomers Businesses for Petrochemicals at Sabic. “Next to the material know-how, we have brought value chain partners together and provided crucial elements such as support with certification processes or life-cycle assessment calculations, all while helping to prevent valuable used plastics from being lost to landfill or incineration.” The Snap Pots recycling trial is part of Heinz’s global pledge aimed at making 100% of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. To date flexible packaging has been difficult to recycle, and until 2020 just 6% of soft plastic packaging was being recycled in the UK. Tesco started collecting soft plastic in all its large stores in 2021 to help plug this recycling gap in the UK. The Heinz and Tesco project with certified circular polymer from Sabic is considered a breakthrough with the potential of a real game changer. The new Heinz Beanz microwavable pots are made with 39% of certified circular Sabic PP homopolymer suitable for injection moulded or thermoformed food packaging products. The material meets the requirements of foodcontact safety regulations and is a true drop-in solution to replace virgin PP in this thin-wall application without compromising processability or mechanical performance, Sabic adds. The recycled content in the Snap Pots is validated by mass balance according to the ISCC Plus programme.
Sabic, Tesco, Heinz & Berry in closed-loop project for Heinz pots Meanwhile, chemical firm Sabic has joined forces with Heinz, retailer Tesco and packaging maker Berry Global in a recycling trial in the UK designed to close the loop on soft flexible plastic packaging collected from Tesco stores. It has been used to produce certified circular PP from Sabic’s Trucircle portfolio for microwavable Heinz Beanz Snap Pots, made from 39% recycled soft plastic.
Sabic, Heinz, Tesco and Berry are collaborating in a closed loop project for pots
7 JUNE 2022
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Rubber Journal Asia Industry News • U K f i r m Sy nth omer has c o m p l e t e d t he US$1 b i l l i o n a c q u isition of US m a t e r i a l s f i r m E as tman ’s Adh e si ve R e s in s bus ines s . T h e a c q u i r e d business will f o r m a n e w division within S y n t h o me r c alled A d h es ive Technologies. • I t a l i a n r u b b er recycler R ubbe r C o nvers ion h as c l o s e d a E U R2.5 million f i n a n c i n g r o und, to expand i t s p r o c e s s i n g capacity a n d e n t e r n e w geographic ma r k e t s. F i n an c ial bac kers i n t h e n e w r ound in c lud e R o m e - b a se d CDP V en tu re C a pi t a l SG R through its Evo l u t i o n F und ; T u rinb a s e d v e n t u re capital h o l d i n g c h a i red by Italian sc i e n t i st a n d entrep reneur S t e f a n o B u o no LIFTT; Swiss e n e r g y /r a w m aterials firm EN ET Ene r g y; as well as “ a g r o u p o f international b u si n e ss a n gel inves tors .” • U S - b a s e d m aterials f i r m Kr a t o n has made a si g n i f i c a n t i nves tm ent in i t s A l p h a M ethyl Styrene ( A M S ) r e s i n s facility i n N i o r t , F r a nce. The c o m pa n y , w hic h s p ec ialis es in su st a i n a b le p rod u c tion o f s p e c i a l t y polymers a n d h i g h - v a lue bio-based p r o d u c t s d e rived from p i n e w o o d pulp in g c o - pr o du c t s, ex p ec ts the i n v e s t m e n t t o result in a 1 5 % p r o d u c t ion increase a t t h e N i o r t manufacturing f a c i l i t y b y 2 023. In addition t o t h i s c a p a city increase, Kr a t o n a n t i c ip ates the i n v e s t m e n t will lead to a 7 0 % r e d u c t i on in solvent c o n su m pt i o n. • I n d i a n c a r b o n black su ppl i e r B i r la Carb on part o f I n d i a n m ultinational c o n g l o m e r a t e, is adding
20 0 k ilot onnes/y ear capacity expansion across k ey mark et s, wit h 80 k ilot onnes in India, 40 kilotonnes in Hungary, and 80 kilotonnes in China, aligned with customer growth plans to cover s t rat eg ic mark et s in Europe, India, and China in support of b ot h rub b er and specialt y applications expected to be c omplet e in 2024. • With 26% of its sales by the silicones division generated from new products launched in past fi ve years,Norwegian s ilicones provider Elkem is planning a flag ship NOK150- million R&D c ent re in Shang hai. Furt hermore, t he silicones X ing huo expansion project in China is expected to g enerat e addit ional NOK5 billion of sales from downstream specialisation by 2030. Elkem has also announced a partnership with Hy dr o and Alto r (60%) to accelerate the growth of Viano de, a producer of sust ainab le b at t ery mat erials. This invest ment is est imat ed t o around NOK2 billion and is pending clarifications related to framework c o ndit ions. • Dy naso l Gr o up, a joint vent ure b et ween KUO and R epso l, will increase its production capacity in Santander, Spain, by inst alling a new line t o p roduce 20 k ilot onnes/ year styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) (with the potential to reach 25 kilot onnes/y ear) b y 2024. Dynasol’s expansion plan also includes a capacity increase of its current
styrene-butadie n e - c o p o l y m e r (SBC) line locat e d i n Altamira, Mexic o , b y 10 k ilot onnes/yea r. • Br idg esto ne Am e ri c a s i s i n an exclusive pa rt n ersh i p wit h LanzaTech N Z t o address end-of-l i f e t yre waste, by co-de v e l o p i n g a recy cling proc ess leveraging Lanz a T e c h ’ s propriet ary t ech n o l ogy. • Indian t y re mak er A p o l l o Ty r es has launc h e d i t s Dig it al Innovat i o n H ub in London, UK. I t w i l l use Art ificial In t el l i gen c e and Machine Le a r n i n g technologies to s o l v e complex manuf a c t u r i n g problems, focus e d o n improving t he ef f i c i en c y, qualit y and sus t a i n a bi l i t y of its manufactu r i n g practices. The h u b i s part nering wit h G l a s gow Univ er sity and i s a l so implement ing a n on goi n g internship prog r a m m e f o r St em (Science, Tec h n o l ogy, Eng ineering and M a t h s) students as part o f t h e U K government stra t e g y . • To y o da Go sei C o w i l l expand it s Set o pl a n t , located near its m a i n customer in Jap a n , f r o m 45,000 to 51,000 s q m by 2023. It inclu d e s opt imisat ion of t h e product ion lay o ut , t h e introduction of l a r g e moulding mach i n e s a n d painting booths , a n d u s e of collab orat ive robo t s, automated insp e c t i o n machines, aut om a t ed product carriers , a n d I o T sy st ems. Toyoda Gose i w i l l a l s o est ab lish a new pl a n t i n G uang dong Pro v i n c e, China, to enhan c e i t s product ion net w ork f or
1 JUNE 2022
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Rubber Journal Asia Industry News a i r b a g s a n d steering w h e e l s , w i t h production p l a n n e d t o s tart around 2023. • T y r e ma k e r B rid ges ton e I ndi a h a s l a un c hed s ix w a l k - t h r o u g h educative t y r e s t o r e s t hat help c u s t o m e r m a ke an i n f o r m e d c h oice on tyre p u r c h a s e a n d related s e r v i c e s . W i th this launch, B r i d g e s t o n e says it has m o v e d a s t e p forward o n i t s a i m t o digitise its d e a l e r sh i p st ores . T he f i r s t o f t h e s e stores was l a u n c h e d i n Pune in 2021. • G e r m a n t y r e m aker C o nt i ne nt a l is und ertaking s u s t a i n a b i l i t y in a pilot p r o j e c t i n t h e UK by t e s t i n g a n d implementing a r a n g e o f s olutions. T h r o u g h t h e project, the c o m p a n y a i ms to improve t h e t r a n s p a r ency and s u s t a i n a b i l i t y of the natural r u b b e r s u p p ly chain. Set up b y I t o c h u C orporation, the P r o j e c t T R EE (T rans p aren t R u b b e r E c o s ystem for Ea r t h ) i n i t i a t ive will i n vo l ve C o n tin ental so u r c i n g t r a c eable an d r e spo n si b l y s ourc ed natu ral r u b b e r f o r u se within the c o mpa n y ’s t yre p rod u c tion processes. Continental has also inaugurated its 14,000-sq m greenfield plant in Pune, India, manufacturing surface solutions materials mainly for the Indian automotive and twowheeler market. With investment totalling more than EUR20 million, covering facilities and machinery, Continental will produce premium surface materials for car interiors, including
electric vehicles as well a s t w o - w h e e l e r seats, catering primarily to the domestic market and export s. • US mat erials company Do w is invest ing in it s Jincheon s it e in Sout h Korea t o s upport t he development of mouldable optical silicone technologies for b ot h aut omot ive and industrial lighting applicat ions. Addit ional investments are also planned this year for D ow’s operat ions in Midland, Song jiang and Zhang jiag ang . • US-b ased carb on b lack s upplier Or io n Eng ineer ed C ar bo ns will complet e its gas black expansion in Germany at plants in Dort mund and Colog ne b y ea rly 2023. Orion is t he only carbon black producer in t he indust ry wit h g as black capabilities. Gas blacks, known for excellent d ispersion and colourist ics, are used in coatings, p rint ing ink and ot her applicat ions. • G erman chemical firm Wacker C hem ie is expanding its production capacity for silicon metal at Holla, Norway, by around 50% with the construction of a new furnace, scheduled for complet ion in 2025. Silicon met al is one of Wacker’s most important raw materials for producing silicones and hy perpure poly silicon. Wacker adds it is working to replace t he coal used as a reducing agent in the manufact ure of silicon metal with renewable materials such as charcoal
or pellets. The a i m i s t o save up t o 430,0 0 0 t on n es/ year of CO2 in H o l l a . Wacker Chem i e i s a l s o investing EUR1 0 0 m i l l i o n for capacity exp a n s i o n s for liquid silico n e rubber (LSR) an d h i g h consist ency rubber ( H C R ) , b y 2023. Wacker Chem i e has opened a ne w EUR40 million r egi o n a l Innovation Cen t r e b a s e d i n Michigan, US, t o d e v e l o p high-margin bio t e c h a n d silicone special t i es f or hig h-t ech appli c a t i on s i n key industries, a n d a l s o serve as the hea d q u a r t e r s of Wack er’s sub si d i a ry Wacker Chemic a l Corporation, wh i c h is responsib le fo r t h e g roup’s b usines s a c t i v i t i es in North and Ce n t r a l America. • End-of-life tyre r e c y c l e r Py r um I nno v ati on s h a s started test ope r a t i o n o f its new pelletise r a t i t s plant site in Dil l i n g e n , Germany. The p e l l e t i s e r enab les t he reco v ered carb on b lack (rC B ) obtained by me a n s o f the pyrolysis pr o c e s s t o b e b onded int o pellet s,vwhich in c rea ses the transportab i l i t y a s well as facilitat e s t h e further processi n g o f t h e raw mat erial. • Synthetic rubbe r mak er Ar lanxeo i s investing in fur t h e r capacity at its H N B R (hydrogenated n i t r i l e butadiene rubbe r ) p l a n t in Leverk usen, Germa n y. The deb ot t lenec ki n g w i l l increase annual c a pa c i t y by around 10% a n d i s expected to be f u l l y o n st ream b y t he en d of 2 0 2 2 .
2 JUNE 2022
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Rubber Journal Asia Glove Sector
Highs and lows in the endemic stage As we witness the tail-end of the Covid-19 pandemic, are the glory days of glove sales over, asks Angelica Buan in this report.
A defining phase for Malaysian gloves makers According to MIDF Research, Malaysia supplies about 65% of the world’s total number of rubber gloves, and rubber gloves accounted for nearly 80% of Malaysia’s rubber product exports in 2020. The gloves sector, a significant contributor to the country’s GDP, was expected to generate RM60 billion in export revenue in 2021. The country is home to key gloves makers, including, Top Glove, Supermax, Hartalega, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, as well as a roster of emerging brands. The rollout of vaccines, as well as the continued rise in coronavirus disease cases, created demand constraints for PPEs. The glove industry stepped in to demonstrate its ability to absorb the supply shortfall. It is true that the pandemic has provided opportunities to boost demand for gloves, and led to the volatility in global rubber prices, according to an ASEAN Briefing report produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. It went on to say that Malaysia has since seen a decline in its upstream sector, which has impacted Malaysian manufacturers. This is just one of the challenges the sector has recently faced.
Untold gains There is no doubt the personal protective equipment (PPE) industry has benefited from an unprecedented surge in demand for PPE kits and gloves, especially during the global Covid-19 pandemic. When the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicted a massive PPE supply gap at the height of the pandemic, estimating that 89 million medical masks, 76 million examination gloves, and 1.6 million medical goggles would be required monthly to respond to the pandemic, enterprising businesses entered the PPE industry, creating “new tycoons”. Competition in this segment also became fiercer. Meanwhile, established companies expanded their PPE portfolios or retooled their plants to produce PPEs. However, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. Demand for PPEs has started to plateau as the number of Covid-19 cases went down. But because PPEs are hygiene mainstays, it is unlikely that the growth trajectory will turn negative and sales will plummet.
Endemic blows The world has realised that living with the virus is the only way out of the pandemic’s rabbit hole. The economy must restart, and life must resume as normally as possible. However, the story has unfolded differently in the gloves sector. As they say, the bottom has fallen out of the industry. Several glove manufacturers have already stated that soft demand, as the world transitions to the endemic phase, is affecting their revenues. Top Glove, for example, reportedly reported a lower net profit of RM15.29 million in the third quarter ending 31 May, with net profit for the quarter falling more than 99% from RM 2.04 billion the previous year. Revenue for the quarter also tumbled nearly 65% to RM1.46 billion from RM4.16 billion the previous year.
Demand for PPEs has started to wind down as the number of Covid-19 cases continue to decline
Meanwhile, revenues in the glove industry are slowing down, particularly in Malaysia, which has the world’s largest glove manufacturing industry. This means that the mad rush to get PPEs, like masks and gloves, is over.
Top Glove, the world’s largest glove manufacturer, cautions against a demand-supply mismatch affecting sales
3 JUNE 2022
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Rubber Journal Asia Glove Sector Upbeat about the future Looking ahead, the glove industry is upbeat about recouping losses. The positive findings of the ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic (AMRO) consultation report on Malaysia in 2020 could be a foreshadow of things to come. Malaysia has consistently outperformed its ASEAN competitors in rubber glove exports, such as Thailand and Indonesia. The world’s largest glove exporter occupies roughly 60% of the global market. Given Malaysia’s success in overcoming the Asian financial crisis and becoming the world’s largest supplier of gloves, it is highly likely that the industry will recover following the pandemic.
Accordingly, Top Glove attributes the weaker performance to the normalisation of average selling prices (ASPs) and glove demand as a result of the global vaccine rollout, while customers were cautious about replenishing orders. Additionally, raw material costs decreased at a much slower rate than glove ASPs, thus affecting profits. Furthermore, the company, which is known as the world’s largest glove producer, has hinted that the ASP for rubber gloves will slip below the pre-pandemic level in 2019 if the demand and supply gap is not closed. Relatedly, Top Glove has announced that it will postpone its expansion plans due to the challenging business environment. Its growth strategy will include a mix of organic and inorganic expansion, as well as strategic investments, it said. It adds that it is expected to have 59 factories by the end of 2025, including 46 glove factories and 13 other factories, 1,486 glove production lines, and a glove production capacity of 201 billion gloves/year.
Diversification tactics Malaysia’s economy and trade have begun to pick up steam as the country enters an endemic phase, with global restrictions easing and borders reopening. Malaysia’s GDP has increased by 5% in the first quarter of this year, compared to 3.6% the previous quarter, according to data from the Department of Statistics. The recovery is expected to continue, owing to an increase in consumer confidence, which will boost demand despite the challenging business environment,, particularly inflation and global supply chain disruption. Likewise, according to the agency, supply-side economic performance in the first quarter of 2022 was driven by continued growth in the services, Hartalega, a global supplier of nitrile gloves, is reportedly seeing a decline in sales as demand manufacturing, and agriculture sectors. for gloves cools down The market continues to provide growth opportunities for glove manufacturers. There are also Hartalega, a global frontrunner in nitrile gloves, other market segments worth investigating. reportedly lost RM197.9 million in the fourth quarter Gloves dominated rubber product exports, accounting ended 31 March 2022, down from RM1.12 billion the for 89% of the country’s rubber product exports worth previous year. In 2021, it was reported that it earned RM61.68 million in 2021. But in 2022, gloves exports fell to a net profit of RM1 billion for the third quarter ended 66.2% or RM6.04 billion. 31 December 2020, an increase of nearly 84% from In this regard, and to mitigate further losses, MRC RM 544.96 million the previous quarter. (Malaysian Rubber Council)’s Nor Hizwan Ahmad suggested Another glove major, Supermax, reported a decline in diversifying into non-medical industries such as food and ASP, with net profit slipping to RM13 million in the third beverage (F&B), hospitality, and semi-conductor. MRC, quarter ending 31 March 2022, down from RM1 billion formerly known as Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion the previous year. Aside from the global and local market Council, recently launched a RM10 million research fund to challenges, Supermax’s sales have been negatively affected encourage research into other rubber products. by the US’s withhold release order (WRO). The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Meanwhile, compatriot Kossan’s fourth-quarter net Association (Margma) expressed similar sentiments about profit fell 60% due to lower sales and ASP normalisation tapping into “non-traditional” glove markets, where demand across its glove, technical rubber products, and cleanis expected to grow by 20%. room segments. Nonetheless, there are plans to accelerate While the endemic phase signals a return to normalcy, reinvestment in digitalisation and automation of its plants there are also challenges to industries, to embrace to boost productivity, according to the company. disruptions with workable solutions. On its end, Supermax is expanding its capacity That being said, companies operating in gloves sector with new glove plants in the US, investing a total are challenged to think-out-of the-box to sharpen resiliency, RM1.39 billion. The new plants, according to Supermax, enhance competitiveness, achieve growth targets, as well as will add 22.25 billion new capacity to the group’s total maintain a healthy cash flow. capacity of 48.42 billion gloves, once fully operational.
4 JUNE 2022
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Rubber Journal Asia Recycling
Finding ways to recycle rubber In the lead-up to the K trade fair 2022, industry association VDMA provides an interview with Daniela Dingfelder, COO of Deguma-Schuetz GmbH, on the potentials of recycling rubber.
Deguma is a specialist in retrofitting. Does this also contribute towards climate protection? Deguma originally comes from the field of machine reworking. We have been working for years on making machines more energy-efficient when they are retrofitted, for example with our new drive system. This enables maximum torques to be achieved even at lowest speeds. One of our customers was able to save 100,000 kWh of electricity per year in production as a result. The machines are extremely durable. We currently have a machine from 1937 under revision. We can bring these machines up to current technical standards and return them to the market, where they can be used for many years to come. They are then very efficient, and raw materials for new machines are saved. But there are limits to what we can do in this field.
Is rubber sustainable as a material? Both natural rubber and synthetic rubber have advantages and disadvantages in terms of sustainability. Both are indispensable in everyday life – for everyday goods such as shoe soles as well as in the construction industry, the automotive industry or tunnel construction. The negative aspects are that natural rubber is mainly obtained from monocultures, while synthetic rubber is based on fossil oil. We need rubber, but we want it to be sustainable. That’s why for some time, we’ve occupied ourselves more intensely with recycling. Together with our customers, we are looking for ways to recycle the material and develop the right machines to do so.
Deguma is part of the AdaptAR project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. What is it about? It’s about digitising technical operating instructions – with the help of digital twins and augmented reality. The goal is to always have all manuals up to date, something that is not possible in paper form. This has many advantages: for one thing, replacing paper saves valuable resources. In addition, we also want to address the shortage of skilled workers. This is because the instructions are available in several languages. This means that even a skilled worker who does not speak the language commonly used in his or her company can understand the instructions. Moreover, by creating a digital twin, errors can be detected more quickly. And finally, digitisation enables remote access to machines. This means that far fewer service personnel need to fly around the world, meaning further savings on Daniela Dingfelder, COO of Deguma-Schuetz GmbH CO2 emissions.
How much interest is there in that area? Awareness of sustainability has grown enormously within the industry. We can see that in the number of projects that our sector alone is pursuing, as companies recognise their responsibility. At Deguma, we say, yes, we are building machines for rubber production and processing, but we see to it that we do so as sustainably as possible. For example, we have developed a new drive system that enables energy savings of up to 30%. We are also switching to a modular design, so that only components and modules need to be replaced rather than the entire machine.
What role has Deguma taken on in this project? Our role is to test everything in the application that has been developed. We make our processes available to feed the digital world with data first. We do that continuously. We have entered our data into an app. This app along with a tablet are delivered to customers together with the machines and ask them to just try it out. That works very well. Another advantage for us is that by means of the technical data, we are able to look more closely at the production cycle and make the machines more efficient and save energy.
5 JUNE 2022
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