PRA Sept 2020 issue

DIGITAL EDITION www.plasticsandrubberasia.com

A S l A ’ S L E A D l N G m aga z l ne f o r t h e p las t l c s and r u b b e r l nd u s t r y

业 界新闻 材 料新闻: 使用生物替代品摆脱塑料危害

In this issue

Volume 35, No 256

publlshed slnce 1985

A S l A’ S L E A D l N G m aga z l ne f o r the plastlcs and rubber lndustry

Features 焦 點 內 容 13 材料新聞: 使用生物替代品擺脫塑料危害 16 Packaging – By accelerating the circular economy with sustainable packaging and recycling, the industry may be able to curtail the persistent plastic waste pollution problem

20 Packaging – Materials firm Sabic supplied its flexible film structures with advanced polyolefin plastomers to two Vietnamese packaging film manufacturers, to help mitigate the challenges in food & water security in the country

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Arthur Schavemaker Tel: +31 547 275005 Email: arthur@kenter.nl Associate Publisher/Executive Editor Tej Fernandez Tel: +60 3 4260 4575 Email: tej@plasticsandrubberasia.com Senior Editor Angelica Buan Email: gel@plasticsandrubberasia.com Chinese Editor Koh Bee Ling

Regulars 概 要

Circulation Stephanie Yuen Email: stephanie@taramedia.com.my

2 Industry News 5 Machinery News

Permits

7 Materials News

MCI (P) 035/08/2019

10 業界新聞

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Supplements 副 刊 Automotive: the electric vehicle market is driving the growth of materials and technologies 3D/Additive Printing: the technology is being used in the motorsports sector; while new materials are being developed The tyre industry is reducing the environmental impact of tyres with a circular approach to managing waste tyres and enhancing the performance of new tyres

On the Cover DIGITAL EDITION www.plasticsandrubberasia.com

The packaging sector has boomed during the Covid19 pandemic and this has led to more waste in the environment; sustainable technology and recycling is the path forward to dealing with more waste

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

业界 新 闻 材料新 闻 : 使用生物替代品摆脱塑料危害

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september 2020

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Industry News

M&As/Investments/Tie-ups • India’s largest conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd is to carve out its oil-to-chemicals business by transferring its entire refining, petrochemicals, fuel retail (majority interest only) and bulk wholesale marketing businesses, along with its assets and liabilities, to a new unit, Reliance O2C Ltd. The separation of the assets was planned as part of Reliance’s target to sell 20% in its refining and chemicals business to oil giant Saudi Aramco, which has been delayed.

However, Aramco says it is still working on the US$15 billion stake purchase plan.

• US firm Ascend Performance Materials has completed its acquisition of Italian firms Poliblend and Esseti Plast, thereby expanding its portfolio into other engineered plastics, recycled resins and masterbatches.

As part of the purchase, Ascend establishes its 2

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second production facility in Europe.

The acquisition also includes Poliblend Deutschland, a distribution facility located in Germany.

• Switzerlandbased process technology provider Maag Group has acquired Germanybased XanTec Steuerungsund EDV Technik. XanTec manufactures advanced industrial control systems that are employed in production plants, pelletising systems and extruders, for improved process control and machine intelligence.

in South Korean compounder of solutions for the global wire and cable industry DYM Solution Co to cater to global wire and cable customers.

• Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has entered into a capital and business alliance with Refinverse Inc, which operates an industrial waste collection, treatment, and recycling business.

The alliance was formed when Refinverse granted stock to MCC through thirdparty allotment to raise capital, and the two companies signed an outsourcing agreement.

• US chemical firm Huntsman is to sell 42.5 million of the shares it holds in Venator Materials for US$100 million to SK Capital Partners, including a 30-month option for the sale of the remaining approximate 9.5 million shares it holds at US$2.15 per share.

• US-based materials firm Lubrizol Advanced Materials, the largest manufacturer of CPVC compound worldwide, and Prince Pipes and Fittings, have signed a processor agreement for the manufacturing and sale of Prince FlowGuard Plus CPVC (chlorinated polyvinylchloride) pipes and fittings in India.

• Austria’s Borealis has acquired a controlling stake

• Ineos Olefins & Polymers has partnered with

waste management company Saica Natur in a supply agreement for recycled LDPE and LLDPE, to develop PE RecyclIN resins. This is to meet the needs of converters, brand owners and retailers to use more than 60% recycled plastics in applications such as stretch and lamination films typically used in flexible pouches for detergent and personal care products.

• Clean technology solutions firm Axens, French research institute IFPEN and Japanese recycler JEPLAN are teaming up to commercialise a PET monomer recycling process for all types of waste PETbased materials, including bottles, films, trays or textile (polyester).

Called Rewind PET it involves an optimised glycolysisbased PET depolymerisation combined with specific purification steps aimed at removing all organic and inorganic compounds present in waste PET to create a purified BHET monomer.

INDUSTRY NEWS

New Plants/Capacity Expansions • German chemicals firm Evonik is investing EUR15 million in its C4 production network in Marl with debottlenecking measures to increase local production capacity for isobutene derivatives by 50% by December 2021. In addition, logistics will be further expanded to further increase the flexibility of supply to customers: both in terms of the quantities requested and the delivery time.

• Lubricant/fuel additive maker Afton Chemical Corporation, part of the NewMarket Corporation, is investing S$400 million in Gasoline Performance Additives (GPA) blending capabilities at its Singapore Chemical additive manufacturing facility. It will be operational by the fourth quarter of 2021.

• US materials supplier Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, has made various investments in its thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) business

globally to extend capabilities in surface protection and paint protection film (PPF).

• Materials supplier Sabic is boosting production capacity for its specialty Noryl SA9000 resin to support rapid growth of high-performance printed circuit boards (PCBs) used in 5G base stations and highspeed servers. This latest expansion, which builds on 2019 increases, will nearly double regional production in Asia and increase overall Noryl SA9000 resin production in Asia tenfold vs. 2018 levels.

tonnes, to increase its capacity for thermoformed recyclable protein trays in North America. This is its fourth major expansion, with a 30% capacity expansion at its Brazilian location as well as groundbreaking at its central Virginia location to increase pharmaceutical films capacity by 6,000 tonnes.

• Finnish renewable solutions firm Stora Enso will build a pilot facility for producing Cellufoam, a lightweight, fibre-based foam material for protective packaging and cushioning, at its Fors Mill facility in Sweden. It will be ready by 2021.

• Russian petchem firm Sibur has started construction of its massive US$10 billion Amur Gas Complex, which is set to house the world’s largest steam cracker as well as downstream polymer production plants to be located in the Svobodny district of Amur region. It is scheduled for completion in 2024 and commissioning in 2025. The project will have a facility with a total capacity of 2.7 million tonnes/year (2.3 million tonnes/ year of PE and 400 kilotonnes/year of PP).

• Packaging firm Klöckner Pentaplast is expanding its postconsumer recycled PET extrusion capacity by 17,500

• Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company (DRPIC) will use polyolefin licensor LyondellBasell’s PP and HDPE

technologies for a new facility that will be built in Al Duqm, Oman. The new plants will comprise of a 280 kilotonnes/year PP plant and a 480 kilotonnes/year HDPE plant.

• Technology provider KBR has been awarded two contracts by Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group for its 500 kilotonnes/ year coal to olefins project and 500 kilotonnes/ year C2-C5 comprehensive utilisation project to be built in Lingwu City, Ningxia, China.

It will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes/ year of olefins and the largest singletrain methanol to olefins (MTO) plant in the world.

• India-based packaging film maker Cosmo Films is to re-commence the installation of a BOPET line by the second quarter of 2022-23, at its Waluj plant site in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes/year.

This plant already houses BOPP lines, extrusion coating lines, chemical coating lines, metallisers and a CPP line.

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Industry News

• LyondellBasell and China's Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group (Bora) have started up a new US$2.6 billion joint venture polyolefin complex in the Liaoning province of northeastern China.

The facility includes a 1.1 milliontonne/year flexible naphtha/LPG cracker and associated PE production capacity of 800,000 tonnes/ year and 600,000 tonnes/year of PP. LyondellBasell has also startedup its MoReTec molecular recycling facility at its Ferrara, Italy, site, with a capability of processing 5-10 kg/ hour of household waste. The new plastic materials created by MoReTec can be used in food packaging and healthcare items.

• Invista Performance Technologies (IPT) is to license its P8 PTA (purified terephthalic acid) technology for two PTA lines to be set up by Jiangsu Jiatong Energy, a subsidiary of Tongkun Group, in Rudong, Nantong City, China. Both lines deploy Invista’s largest twin stream design.

A project start-up date of Q4 2022 is targeted for the first line.

Invista is also licensing its

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technology to Turkey’s SASA Polyester for its PTA project in Adana, Turkey. With a PTA production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes/ year, this would be the largest singlestream design capacity licensed by Invista.

• Lummus Technology’s Novolen business has been awarded a contract by Lukoil NNOS for a petrochemical facility in Kstovo, Russia, for the technology license for a 500 kilotonnes/year PP unit and catalyst supply. This is the first PP license awarded since Lummus became an independent company and the largest Novolen PP unit licensed in Russia to date.

• Sustainable plastics technology provider Loop Industries and environmental services firm Suez are to build the first Infinite Loop PET recycling facility in Europe. It will be the world’s largest, with the potential to produce 4.2 billion foodgrade beverage bottles, made from 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable PET plastic. Final site selection and engineering are to be completed

by mid-2021 and commissioning of the facility is currently projected in 2023.

• Brazilian polyolefins/ biopolymers producer Braskem has launched commercial production at its newest, world-class US$750 million PP production line in La Porte, Texas. It is the largest PP production line in the Americas and the first new PP plant in North America since 2008.

It has a production capacity of over 450 kilotonnes/year and the capability to produce the entire PP portfolio.

• Kazakhstan’s first PP plant, being constructed in the Atyrau region, is set to come online in the third quarter of 2021, according to project operator Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Inc. (KPI). It will have a production of 500,000 tonnes/ year, of which 10% will be for domestic use in Kazakhstan and the rest will be exported to Western and Central Europe, Turkey, China and some postSoviet countries.

Raw material for the plant will be supplied by Tengizchevroil, the operator of

Kazakhstan's giant Tengiz oil field.

• Munich-based chemical group Wacker has opened a global competence centre for thermal interface materials (TIMs) in Shanghai, China. It is located at the company’s China headquarters in Caohejing High-Tech Park and will conduct research to develop silicone-based thermal interface products and solutions for the electrical vehicle market as well as for consumer electronics and telecommunication industries.

• Honeywell UOP’s C 3 Oleflex technology will be used by Zhenhua Petrochemical Co. for propane dehydrogenation to process 1 million tonnes/year of polymer-grade propylene for a plant in Dongying City, Shandong Province, China.

Honeywell’s technology has also been selected

by Guangxi Huayi New Material, a subsidiary of Shanghai Huayi, for propane dehydrogenation for the production of 750,000 tonnes of polymer-grade propylene at its plant in Qinzhou, Guangxi, China.

WM had to cater to thermoforming a cup that is double in thickness, for the Chinese market

Oliverio also emphasises the out-of-the-box approach of the Swiss manufacturer. While doing tests with raw materials and specifics “Made in China”, WM technicians reasoned on how to optimise the mould closures rather than calibrating the plug power, because the usual parameters had to be adjusted for operating with thicker material.

“Power and speed are parameters that work in the opposite direction. If you increase the power, you must decrease the speed. This, at least, is what the technical literature says. But in our case, both parameters had to be guaranteed.”

Oliverio adds that having understood the customer’s needs, it started exchanging ideas with its most qualified ball screw suppliers, and this approach resulted in a mix of motor, screw, speed and power that has allowed WM to break through the Asian market.

Brückner teams up along the value chain for BOPP Extrusion machinery maker Brückner Maschinenbau says it is involved at many levels of the value chain with materials/ machine makers for a host of new technology.

Machinery News

WM caters to Asian thermoforming needs Swiss machine maker WM Thermforming says it was able to overcome a challenge regarding a not-so-simple process for the thermoforming of disposable high-thickness cups in China.

According to Luca Oliverio, Commercial Director of WM Thermoforming Machines, “In China the medium-high production of disposable cups is in the hands of companies that produce beverages, such as milk tea, which after filling the glass and sealing it with a heat-sealed film proceed to the packaging and sales of the finished product to large retailers.”

A plus point for WM is that this market is really huge.

The con, on the other hand, is that high thickness is a must: if in the West, an industrial flat edge cup in PET or PP with a volume of 650 cc is thermoformed with a thickness of 1.2 mm. In the East, it is at least 3.2 mm thick, which is more than double and a characteristic demanded by the local market.

Brückner’s pilot line has been in the centre of numerous development projects

One of its collaboration is with materials maker Dow in developing BOPE-LLD and BOPE-HD resins and films as well as barrier solutions for BOPE (biaxially oriented polyethylene). It is also testing with materials maker Sabic a new BOPE-LLD material and has tested Sabic’s certified circular BOPP material (which incorporates recycled content) as a drop-in solution for biax-film applications.

Meanwhile, it is working with chemicals maker Nova Chemicals to commercialise a new high-density resin technology for the BOPE market. Besides BOPE-HD, Nova offers also BOPE-LLD grades. In a common project with Nova, film producer Polivouga and Brückner, a full BOPEpouch consisting of BOPE-HD for the stiff base film and BOPE-LLD as sealing web will be presented to the market.

Brückner has also developed with film manufacturers: Bulgarian Plastchim-T and Portuguese Polivouga, ultraflexible BOPP/BOPE hybrid lines for an extended range of films. Both lines will be in operation by the second half of the year 2021.

In the “Circular Alliance”, six companies teamed up to produce new high barrier mono material flexible packaging solutions designed for recyclability. The partners include Dow, Brückner for the production of the biaxial stretched PP and polyolefin-based films, Hosokawa Alpine for the production of MDO LDPE, Elba to convert the finished film rolls into pouches, Constantia Flexibles to produce metallised high barrier stand-up pouches and finally Bobst with its high barrier, printing/lamination.

Last year also, a value chain project initiative was launched by a group of companies under the acronym PRINTCYC (Printed PP films for mechanical recycling) to research and test ways to create circular economy solutions basing on post-industrial waste. Members of PRINTCYC include Brückner, thermoforming machine maker Kiefel and PackSys Global, film producer Profol, ink manufacturers Huber Group and Siegwerk, converters Constantia Flexibles and Wipak as well as recycling specialist Erema.

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Machinery News Coordinated by akk innovation, the first two project phases were to look at the impact of different ink formulations on the mechanical PP and PE recycling process. Furthermore, the re-usability of PP and PE recyclates (rPP/rPE) made from printed post-industrial film waste was evaluated in cast film, blown film, compression moulding and thermoforming technologies as well as the biaxial stretching process.

R-Cycle is the open and globally usable tracing standard along the life cycle of plastic packaging. Partners in this project are: machine makers Arburg, Kautex Maschinenbau, Reifenhäuser, Brückner, the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) and GS1 Germany.

Hennecke reorganises metering machine production Despite the Covid-19 crisis, Germany-based PU machine supplier Hennecke invested EUR2 million in a structural transformation of its standardised metering machine production, one of the largest single investments in the company's recent history at the Hennecke parent facility in Germany.

The new 'Hennecke Production System' (HPS) was launched in July along with the associated reorganisation of the metering machine production at the Sankt Augustin site. The aim of the pilot project is to increase the competitiveness of the entire company group.

As of 2019, the development, design and manufacture of all high and low-pressure PU machines and all available mixhead systems have been consolidated at the German headquarters in Sankt.

The HPS is a modernised version of the well-known lean production systems and its content has been tailored to the entire Hennecke organisation. The main added-value of the HPS lies in the interlinking of the different production areas, which allows for a synchronised, waste-free production that is aligned with customer demand. Here the focus is on reducing stocks and downtimes and on maximising quality and adherence to delivery dates, as well as using assembly space to add value.

As well, essential improvements have been made to the production layout. Even though completion of all the individual measures is planned for the final quarter of 2020, the changes are already in place.

Together with the Hennecke Advisory Board, the management inaugurated a graphical depiction of the HPS. The official inauguration ceremony was attended by a small group of people in conformance with the current Covid-19 restrictions. To depict the system, Hennecke deliberately selected a well-established pillar model which looks like a house.

Wilmington launches new pallet moulding machine US-based Wilmington Machinery has a new low-pressure pallet injection moulding machine called the Lumina Pallateer Model PM-1C, which is said to be the lowest cost US made machine of its’ type, to compete with Asian built injection machines of comparable capacity. Plus, like its predecessors, the new machine accepts 100% recycled plastics even in flake form, to produce the lowest cost plastic pallets.

Wilmington’s latest pallet injection moulding machine

Unveiling the HPS depiction at the inauguration of the new production system by Rolf Friedli, Chairman of the Advisory Board Hennecke Group, and Thomas Wildt, CEO Hennecke Group

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The PM-1C machine comes standard with a 350 tonne press capable of moulding pallets up to 48” x 52” size weighting up to 18 kg. It has a HDPE melting capacity of 540 kg/hour sufficient to produce 30 pallets/hour. Hot runner moulds, robots and other accessories are available from Wilmington including training and ongoing service.

It also boasts a small footprint, low energy consumption, and has a two-stage injection unit (extruder/accumulator) furnished with bimetallic barrels and long-life feed screws.

Controlled by a Beckhoff PLC and actuated by Rexroth hydraulic components it is a hybrid machine. A classic structural foam multi-nozzle injection manifold is an available option.

Breakthroughs in biodegradable plastics offer the benefits of conventional plastics, minus the environmental impact, says Angelica Buan in this report.

To bio or not As economies reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, pressing issues such as the plastic crisis are back in the deliberation room. Biodegradable plastics may or may not solve the global plastic pollution but at least show that something can still be done to avert the problem.

Plastics, after all, are unmatched when it comes to material applications for packaging, medical devices, automotive, consumer goods, textiles, buildings, and other industries.

During the months-long joust with the coronavirus, plastics outperformed other materials as effective barriers against infection transmission.

The market for biodegradables, already witnessing billion-dollar growth, is anticipated to bloat in the coming “new normal” years towards an increasing use of single-use, disposable products without jeopardising the environment. Utilisation of raw materials that are renewable, easily accessible and in abundant supply is favouring the preference for biodegradable plastics as a go-to solution.

Concerted efforts to develop biodegradable plastics More concrete actions are being made toward advancing biodegradable plastics use, with several projects created and funded to sustain the initiatives. Amongst this is the Piloting Alternatives for Plastics project, a consortium led

by Finnish company VTT, to develop fibre-based plastics.

The EUR6.7 million three-year project (2020-2023) has been implemented with funding from the European Regional

The Piloting Alternatives for Plastics project, a consortium led

by Finnish company VTT, aims to develop fibre-based plastics

Materials News

Breaking free from plastics with bio-alternatives Development Fund (ERDF) and companies coordinated by the Regional Council of Central Finland.

Participants in the project include 52 companies from Finland and elsewhere in Europe. The pilot projects are being carried out by VTT in Jyväskylä with access to, among other things, the first research environment in the world to utilise the foam-forming process. The selected piloting targets include fibre-based materials to replace plastics used in food packaging, filters, textiles as well as wiping, hygiene and construction materials, VTT said.

VTT’s Vice-President Jani Lehto said that the project offers a new perspective of bio-based fibre networks and how by tailoring them new types of recyclable materials that do not burden the environment can be produced.

Danimer Scientific, a developer and manufacturer of biodegradable materials, is also scaling to commercialisation its polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a material verified by the University of Georgia as “a truly biodegradable alternative to traditional petrochemical plastic”. With a US Department of Energy grant, Danimer Scientific, working with research teams at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden Colorado and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, will produce tuneable combinations of PHA with different chain lengths.

Phil Van Trump, CTO of Danimer Scientific, said that reducing the environmental impact of single-use plastic waste is one of the most pressing issues facing the world and the company’s initiative can address by exploring potential new areas of applications for PHAs that have not been tried before.

Focusing on biodegradability with masterbatch With all the initiatives on bioedragradable materials, one crucial aspect always comes to the fore – the extent of biodegradability. This question has been addressed by Polymateria, a London-based technology company, with its Biotransformation technology. This new masterbatch technology, according to the company, effects true biodegradation for plastic that escapes into the natural environment – and this means, no microplastic residues.

The masterbatch is also fully compatible with normal plastic conversion processes.

The company is accelerating the rollout of its Biotransformation technology with a fresh investment of £15 million from the European growth investment platform Planet First Partners (PFP). Polymateria has also secured SEPTEMBER 2020

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Materials News properties on par with conventional fuel-based plastics.

With demand anticipated to flourish, global production is likewise forecast to rise. IDTechEx forecasts global bioplastics production to rack up 2.5 million tonnes by 2025 and breach 600 million tonnes by 2030.

Starch is often a base for most bioplastics being produced because starch crops are endemic in many areas and are inexpensive.

In Brazil, the world’s second largest cassava producer, a team of scientists, led by Carla Ivonne La Fuente Arias at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, developed a biodegradable plastic that could be used for food packaging or carrier bags, using cassava and ozone gas.

Polymateria's Biotransformation technology is formulated as a drop-in masterbatch, and ensures complete biodegradation of plastic

two separate research grants from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, funded by the UK government of a total of over £1 million. It will develop the first Biotransformation technology for PET and the first petroplastic that meets international standards for both home and industrial composting.

According to Polymateria, on a range of the most-littered forms of PET and PP packaging, an independent third-party laboratory testing has achieved 100% biodegradation on a rigid plastic container in 336 days and film material in 226 days. This was done in real-world “mesophilic” conditions.

The process needed no industrial composting facilities and left zero microplastics behind, nor did it cause any environmental harm in the process.

Additionally, the technology has also been proven at independent laboratories to have no impact on relevant recycling streams at scale. In order to enable this, Biotransformation can be time-controlled, according to a product’s shelf-life, and given a ‘Recycle By’ date to promote recycling to consumers. It can, therefore, be used by manufacturers to make totally recyclable and biodegradable products such as cups, bottles, fruit packaging, dairy pots and hot food containers.

Polymateria has also partnered with Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant to bring Biotransformation technology to market in Southeast Asia, a major consumer of single-use plastics.

Bioplastics: guilt-free materials for major applications Going vegan is not only a fad; it is a lifestyle, according to vegan advocates. This could ring true for bioplastics producers that see bioplastics as a sound solution to easing the burden in waste management as well as allowing consumption of single-use plastic products without adding onto plastic waste pollution.

Apart from bioplastics coming from renewable biomass feedstock, technologies are advancing to make their

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Researchers at the University of São Paulo developed a biodegradable plastic that could be used for food packaging or carrier bags, using cassava and ozone gas

According to the researchers, the application of ozone gas changes the molecular properties of the cassava starch to produce a bioplastic 30% tougher than those made of the starch from potato, rice or corn; as well, it improves the transparency of the bioplastic.

Elsewhere, Spain-headquartered supplier of compounds and masterbatches, Kompuestos has developed a potatobased bioplastic, said to biodegrade on the ground in four weeks.

This new bioplastic in the company's Biokomp range is 100% biodegradable in a specific period of time, and certified with the "OK Compost" label from the Agency TÜV Austria. The innovative formulation of this new bioplastic aims to replace the traditional supermarket plastic bags for fruit or vegetables and thus, significantly reduce the carbon footprint. Already, Biokomp biodegradable resins are made from different starches derived from corn, and various types of cereals, among other polymers of renewable origin.

These resins can be processed in standard processing equipment.

Meanwhile, Kompuestos has unveiled three bioplastics in its Okean range that biodegrade in water under natural conditions (temperature between 20°C and 25°C) in around 52 days, becoming biomass, carbon dioxide and water, without leaving toxic residue. The new bioplastics, which have obtained the "OK biodegradable Water" certificate

Materials News

Kompuestos's biodegradable resins are produced from starchbased crops like potato, corn, cereals and other renewable sources

from TĂœV Austria, offer an alternative to traditional plastic items that are at risk of ending up in rivers. Additionally, these starch-based products (from maize, potato, and other renewable sources), can be processed in standard equipment.

Ground coffee: a promising nanofibre source Cellulose nanofibre is an advanced biomass material that is both environmentally friendly to produce and dispose of. It is normally derived from wood pulp, which is abundant in supply, yet can be costly.

A group of Japanese scientists have offered a cheaper, equally sustainable source of this material: used coffee grounds.

Spent coffee grounds-derived cellulose nanofibres can be used as lightweight, sturdy materials and filters for buildings, car parts, and other range of applications

Researchers at Yokohama National University (YNU), led

by Associate Professor Izuru Kawamura from the Graduate School of Engineering Science, studied the viability of spent coffee grounds (SCG). Building upon previous research on coffee grounds as a source of cellulose nanofibres, the team produced transparent disposal coffee cups and straws with an additive comprising SCG-derived cellulose nanofibres.

The process involved isolating the cellulose nanofibres from the beans' cell walls by catalytic oxidation.

According to the researchers, cellulose nanofibres, which are made from cellulose in plant cell walls, are five times tougher and lighter than iron, and have good insulation. It is expected that SCG-cellulose nanofibres can also be used as lightweight, sturdy materials and filters for buildings and car parts.

Going bananas over recyclable plastics It is hard to imagine that a banana, an in-demand, all-season fruit, can be an environmental nuisance. Banana production generates significant organic waste (pseudostems), usually left on plantations once the fruit has been harvested. The waste may not have nutritional value for the soil, but studies have merited the banana plant waste’s abundance in fibres and compounds that, if utilised, can produce valuable products.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney have converted banana plantation waste, the pseudostems, into packaging material that is not only biodegradable but also recyclable.

The pseudostems are the layered, fleshy trunk of the plant, which is cut down after each harvest and mostly discarded on the field. Some of it is used for textiles, some as compost, but other than that, it’s a huge waste, according to lead researchers Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot and Professor Martina Stenzel at the UNSW School of Chemistry.

The cellulose that can be derived from pseudostems have the potential for use in packaging, paper products, textiles and even medical applications such as wound healing and drug delivery.

Using a reliable supply of pseudostem material from banana plants grown at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the team set to work in extracting cellulose to test its suitability as a packaging alternative.

According to Arcot, pseudostem is 90% water so the solid material ends up reducing down to about 10%.

The pseudostem was cut into pieces, dried at very low temperatures in a drying oven, and then milled into a very fine powder, which was washed with a very soft chemical treatment. This isolates the nanocellulose, which when processed has a consistency similar to baking paper.

The researchers have also confirmed in tests that the material breaks down organically, after films of the cellulose material were placed in soil for six months.The results showed that the sheets of cellulose in soil samples were well on the way to disintegrating. They are also recyclable, and based on tests with food samples, do not pose contamination risks.

Thus, it can be seen that research is still underway and ongoing on various bio-alternatives to replace virgin plastics use, and to reduce both dependence on materials of petrochemical origin and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere at the end of their useful life.

Sydney-based researchers converted banana plantation waste, the pseudostems, into a biodegradable and recyclable packaging material SEPTEMBER 2020

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Packaging

Heading for zero-waste with sustainable solutions Accelerating the circular economy with sustainable packaging and recycling may be the panacea for a persistent plastic waste pollution, says Angelica Buan in this report.

Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe is expanding its Recycl-IN range of products to include flexible packaging solutions with over 60% recycled content

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Sustainable packaging on the rise Globally, interest in environmental-friendly packaging is resurging in the light of the incremental use of disposable packaging during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is because the environmental impact of the increased presence of used plastic packaging is starting to outweigh the fact that plastics have played an important a role in flattening the curve by helping prevent infection transmission.

Sustainable packaging, one that is made from renewably-sourced materials, and biodegrades, is recyclable or compostable, also has other criteria to fulfil, including efficacy in preserving and protecting the products intended for, as well as the effectiveness in engaging customers or appealing to their preferences.

The market for sustainable plastic packaging is robust, according to Markets and Markets; and is projected to reach past US$117 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% from US$84 billion in 2020. This is an indication of rising awareness among consumers of the significance of sustainable packaging in realising a zero-waste future.

Boosting packaging’s eco-friendly factor with PCRs In a circular economy, sustainable packaging emphasises that the end of service life destination is not the landfills but back to the production line. The food packaging sector is showing its commitment by incorporating recycled content in packaging without prejudice to the performance.

Globally, PCR plastics continue to gain traction and the market is anticipated to cross US$14 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2018, according to Research and Markets. PCR content ranges from 20-50%; and increasing the PCR content to as much as 100% is already in the pipeline.

Along the vein of pushing for developing packaging with more PCR content, Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe is expanding its RecyclIN range of products to include flexible packaging solutions with over 60% recycled content. Ineos is enabling this through a partnership with European waste management company Saica Natur in a supply agreement for recycled LDPE and LLDPE. Ineos’s PE Recycl-IN resins can be used in applications such as stretch and lamination films typically used in flexible pouches for detergent and personal care products.

Meanwhile supplier of materials Trinseo has developed a new grade of r-PS, together with the German packaging manufacturer Fernholz. The latest Form Fill Seal (FFS) formulations incorporate 40% r-PS, depending on final application, thanks to Trinseo’s technology, which embeds the material into the polymerisation process using solvent processes.

Fernholz is working with Trinseo to incorporate r-PS into sheet production, which can be used for food packaging applications in compliance with food safety requirements. To date, full-scale field tests for processing, migration, sensory testing and other common parameters have revealed that r-PS can be readily processed on classic FFS machines, eliminating the need for costly Trinseo is collaborating with Coexpan to validate equipment upgrades. r-PS for the diary market

Packaging The new material grade is already being trialled by several European dairy companies, some of whom have already launched new products using the r-PS food packaging. The lid or label can be safely separated as part of the recycling process.

Trinseo is also working with supplier of sheet for FFS, Coexpan, to validate various PS recycling technologies to develop r-PS fit for use in the global dairy industry’s FFS market. The dairy FFS packaging market, which has historically preferred the use of PS due to its technical superiority over alternative polymers, has recently seen greater interest in alternative materials owing to misperceptions regarding the circularity and recyclability of the material. They expect industrial volumes to come online by the third quarter 2022.

Meanwhile, Avient Corporation, which was previously the colour masterbatch businesses of Clariant and Clariant Chemicals India that were bought by US compounder PolyOne, has also launched several new PCR and postindustrial recycled (PIR) portfolios under the reSound R brand name.

Avient’s reSound R portfolio is formulated with recycled ocean plastics

Available are injection-mouldable reSound R VX TPEs with 25% PCR and up to 40% PIR content, formulated with recycled ocean plastics from Oceanworks, within the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a non-profit group that includes Avient as a founding member. Avient also offers nylon formulations that contain 100% PCR resin, and are available in both PA6 and PA66 grades with various levels of glass fibre and mineral reinforcements.

For the Asia market, Avient now offers reSound R PC, a range of polycarbonates (PCs) with glass filler levels from 10-30% and recycled content ranging from 25-75%.

In-home consumption drives PCR packaging Meanwhile, packaging circularity is apt for application in the food and beverage sector, since it is an all-time largest enduse segment in the sustainable packaging market.

Europe is getting a sampling of PCR packaging with an initiative by ice cream brand Magnum to package its frozen delights in tubs made with recycled plastics. This year, Magnum is rolling out over 7 million tubs across Europe, made with certified circular PP from materials firm Sabic’s Trucircle portfolio. These tubs will be launched globally from 2021 onwards.

Magnum is rolling out over 7 million tubs across Europe, made with certified circular PP from materials firm Sabic’s Trucircle portfolio

With more in-home consumption due to Covid-19, the introduction of these tubs and their impact on environment becomes extra relevant as the world prepares for a new future, Magnum said, adding that by end of 2020, it will use an estimated 160,000 kg of certified recycled plastic material.

Polyolefins with recycled/renewable content While fossil fuel-based feedstocks will continue to be a mainstay of international companies, many are moving towards the use of more sustainable feedstocks in large-scale commercial manufacture.

Spanish companies Repsol, a petrochemical firm based in Madrid, and Torrelavega-headquartered plastic processor AAG (Armando Galvez Group) have developed a new range of circular containers that incorporate recycled polyolefins, recovered by both mechanical and chemical recycling. They also collaborated on creating the first homologated material for an easy-tear film application that incorporates Repsol Reciclex recycled material.

Another achievement from the partnership between the two companies has been the industrial bags Repsol uses to market its pellets, which incorporate 30% PCR material. Thanks to a reverse logistics system, Repsol recovers the used industrial bags that, after being recycled, are incorporated into the bag reels that AAG manufactures for Repsol.

Austrian polyolefins maker Borealis has launched its Bornewables portfolio, a new portfolio of circular polyolefin Repsol and AAG products, suitable for the production developed a new of demanding applications, including range of circular hygiene and food-contact. Early this containers that year, Borealis also began producing PP incorporate recycled polyolefins, based on renewably-sourced feedstocks, recovered by both such as Neste-produced renewable mechanical and propane, at its Belgian facilities in Kallo chemical recycling and Beringen.

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Packaging Borealis’s Bornewables portfolio is suitable for the production of hygiene and food-contact products

Unlike renewable feedstocks produced with agricultural crops grown for food and livestock feed, Borealis says Bornewables are made of renewably-sourced feedstocks derived solely from waste and residue streams: from vegetable oil production as well as oil waste and residues; the timber industry; the food industry – for instance, used cooking oil. From a sustainability perspective, re-using waste to manufacture renewable feedstocks further enhances the Bornewables appeal, adds the company.

Green granules from PET bottles A new report from the Imarc Group throws light that the global PET bottle market reached a volume of nearly 13 million tonnes in 2019. This much demand for PET bottles, although recyclable, also has it downside for the environment already clogged with waste plastics, a majority of which are from packaging.

Pitching in a solution to the plastic bottle waste conundrum, Russian petrochemicals company Sibur has launched the production of green PET granules from its POLIEF site in Blagoveshchensk, Republic of Bashkortostan.

The process will rely on some 34 kilotonnes/year of recycled plastics. PET flakes derived from used food packaging will serve as an input for primary polymers, Sibur said.

Sibur's Green Granules PET process will rely on some 34 kilotonnes/year of recycled plastics

Sibur furthered that the POLIEF green granules not only will deliver eco-friendly PET packaging but can also provide the manufacturer with a comprehensive solution combining primary and secondary PET. Additionally, reusing valuable feedstock to make high-quality products will cut specific electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as a result.

Enabling biodegradability with biomass content In recent years, there has been growing interest in reducing plastic waste, in particular with regard to the development of

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biodegradable materials. In many countries, industrial waste generated from fields such as civil engineering, forestry and agriculture need to be recovered or decomposed naturally without imposing a burden on the environment. While the base paper or film substrates used in recovered products are biodegradable, the additives such as adhesives traditionally used to coat or treat them are not, resulting in disposal issues.

As such, Tokyo-headquartered polymers and coatings manufacturer Toyochem has developed a new series of biodegradable pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) from plant-derived materials. Marketed under the Cyabine series of polyurethane (PU) PSAs, the product is suitable for the packaging, construction, agriculture and other industries.

Toyochem's biodegradable PU pressure-sensitive adhesives demonstrate biodegradation rates of 60% or higher after 60 days

After use, the adhesive waste can be digested by soil microorganisms and converted over time into substances, such as CO2, water, nitrogen, and methane gas. Moreover, the new PSA system demonstrates biodegradation rates of 60% or higher after 60 days, says Toyochem.

Similarly, new sustainable plastic stretch cling films made with renewable feedstock have been launched by US-headquartered chemicals producer Dow and Malaysian processor Thong Guan for the Asia Pacific market.

Dow and Thong Guan produced the Nano Bio range of bio-PE films made with Dow's renewable feedstock-derived LLDPE resins

Nano Bio, the new range of bio-PE films are produced using Dow’s LLDPE, Elite 5230GC R Enhanced Polyethylene Resins, derived from renewable feedstock. The feedstock comes from tall oil, a residue of paper production, from sustainably managed forests. Unlike other alternative renewable feedstocks, it does not compete with the human food chain, and no extra land is required for its production, Dow said.

Packaging Bowling up waste with non-plastic solution Environmental experts have issued a stern warning against the rising amount of waste plastics outpacing the efforts to recycle them. The Ellen McArthur Foundation’s “Breaking the Plastic Wave” report projected that by 2040, the volume of plastic on the market will have doubled if mitigating actions are not enforced. While measures such as improving waste management, clean-ups, and plastic bans are being organised, yet these are inadequate considering the rapid accumulation of waste plastics.

A more straightforward approach, reducing the amount of plastics in packaging, or utilising plastic alternatives, underpins the collaboration between UK packaging company DS Smith and machine maker Multivac to produce Eco Bowl, a cardboard-based solution for fresh foods in modified atmosphere packaging. It is a fully recyclable corrugated cardboard tray covered with a plastic skin film and lid film that reduces plastic by up to 85%, versus a traditional tray.

Further, the bowl’s plastic skin and lid film can be easily removed for disposal, leaving the corrugated tray for recycling.

DS Smith and Multivac jointly produced a fully recyclable, cardboardbased Eco Bowl for fresh foods in modified atmosphere packaging

German producer of plant-based meat alternatives, Amidori, brought the Eco Bowl onto the market in December 2019. It is designed to run on Multivac’s thermoforming packaging machines and tray sealers.

Digital technology to improve recycling in Europe Europe is spearheading the adoption of circular economy drawing action plans that will “make sustainable products the norm in the EU,” according to the European Commission.

Enabling circular economy is moving towards using waste as a resource, and thus, recycling rates are increasing in Europe; and more so because municipal wastes and wastes from packaging and electrical and electronic equipment are a gold mine for secondary materials and critical raw materials.

Now, digital technology has been adopted to improve recycling efficiencies. The HolyGrail 2.0 project, launched by a consortium of over 85 major European brands and organisations, weighs in on the potential of using "digital watermarks" to improve the sorting of recyclable packaging across the EU. The initiative builds on an initial research by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, into innovations to improve post-consumer recycling.

Under the auspices of AIM, the European Brands Association, the project explores the adoption of a pioneering digital technology to improve sorting and enable higherquality recycling rates for packaging in the EU.

According to AIM, digital watermarks are imperceptible codes, the size of a postage stamp, covering the surface of a consumer goods packaging and carrying a wide range of attributes. The aim is that once the packaging has entered into a waste sorting facility, the digital watermark can be detected and decoded by a standard high resolution camera on the sorting line, which based on the transferred attributes (e.g., food vs. non-food) is able to sort the packaging in corresponding streams, and thus result in better and more accurate sorting streams.

Packaging firm Mondi, founding member of the HolyGrail, is running trials of this technology with partners across the value chain.

The Holy Grail project explores the adoption of a pioneering digital technology to improve sorting and enable higher-quality recycling rates for packaging in the EU

Another member, German extrusion technology specialist Reifenhäuser, intends to contribute its expertise regarding the digital documentation of recycling-relevant packaging properties across the entire production process. Reifenhäuser has developed an open data platform as part of the R-Cycle initiative, which is a globally applicable standard for tracking plastic packaging along its life cycle.

Reifenhäuser developed an open data platform as part of the R-Cycle initiative, which is a globally applicable standard for tracking plastic packaging along its life cycle

Within the R-Cycle consortium, Reifenhäuser is currently working on a digital standard to provide seamless documentation of all recycling-relevant packaging properties based on established tracing technologies. Together with GS1 Germany and other partners from the plastic industry, Reifenhäuser has set up a functioning data platform which is connected to production lines. The technology is tested and demonstrated in a number of pilot projects.

The technology is expected to make for an efficient recycling process, which is a major challenge in establishing a true circular economy for plastic packaging, according to Reifenhäuser CEO Bernd Reifenhäuser.

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Packaging

Enhanced sealing integrity and puncture resistance Flexible film structures with advanced polyolefin plastomers help improve food and water security in Southeast Asia, according to materials firm Sabic.

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armers living along coastal regions in Southeast Asia such as Mekong Delta, Vietnam, are under increased pressures from climate change with deeper seawater intrusion that damages crops.

The condition is worsened with increasingly frequent droughts. As a result, many farmers and people living in remote areas are in need of solutions to secure and store freshwater for farming and hygiene purposes during the dry season (IFRC, 2020).

Furthermore, the United Nation Food & Agriculture Organisation (2011) estimates that 30% of food is lost and wasted in the midst of supply chain process from transportation to handling to storage, between post-harvest and consumption.

Petrochemicals firm Sabic says it has responded separately to two Vietnamese packaging film manufacturers, to help mitigate the challenges in food & water security. Through collaborations, it developed packaging solutions with stronger puncture and impact resistance, and higher sealing integrity, by introducing Sabic Cohere polyolefin plastomers (POP) in the multi-layer packaging film structures.

Assisting farming communities According to UNICEF and UNDP (2020) more than 680,000 people in eight of 12 provinces along Mekong Delta are reported to be affected by the drought and seawater intrusion. Lack of upstream water, due to the droughts, to push back the saltwater intrusion from the sea is creating a situation where freshwater access is increasingly limited (IRFC, 2020).

Subsequent food and water shortages could lead to health issues and loss of income.

Moreover, with increased urbanisation, the harvest of farmers has to undergo a long transportation process to reach many consumers living in urbanized cities and foreign countries.

“Durable food and water packaging with puncture resistance and high sealing integrity is key to meeting these challenges,” emphasises Sabic’s Fahad Al-Swailem, Vice President, PE & Sales, Petrochemicals. “Two recent projects completed successfully with customers in the region have shown that our Cohere POP can enhance packaging performance when it comes to preserving the fresh and aesthetic appeal of crops from the farm to the table, as well as to providing flexible storage solutions for fresh water.”

Flexible 30 cu m water bags made of puncture-resistant multilayer film with Sabic’s copolymer resin help farmers and families secure their freshwater supplies in the drought and seawater intrusion impacted region of the greater Mekong Delta in Vietnam (Photo: Tan Phong)

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Impact resistant vacuum packs for bananas A typical agricultural produce in peril of bruise damage and decay along this complex supply chain of post-harvest handling, transportation and wholesale to retailers and consumers, is the banana fruit.

Packaging

Crop producers in Vietnam are using a clear multilayer film made of several Sabic resins for packaged fruit (Photo: Linh Khang)

Vietnam-based Linh Khang is supplying leading plantation operators in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with packaging film used in the transportation of a harvest of more than 300 tonnes/year of bananas for export and domestic consumption. To minimise losses and also extend the shelf life of the fruit, the manufacturer was seeking a solution for effectively improving the protective capabilities of its banana packaging film.

In close collaboration with Linh Khang, Sabic’s Market Development & Technical Support (MDTS) team identified the requirements for protecting the soft fruit against the rigours of transportation and handling, in particular moisture, shock and vibration.

The collaboration resulted in the development of a multilayer vacuum packaging film that lends the banana packs impact resistance, toughness and good sealing properties. The high-performance yet costefficient multi-layer film has reduced the damage in transportation and lowered the previous rejection rate by up to 20%, according to Linh Khang.

In the meantime, Linh Khang is using the new film in 90% of its banana packaging. The unique film consists of three layers of polymers from Sabic’s packaging materials offering, where a dedicated Cohere POP forms the inner layer along with a unique blend of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), LDPE and Sabic Supeer metallocene LLDPE resins for the core and outer layers.

Durable large-capacity freshwater bags In another application, Tan Phong Packaging, a leading Vietnamese manufacturer of premier lightweight packaging materials, worked closely with Sabic’s MDTS team to develop an innovative multilayer film for producing giant freshwater storage bags. As Vietnam has been hit by the worst drought

in 90 years and is at the same time facing increased seawater intrusion in the coastal regions of the Mekong Delta, there is a growing need for freshwater storage capacities on farms as well as in remote villages without access to potable water.

A smart solution to help meet these challenges also in upcoming dry seasons (December through April) is provided by the packaging supplier’s flexible new large-capacity water bags, each of which can store up to 30 cu m of freshwater. The lightweight and low-cost bags are made of a film structure using an outer and a core layer of LLDPE in combination with an inner layer of Cohere POP. The multi-layer film offers the storage bag enhanced seal strength, weatherability and punctureresistance. Due to the nature of the material, the bags can be rolled up for ease of transportation or convenient stowage in the rainy season and placed anywhere, providing a convenient, secure and dependable means for storing freshwater wherever needed.

The water bag application complements Sabic’s collaborative efforts in the region, where its material solutions are set to enable the storage of more than 200 million l of freshwater annually to support food production, consumption and sanitation.

Polyolefin plastomers meeting the challenges Sabic Cohere POP is an ethylene-octene copolymer produced via solution polymerisation using advanced metallocene catalyst. It performs well in high performance flexible packaging applications with toughness, hot tack, hot seal, optical properties and enhanced packaging integrity to reduce loss/waste.

“We are very pleased to share our expertise and technology to help overcome freshwater and food supply challenges that can be existential in many regions where climate change is causing increased challenges such as seawater intrusion and droughts,” concludes Fahad.

A clear and aesthetic multilayer film solution developed in collaboration with Sabic provides enhanced protection for vacuum packaged crops from farm to table SEPTEMBER 2020

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Injection Moulding Asia Automotive

Electric vehicle market on the uptrend PP compounds growth from EVs The shift towards electric and hybrid electric vehicles, while threatening some existing under-the-hood applications, is creating major new opportunities for PP compounds in lightweighting and power management, according to industry consultants AMI Consulting’s report. It adds that market penetration for PP compounds is rising despite a slowdown in demand in 2020 triggered by Covid-19.

Underway in the automotive industry are major changes in the supply-chain with many businesses facing existential threats even before the impact of Covid-19. The shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and the prospect of autonomous vehicles puts pressure on OEMs as never before and opens doors for new entrants such as Tesla but with others following.

PP compounds bring some inherent benefits such as low density but also have seen sufficient technical development to enable them better to compete in semi-structural applications.

In 2019, Asia accounted for 51% of global demand compared with 26% in Europe and 23% in the Americas, against the back of increasing demand for EVs and the need for lightweight and robust battery casings.

Meanwhile, taking this cue for growth, South Korean chemical firm LG Chem plans to spin off its EV battery business into a separate entity by December, as it is seeking to capitalise on rising interest in the sector as global demand rises. The new subsidiary will be named LG Energy Solution and aims to achieve a revenue of US$25.5 billion or more by 2024, said the firm.

The global EV battery market is expanding quickly, according to consultancy McKinsey, which has projected that by 2040 battery demand from EVs produced in Europe will reach 1,200 gigawatt-hours/year, compared with 25.5Gw/h last year.

LG Chem is a leading player in the EV battery market, accounting for around 25% of market share. The company supplies many global automotive makers including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault and Volvo.

Saving costs with multi-material battery casing An international consortium consisting of Audi and suppliers along the value chain, including Asahi Kasei, Covestro, EconCore, IPTE and Johns Manville, will start the joint product development of a multi-material battery casing together with German engineering consultant AZL Aachen. The multi-material component concept is to save costs and weight compared to conventional component concepts made of aluminium and steel.

The eight-month product development will start with an international market analysis as well as a concept study in which different multi-material component concepts including production scenarios will be developed and evaluated with regard to their costs. Finally, a final multi-material battery casing is designed in detail, which will be manufactured as a prototype in a follow-up project. Interested companies can initiate their participation in the project until 22 October 2020.

The demand for EVs is increasing and with it the need for lightweight and robust battery casings. A large number of different battery casings with very different component concepts already exist on the market. However, these battery casings, which are usually made of aluminium and steel, cannot “Battery casings are a offer the optimal solution for each key component in electric of the numerous requirements. vehicles. The requirements The project that emerged from the are challenging and very individual for different AZL Partnership instead pursues vehicle classes,� said Florian a multi-material approach that Meyer of Audi uses the right material at the right place for each specific requirement.

According to Florian Meyer, project management mentor from the Technical Development department of Audi, the partners are looking at how to save weight and costs by using plastic-based multi-material solutions versus status quo solutions made of metals.

AZL will initially draw up a market overview with the industrial consortium that includes existing series components and concepts and identifies the relevant manufacturers, users, suppliers and supply chains on the market. Standards and requirements for battery casings will be derived from the existing components and the advantages of multi-material approaches will be evaluated.

On the basis of a detailed data sheet, various product concepts will be worked out and associated production scenarios for multi-material battery casings will be established.

The participants can select component concepts for which CAD models, FEM analyses and process chains are developed and finally evaluated with regard to their production costs.

A final multi-material battery casing will be worked out in detail and will be manufactured as a real battery casing prototype after the development project.

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Injection Moulding Asia Additive/3D Printing Team Penske and Stratasys to bring 3D printing to racing cars Additive manufacturing equipment company Stratasys has agreed on a new multi-year technical partnership with motorsport outfit and long-time Stratasys 3D printing user Team Penske for its NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar teams.

“Stratasys has consistently contributed to our ability to reach new solutions for improving our race performance ahead of the competition,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “Our 3D printing strategy has always been to produce high-quality parts for our racing operations in the shortest amount of time, and the ever-evolving additive technology from Stratasys gives us confidence in our approach.”

Team Penske and Stratasys have worked together through five championships and more than 70 race wins since their relationship started in 2017. In that time, Team Penske has gone from two Stratasys 3D printers to four. The company now has three FDM 3D printers supporting advanced materials – a Stratasys F900, Fortus 450mc, and Stratasys F370 – primarily for tooling, fixtures, and end-use parts for cars. The team also has one PolyJet Technology-based J750 3D Printer for prototyping. All are installed at the Team Penske facility outside of Charlotte, N.C. Stratasys also supports the organisation with advisory and technical support services aided by cloud-based GrabCAD Print software.

For example, previous options to produce composite layup tooling were limited to the team’s CNC machining technology. Now, Team Penske is largely using FDM 3D printers.

Race teams also are increasingly using 3D printed parts in the cars themselves, particularly using carbon fibre reinforced-PA12. Common 3D-printed in-vehicle parts include brackets, mounts, and applications of new designs such as the side mirrors of NASCAR cars. Performance gains are not only achieved on the racetrack; Team Penske also uses 3D printed parts for pit crew equipment.

Saving time/costs with 3D printing; new materials Manufacturers are looking to utilise additive manufacturing to keep plants running during times of crisis. 3D printing production equipment parts locally helps save time and cost, as well as secure operations to avoid supply chain disruption.

Dutch materials firm DSM has launched Arnilene AM6002 (P), an expansion of the company’s powder portfolio for additive manufacturing.

Arnilene AM6002 (P) has food contact approval in Europe, making it ideal for applications in the food and beverage or nutrition industries, such as conveyor belt guides, sprockets, slides, dosing blocks and creepers.

With PP being used extensively in the automotive sector, Arnilene AM6002 (P) is a choice for applications such as dashboard components, interiors and many others in this sector. Additionally, the material is suitable for PP end-use parts.

To complement DSM’s recent launch of PP for fused granulate fabrication, Arnilene AM6001 GF (G), Arnilene AM6002 (P) for powder bed fusion printing is now available to manufacturers looking to utilise 3D printing while also providing a familiar material they are used to handling.

Team Penske and Stratasys are cooperating in a technical agreement to bring 3D printing to NASCAR and INDYCAR racing

Race teams have developed a clear understanding of how vital data is, and they have been gathering as much of it as possible as often as possible, for some time; but being able to apply that data to improving vehicle performance has been a bigger challenge.

The efficiencies gained from FDM 3D printing are clear for Team Penske, from fast turnaround time for parts to having developmental bandwidth at the ready.

DSM’s new PP powder material boasts balance of properties and food contact approval in Europe

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Injection Moulding Asia Additive/3D Printing

This partnership underscores both companies’ strong commitment to accelerate the adoption of sustainable additive manufacturing for series production of electrical connectors, automotive electronics and lighting applications through innovative collaborations that are designed to unlock the full potential of additional performance polymers for additive manufacturing.

The use of laser sintering PBT materials is expected to increase exponentially over the next decade, driven primarily by accelerating innovations in the automotive, electrical, and electronics industries. This trend is especially observed in the automotive industry, where the need for lighter, more sustainable, lower maintenance materials rules future designs. The use of engineer-grade materials such as PBT is expected to increase due to the need to minimise issues surrounding the corrosion of metals and their associated high costs.

Arnite T AM1210 (P) is the first ever PBT powder for laser sintering and is, since its launch in 2019, is known for its series production performance in making hightemperature end-use parts, such as automotive electronics and applications.

Arnite T AM1210 (P) has the same dielectric properties as material used in injection moulding processes, making it a material familiar to engineers.

Additionally, the material is environmentally friendly with a high reuse rate of >60% and recyclable to the extent that the material can be brought back to the powder bed process.

DSM is partnering with Nexa3D to bring laser sintering materials

In related news, DSM and Nexa3D, the maker of ultrafast polymer production 3D printers, have tied up to fast track the availability of Nexa3D’s QLS-350 systems with DSM’s supply chain-approved laser sintering powders for series production. Under this collaboration, Nexa3D plans to immediately include DSM’s first-ever PBT laser sintering material, Arnite T AM1210 (P), with every Quantum Laser Sintering QLS 350 system it sells commercially starting in the first quarter of 2021.

Consumer Electronics

India: Asia’s blue chip country for consumer electronics Even before the pandemic, the South Asian

It is, however, forecast to rebound in 2021 to an 8% GDP growth, backed by its various industries including start-up sectors that are expected to buoy up the economy in the post-pandemic era.

It is also anticipated to get back on its track of policy reforms, mainly related to regulatory and businesses, which it had already started prior to the coronavirus outbreak to boost investments, exports and domestic manufacturing.

Watershed initiatives such as the “Make in India” are targeted, among other objectives, to boost domestic manufacturing and consumption, improve the investment climate, and increase exports.

country was one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world and this has seen the country making an imprint on the consumer electronics market, while also tackling its

e-waste as a result of the technology growth, says Angelica Buan in this report.

I

ndia, the world’s fifth largest economy, has not been spared from the wrath of the coronavirus.

The country’s GDP has contracted 9%, based on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) audit for the fiscal year 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cripple its economic activities.

Golden opportunity in consumer electronics and durables

India’s appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market is one major segment that can be tapped as the country restarts its post-pandemic 3

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Injection Moulding Asia Consumer Electronics economy. A mine of growth opportunities, India’s ACE market racked up nearly US$11 billion in 2019, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) Indian Consumer Durables Industry Analysis, forecasting it to to reach past US$21 billion by 2025.

Meanwhile, IBEF estimated electronics hardware production, valued at US$65.5 billion in 2019, to reach US$400 billion by 2024.

Appliances such as televisions are revenue earners, reaching almost US$11.3 billion in 2019; and by 2021, could score US$13.7 billion.

The government’s rural electrification programme is also anticipated to expand the rural market for white goods (home appliances) and consumer electronic goods.

Locally produced durables for domestic use While “Make in India” promotes exportoriented growth, “Make for India” abets local production for domestic consumption. Thus, locally manufactured electronic appliances have witnessed increased consumption.

According to Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), about 95% electronic appliances are now domestically produced on the heels of pandemic-related lockdowns, which exacerbated a supply shortage.

Companies are compelled to look beyond China, which accounts for between 25-70% of components, for sourcing supplies to countries like Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea.

Major multinational and home-grown consumer electronics players include Delhiheadquartered Sony India, a 100% subsidiary of Japan’s Sony Corporation; Mitsubishi Electric India, which started its CNC manufacturing facility in the country in 2013; Godrej Appliances, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce that pioneered the manufacturing of refrigerators in India in 1958; LG Electronics India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Electronics established in 1997 and that has a manufacturing unit in Greater Noida.

Likewise, top foreign companies are seizing opportunities in the Indian market with manufacturing expansion and latest technology offerings.

Treeview, an LED television and appliances producer, has partnered with India’s largest electronic trading company QThree Ventures to launch its range of Smart Android full HD models and make them available across India.

The partnership will also bring Treeview’s products to the Middle East, Europe and select African countries.

Samsung launched its “Make for India” curd-making refrigerators

South Korea’s Samsung has extended its reach to India with its latest appliance models.

Recently, it launched its range of “Make for India’” Curd Maestro refrigerators that feature, what the company calls, the world’s first refrigerators that can make curd, which does away the laborious process of manually boiling and cooling the milk, and mixing the curd culture.

Making strides in global digital technology Meanwhile, India’s advancement in the technology space is spurring growth for digital devices. India is the second fastest digitising economy amongst the 17 leading economies of the world, and the largest and fastest-growing markets for digital consumers, with 560 million internet subscribers in 2018, second only to China, according to 2019 McKinsey Global Institute report, Digital India. The country is also an abode for more than 1,300 new tech startups, and the world’s third biggest start-up hub, citing a 2019 report from Nasscom, trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India.

Eyeing a plum domestic market share BoAt, an emerging earwear audio brand in India, with product portfolio ranging from headphones and earphones to wearable speakers, travel changers and premium cables, is getting US$3 million funding from financial firm InnoVen Captial.

The start-up company, launched in 2016, already accounts for a 20% market share in the earwear segment, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) data. By 2021, BoAT says it is aiming at becoming a US$40 million company, hedging onto offline sales and a plan to enter newer categories to propel its growth.

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Injection Moulding Asia Consumer Electronics

Elsewhere, Samsung has also started making smartwatches at its Noida facility. The 4G-enabled smartwatch, the aluminium edition of Galaxy Watch Active2 4G is also competitively priced for the local market, according to Samsung. The company has also begun manufacturing its entire range of 18 smartwatches in India as part of the “Make for India” programme.

E-waste: the collateral cost of technology growth With all the technology comes the perennial problem of electronic waste (e-waste). Globally, the World Bank reported that Asia generates around 440 million tonnes/ year of e-waste and East Asia and the Pacific generate 270 million tonnes collectively.

E-waste is linked to various health conditions ranging from cancers to reproductive disorders, due to the presence of as many as 60 different elements, including mercury, nickel, selenium, arsenic, lead, liquid crystals, brominated flame retardants, and others.

BoAt, an emerging earwear audio brand in India is obtaining a US$3 million funding from InnoVen Captial

California-headquartered multinational technology company Apple has expanded to India with an online store launched in September this year, offering Apple’s full range of products and support directly to customers across the country for the first time. Apple has been operating in India for more than 20 years, and the company’s ongoing investment and innovation support almost 900,000 jobs across the country, the company stated.

Apple’s App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru has supported thousands of local developers. Among the locally produced and utilised apps are Wysa, an AI-based app that provides affordable and accessible mental wellness support to users; and the yoga app YogiFi, which uses computer vision for real-time posture correction and machine learning to curate personalised yoga plans.

A study says that India was among the top five countries that generated the most e-waste, along with China, US, Japan and Germany

On the other hand, they also contain recoverable materials such as plastics, glass, cables, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), printed circuit boards, and other high value metals such as gold, platinum, and copper.

These materials are recovered by recycling.

Top contender for e-waste; recycling urgency India was among the top five countries that generated the most e-waste, along with China, US, Japan and Germany, according to a 2018 Electricals & Electronics Manufacturing in India joint study done by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)-NEC.

As it is, India is the only South Asia nation with an e-waste law and in total generated about 2 million tonnes/year of e-waste and recycled about 4 million tonnes/year. The report states that it might rise to 5 million tonnes by 2021.

Apple, which has been operating in India for more than 20 years, has supported local developers through its App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru

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Injection Moulding Asia Consumer Electronics and disposal of electronic waste from households and commercial units. The collected hazardous waste will then be sent to Bangalore for recycling.

The above strategies are expected to promote a safer way of recycling e-waste without the toxic substances associated with crude recycling. This urgency is exacerbated by a study led by SRM University, Tamil Nadu, which found that soil from informal electronic recycling sites that recover metals showed high levels of contamination across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

With Covid-19 keeping people home and on their devices, the usage of electronics will increase; adding on to the problem of e-waste as the ASSOCHAM study identified computer equipment and mobile phones as the principal waste generators in India.

Thus, one way of lessening the e-waste burden on any country would be to adopt a circular economy of electronics, according to a report from the World Economic Forum.

The products need to be designed so that they can be reused, durable, and safe for recycling. The producers should also have buy-back or return offers for old equipment and incentivise consumers financially. The report also advocates a system of ‘urban mining’ by strengthening the EPR provision.

It is with this in mind and that of India to cultivate an infrastructure for recycling that is hoped to alleviate the problem of e-waste in the future.

The study found Maharashtra as the largest e-waste contributor at 19.8% but recycles only about 47,810 tonnes/year. Other states also contributed significant amount of e-wastes: Tamil Nadu (13%) and recycled about 52,427 tonnes/year; Uttar Pradesh (10.1%), and recycled approximately 86,130 tones/year; West Bengal (9.8%), Delhi (9.5%), Karnataka (8.9%), Gujarat (8.8%) and Madhya Pradesh (7.6%).

The rate of recycling against the amount of generated waste continues to lag due to a dearth of recycling infrastructure. According to ASSOCHAM, only 5% of India’s total e-waste gets recycled, while the remaining is managed by informal recyclers. Scrap dealers dismantle the disposed products instead of recycling it. Common methods employed, aside from manual dismantling, include open incineration and wet chemical processing. These methods, and especially, with lack of personal safety equipment, can expose the workers as well as the environment to hazardous chemicals.

In 2011, India enacted the e-waste legislation (Management and Handling), which has been succeeded by the revised E-waste (Management) Rules of 2016. The latter mandated collection targets and transferred responsibilities to the producers – Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This put the onus on the brands to ensure that waste was brought back in but these targets were relaxed in 2018.

Several initiatives have emerged to augment e-waste recycling, and among the latest is the partnership between Kolkata-based Hulladek Recycling, and Agartala-based Green Partner to provide e-waste management solutions in Tripura and North East India.

E-waste technology and durability of products Along the same pursuit of proper and safer e-waste management, New Delhi researchers at the Chemical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi), have also developed a technology to recycle e-waste and recover high value materials with pyrolysis, to convert it into a liquid, gaseous, and solid product.

The technology has been developed under the Waste Management programme of the Department of Science & Technology (DST). The team says the technology, which can be useful for the waste management sector, electrical/electronic industries and metal producing industry, is under pilot scale testing and validation. The team is further targeting a design of 50 kg/day capacity e-waste recycling.

Meanwhile, India has recently opened an e-waste clinic in Bhopal. Jointly set up by the Central Pollution Board (CPCB) and the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), the three-month IIT-Delhi developed a technology to recycle e-waste and recover high value pilot project will carry out segregation, processing materials with pyrolysis, to convert it into a liquid, gaseous, and solid product 6 SEPTEMBER 2020

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Rubber Journal Asia Industry News • UK-based Avon Rubber, under its subsidiary Avon Protection, is to acquire Team Wendy, a US-based supplier of helmets and helmet liner and retention systems for military and first responder markets, for US$130 million. Together, Avon Protection and Team Wendy will create a global leader in head protection systems for the military and first responder markets, following Avon’s acquisition of Ceradyne from 3M earlier this year, it adds. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Avon’s 2021 fiscal year ending and is subject to Avon shareholder approval, as well as US regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

• Finnish oil and engineering services company Neste has sold its entire shareholding in Swedenbased manufacturer of naphthenic specialty oils and bitumen products Nynas AB to Bitumina, a global bitumen company active in more than 100 countries. This is an important step in the ongoing company reorganisation of Nynas that has four refineries in Germany, Sweden and the UK, the latter being a joint venture with Shell. As a result, Bitumina is now the largest shareholder in Nynas, holding 50% of the shares.

Nynässtiftelsen owns 35% and PdVSA 15% of Nynas’ shares.

• Japanese sealing systems supplier Tokai Kogyo has tied up with German SaarGummi Technologies to strengthen both companies’ global technical and operational capabilities in their respective automotive markets. The joint product-portfolio of Tokai Kogyo and SaarGummi includes complex door seals, trunk seals and roof moulding and glass run channels • French tyre maker Michelin is to co-ordinate a new recycling project to promote “a massive circular economy of tyres” by designing world-first processes to produce new tyres from end-of-life tyres (ELTs). The BlackCycle Project covers five European countries: France, Spain, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland and includes seven industrial partners, five Research & Technological Organisations (RTOs) and an innovation cluster. It has a budget of US$18.9 million with an allocated European funding of about US$14.2 million (75% of project costs); about 35% of the project funding is allocated to SMEs, 15% to RTOs and 34% corresponds to personnel costs.

• Germany-based chemical firm BASF SE has signed an uptake supply agreement with Hungarybased pyrolysis firm New Energy. It will supply BASF with up to 4,000 tonnes/year of pyrolysis oil derived from waste tyres. In a pilot phase,

first volumes of the pyrolysis oil have already been utilised successfully in BASF’s integrated chemical production site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

• Canadian firm Environmental Waste International (EWI) has partnered with Danish WindSpace for the development of tyre recycling plants throughout Europe.

EWI’s patented Reverse Polymerisation technology and microwave delivery system will be developed at Windspace’s Elysium Nordic plant in Nyborg, Denmark.

• Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) is to build a US$300 million tyre factory in the southern port city of Hambantota, at the Hambantota International Harbour premises in a 280 ha industrial zone. HIPG was formed from an agreement between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and China Merchants Port Holdings Co. China has helped fund numerous ports around the world – the proposal made by the HIPG is primarily focused on promoting industry in Sri Lanka.

• US additives producer SI Group is to expand capacity levels of tackifier used in tyres at its Nanjing, China facility, by more than 50%.

• Yokohama Rubber Co, under its Indian subsidiary Alliance Tire Group (ATG), is to build another tyre manufacturing

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Rubber Journal Asia Industry News plant, this time in Visakhapatnam, southeast Andhra Pradesh, India. Construction on the US$165 million manufacturing plant is set to begin this year. The plant will span 344,000 sq ft and will produce 55 tonnes/day of tyres from the first quarter of 2023. Once completed, it is expected that the Visakhapatnam plant will raise Yokohama’s overall production capacity for off-road tyres (OTR) to 480 tonnes/day. It will be Yokohama’s eight OTR tyre plant, which include three OTR tyre facilities in Japan, Israel and Vietnam.

ATG expanded its Dahej production facility in 2018 by 60%.

• Given the challenging European passenger tyre market, Japan’s Bridgestone is to close its Bethune plant in France by 2021. It will impact 863 employees. The passenger tyre market has seen its volumes stabilise over the last few years (average annual growth < 1%) while competition from low-cost Asian brands continues to increase (market share of 6% in 2000 increased to 25% in 2018) leading to general production overcapacity. Over the last years, Bridgestone says it has taken several measures to increase the competitiveness of the Bethune plant.

• German car parts maker Continental is to close

a tyre plant in Aachen, Germany, by the end of 2021, resulting in the loss of 1,800 jobs. The Covid-19 pandemic has “reinforced” a decline in the tyre sector that has been years in the making, with trade union IG BCE, which represents the company’s rubber division employees, stating that the factory was “in the black” up until the spring of 2020.

The Hanover-based company earlier said that it would expand its restructuring programme, with around 30,000 jobs globally to be “modified, relocated or made redundant”, including 13,000 in Germany, to save more than EUR1 billion a year from 2023.

Rubber Chemicals

Circular approach to redeeming the value of tyres The tyre industry is reducing the

Research (NILU), in collaboration with Akvaplan NIVA and Trondheim-based research organisation, SINTEF, on CRGs applied to artificial turfs used in playgrounds, running tracks and walkways in Norway.

environmental impact of tyres with a

circular approach to managing waste tyres and enhancing the performance of new

tyres, according to Angelica Buan in this report.

A cocktail of chemicals in an old tyre After microplastics found in products containing plastics, all eyes are now on end-of-life (ELT) rubber tyres, which are also found to be sources of microplastics and chemicals, including fillers, stabilisers, pigments, oils, resins, heavy metal additives and other compounds.

Crumb rubber granulate (CRG), produced from ELTs, for example, contains organic chemicals such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, benzothiazoles, bisphenols and heavy metals, which can leach to the environment. This is a focus of the recent study done by the Norwegian Institute for Air

Crumb rubber granulates obtained from waste tyres contain organic chemicals, heavy metals, and compounds that can leach to the environment, according to a study by NILU

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Rubber Journal Asia Rubber Chemicals The rubber crumbs are also releasing a cocktail of organic additives and metals into the marine environment. This included high concentrations of benzothiazole and zinc, as well as detectable levels of PAHs and phenolic compounds, the study stated.

Co-project leader Dr Dorte Herzke also added that rubber from car tyres is found to be one of the largest contributors to microplastic pollution in the oceans. The study investigated CRG as being a potential seawater contaminant, and if it is toxic to marine organisms. Their tests involved exposing marine organisms to varying concentrations of CRG leachate to determine the toxic effects.

Meanwhile, what is clear is that car tyre rubber as well as CRGs contain massive amounts of filler systems (carbon black, clays, silicas, calcium carbonate), stabiliser systems (antioxidants, antiozonants, waxes), cross-linking agents (sulphur, accelerators, activators), and secondary components such as pigments, oils, resins and short fibres.

Also, chemical classes associated with car tyres include PAHs, phthalates, sulphenamides, guanidines, thiazoles, thiuams, dithiocarbamates, sulphur donors, phenolics, phenylenediamines and heavy metals. All of these substances, according to the authors of the NILU study, published in the Frontiers in Environmental Science, can have environmental impact and pose risks to human health.

European consortium-led BlackCycle project will develop specific solutions to produce sustainable raw materials for tyres

pyrolysis2 optimisation, oil refining and valorisation, furnace process optimisation, and sustainable tyre performance assessment.

The consortium is coordinated by French multinational tyre manufacturer Michelin together with seven industrial partners, five Research & Technological Organisations (RTOs) and five countries, including, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland.

The BlackCycle project, which started in May through to end of April 2023, aims at creating, developing, and optimising a full value chain from ELT feedstock to SRMs, with no waste of resources in any part of the chain and a specific attention for the environmental impact. These SRMs will be used to develop new ranges of passenger car and truck tyres, which will be sold commercially in European and global markets.

As a result, the BlackCycle value chain has a lower carbon footprint, emitting 0.93 kg/CO2/kg tyres less, and a lower use of fossil resources, using 0.89 kg fossil/kg ELT less. Moreover, BlackCycle will reduce the export of ELTs.

Europe makes a case in circular recycling of ELTs Each year, there are 26 million-1.6 billion tonnes of new tyres sold worldwide. This volume will eventually be scrapped and ideally, recycled.

But a large portion still ends up in landfills or is incinerated.

ELTs provide a significant amount of valuable materials for recovery. For proponents of circular economy, material recovery from ELTs will help the tyre industry greatly in its commitment to benefitting from the cost value of reusing the salvaged materials, while at the same time reducing their environment impact.

Europe is a model when it comes to recycling ELTs. The region, according to data from the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association (ETRMA), recycled 92% of ELTs collected and treated for material and energy recovery from 32 countries (EU28, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey) in 2017. The secondary raw materials (SRM) from ELTs are utilised in industries such as construction, automotive and cement.

ELT recycling programmes have been created to propagate circular material recovery solutions. The EU-funded BlackCycle project will develop specific solutions to produce sustainable raw materials for tyres: ELT collection and feedstock selection,

Rew-Tyres project is focused on reclaiming clean de-vulcanised rubber from ELTs, enabling new tyres, and high-quality products

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Rubber Journal Asia Rubber Chemicals A previous EU-funded project, Rew-Tyres, focused on reclaiming clean de-vulcanised rubber from ELTs, enabling new tyres, and high-quality products. The three-year project was concluded in September 2019. The researchers of Rew-Tyres demonstrated two processes using prototype industrial machines.

The first process, Green Distillation Technologies’s technology can commercially and economically convert ELTs into high value called Rework, deals with oil, carbon, and steel rubber scraps from the tyre manufacturing process. Such scrap has been Michelin and other partners, a factory will also be difficult to recycle because of the expensive and built at a yet to be disclosed site to industrialise the extremely energy-consuming machinery required, technology by mid-2020. the researchers said. In Rework, scrap is treated in a Over in Australia, where an estimated 25 million/ gear pump and a mix-extruder, to produce sheets of year ELTs are generated, tyre recycler Green homogeneous rubber. These can be directly reused Distillation Technologies (GDT) has developed a in production. The process eliminates the energytechnology that can commercially and economically hungry preheating stage, through a combination of convert ELTs into high value, oil, carbon and steel. compact gear design and the lubrication system. It is, This technology, according to the company, can thus, much more energy efficient than other rubber now take the carbon raw material and turn it into recycling processes, and more commercially viable, hydrogen for subsequent use in efficient hydrogen explains project coordinator, Florinda Martena. cell electricity production.

The second process, called Recycle, peels the Technical Director Denis Randall said that rubber off the ELT by a rotating mill that produces although the tyre recycling technology is already tiny chips. An innovative terahertz sensor, an ultraa commercial reality, further post process fast laser that generates submillimetre non-ionising development of products has shown it has much waves, controls in real time the depth the rubber further to go than just the destruction of tyres. He left on the textile cords. The sensor also controls explained that the tyres require no pre-treatment. the forward movement of the mill. Tiny chips of The company says that it is also working with recovered rubber are processed in a mixing machine, New Zealand-based CarbonScape on converting the with additives. The strong mechanical sheer action carbon produced into high value graphite and then breaks the sulphur links of vulcanisation, yielding a graphene. compound that can replace virgin rubber or be mixed Both partners are currently working to expand with it, to produce products such as new tyres, and the facility to full capacity where it will be able to industrial components such as engine mounts and process an impressive 19,300 tonnes/year of mixed vibration isolators.

ELTs/year to generate more than 7 million l of The next step for Rew-Tyres technology will be to high-quality oil, slightly over 9 tonnes of carbon and demonstrate the two processes at full scale in user 3,760 tonnes of recovered steel. GDT has expanded facilities. the technology to include oversized tyres used in mining with a single dump truck tyre yielding 1,570 Technology roll-out to recover materials l of oil, 1.7 tonnes of carbon and 0.76 tonnes of steel.

Swedish recycling start-up Enviro has developed and industrialised on a large scale a pyrolysis technology Yielding carbon black, tyre’s longevity secret to recycle ELTs. It modifies the chemical composition Among high-value raw materials that can be derived and physical phase of the pneumatic material during from recycled tyres is carbon black, a type of the pyrolysis process, while ensuring minimal energy paracrystalline carbon with a high ratio of surfaceconsumption. This technology enables the production area-to-volume, but lower than activated carbon. of high-quality products such as recovered carbon Carbon black also helps in increasing the tyre’s life black, pyrolysis oil, steel or gas, products that can span by protecting it from thermal damage. then be re-incorporated into the production circuit of The global carbon black market is projected to different industrial sectors. With an agreement with glide to almost US$11 billion by 2025, growing at

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Rubber Journal Asia Rubber Chemicals from Orion’s Innovation Group, the new carbon black filler system significantly reduces the energy loss of a tyre tread compound and therefore the tyre rolling resistance. This increases fuel efficiency and reduces the tyre’s carbon footprint. These products have also demonstrated abrasion resistance in laboratory evaluations, added Westenberg.

Compounds that improve tyre efficiency Enhancing tyre designs to upgrade the performance, lower rolling resistance, improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions are practical fixes the tyre industry employs to reduce tyre waste and help the environment, especially with the addition of biobased materials.

US-headquartered styrenic block copolymers producer Kraton Corporation offers its Sylvatraxx 8000 Tread Enhancement Additive (TEA) series, a second-generation polyterpene with high-biobased content. It is designed to optimise the balance between wet traction and rolling resistance in silicafilled passenger car tyre treads, especially in highperformance all-season tyres.

Meanwhile, Japan-headquartered chemical producer Tosoh Silica is augmenting the supply of silica with a joint venture with South Korean chemical fertiliser manufacturer Namhae Chemical Corporation, and constructing a base to produce silica for use in fuel-efficient tyres.

Tosoh Namhae Silica Corporation, located at Yeosu City, Jeolla Province, will produce and sell silica for fuel-efficient tyres, with commercial operation planned to commence October 2021.

Silica exhibits superior effectiveness in improving tyre performance by reducing rolling resistance, which leads to enhanced automotive fuel economy and less carbon emissions.

Bridgestone starts manufacturing tyres containing recovered carbon black produced by its partner, Delta-Energy

a CAGR 4.7% from nearly US$8 billion in 2018, citing a market audit from Valuates Reports. It also gauged the market for recovered carbon black (rCB), a substance produced by pyrolysis from scrap tyres, to reach US$312 million by end of 2026, from US$46 million projected for the current year.

Tyre maker Bridgestone Americas has made strides in the industry’s first at-scale use of rCB in the tyre market as part of its long-standing partnership with green chemicals company DeltaEnergy Group.

The at-scale commercialisation of D-E Black, Delta-Energy Group’s proprietary rCB product recovered from ELTs, is aligned to its goal of targeting 100% sustainable materials, and contributing to a reduction of over 50% CO2 emissions by the year 2050 and beyond.

The process by Delta-Energy Group to extract materials produces 81% less CO2/tonne, compared to virgin carbon black (vCB).

To date, Bridgestone has purchased approximately 235 tonnes of rCB, equivalent to 70,000 ELTs. By the end of 2020, Bridgestone plans to increase the use of D-E Black to 6,800 tonnes, equivalent to about 2 million ELTs. The Tennessee-sited tyre maker is using D-E Black in tyres for agriculture and passenger applications across multiple plants in the Americas, including its agriculture tyre plant in Des Moines, passenger tyre plant in Aiken County, and the Cuernavaca tyre plant.

Similarly offering a solution to improve tyre fuel efficiency, carbon black maker Orion Engineered Carbon has launched its surfacemodified carbon blacks for rubber applications for low rolling resistance tyres, without compromising wear resistance. As explained by Dr Hauke Westenberg, Compounding Manager

Kraton offers products that have a biorenewable content between 40-60% (modified terpene) and 90-100% (polyterpene, treated rosin)

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