Extrusion International 1-2022

24 Extrusion International 1/2022 INDUSTRY NEWS New Additive Solutions for Mechanical Recycling of Plastics „ BASF has launched IrgaCycle™, a new range of additive solutions to address the imminent needs in plastics recy- cling. The plastics industry is seeking ways to incorporate higher content of recycled polymeric material in all major appli- cations to meet sustainability goals, while facing growing consumer concerns and stricter regulatory requirements to reduce plastic waste. Hereby a major challenge is to mitigate quality de fi ciencies of polymers arising from ther- mal and mechanical stress during the recycling process. Recycled plastics often contain impurities and polymer contaminants that accelerate polymer degradation, which change the material properties. Consequently, recyclers and plastic converters are facing quality and performance issues while processing recycled polymeric material. Formu- lated additive packages improving the properties of these recycled plastics can be a solution for this challenge. The production of plastics frommechanical recycling is ex- pected to almost triple by 2030, driven by improved tech- nologies and regulation. This corresponds to a growth of around 10 percent per year,” says Dr. Thomas Kloster, President of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division. “With IrgaCycle we are expanding our existing portfolio step by step by speci fi c solutions for recycling to support the circular economy goals for plastics.” The new IrgaCycle range includes additive solutions that can help increase the percentage of recycled content in several end-use applications. These solutions address spe- ci fi c quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability and insuf fi cient protection from outdoor weathering. At launch, the product line includes a range of different ad- ditive formulations, with more to follow in the future. IrgaCycle PS 030 G enhances long-term thermal stability in rigid applications, mainly for recycled HDPE, polyole fi ns and mixed polymers. IrgaCycle PS 031 G improves processing and long-term thermal stability of recycled LDPE and LLDPE for incorpo- ration into fi lms and related fl exible packaging applica- tions. IrgaCycle PS 032 G provides processing stability and long- term thermal protection for recycled PP and polyole fi n blends containing impurities. IrgaCycle UV 033 DD combines weathering stability with enhanced thermal and processing stability for reclaimed HDPE and PP blends for re-use in outdoor goods. IrgaCycle XT 034 DD rejuvenates processing, long-term heat stability and helps neutralize impurities of the “ fi rst life” of the plastic, and with this improves mechanical properties of polyole fi n recyclates. A speci fi c advantage of these blends lies in their ready-to- use product forms, which are easy to apply in the recycling steps. The granulated non-dusting product form ensures safe and easy dosage during converting or compounding of reclaimed material. BASF Plastic Additives www.plasticadditives.basf.com Five Times More Flakes from Recycled PET Bottles „ Herbold Meckesheim obtained a new major order in December: the company will supply a large-scale plant for plastic recycling to Fantastic Plastic. Fantastic Plastic is con- sidered to be the producer of the highest quality PET fl akes in Russia. The fi rst production line of the recyclate manu- facturer was also supplied by the Meckesheim/Germany- based special machinery manufacturer Herbold. In 2019, Fantastic Plastic’s plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Rus- sia, went into operation. Since then, together with Herbold Meckesheim and the downstream manufacturers, elabo- rate trials have been conducted to re fi ne the process. The goal that has now been achieved is that the quality of the granules meets the strict regulations for food packaging and can be used bottle-to-bottle. The fact that Herbold maintains a technical center at its headquarters in Meckesheim, which can be used for trials of all kinds, was of great bene fi t here. Thanks to closely coordinated planning – the project start- ed in January 2022 – periods of downtime in main pro- duction are largely avoided during the installation of the machines. Fantastic Plastic aims to use the new recycling line to boost its granulate output to 35,000 metric tons per year, a fi vefold increase. The Russian company has invested a good 10 million dollars in this project. It is expected to create around 180 new jobs at the site. Herbold Meckesheim GmbH www.herbold.com