At the Chinaplas 2024 international trade fair in Shanghai, Covestro introduced for the first time a series of polycarbonate resins based on materials chemically recycled from post-consumer waste through mass balance: Makrolon RP. To be fully aligned with the circular economy, Covestro relies on close collaboration with partners. For this project, the company is collaborating with two suppliers Neste and Borealis to develop and supply their own respective raw materials.
Initial market engagement with automotive brand owners for mass application of high purity polycarbonate is promising, it will represent having a transparent polycarbonate made from raw materials chemical recycling.
“We are delighted to expand our existing portfolio of more sustainable polycarbonate products with this new product line, marking another important milestone in building a circular economy,” explains Lily Wang, global head of the Engineered Plastics Business Unit at Covestro. “Together with our partners, we are helping to conserve fossil resources and give a second life to existing waste streams. We also support customers in achieving their sustainability goals by providing materials that meet the highest purity standards.”
Trend of recycled materials
An increasing number of industries are requiring products to have a specific percentage of recycled raw materials, also in anticipation of upcoming regulatory requirements or voluntary programs, such as the End-of-End Media Directive. European shelf life under review (ELV) and US Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) for electronic products. The RP series offers the same quality as the current fossils and is part of Covestro's CQ series. The company uses this suffix to identify products that contain at least 25% alternative raw materials. At certain locations, such as Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany, the plastics in the new product line are also produced exclusively using renewable electricity.
Inputs for Makrolon RP are provided by Neste and Borealis: Neste supplies high-quality recycled feedstock for the new polymers, which are then converted by Borealis into phenol and acetone before making their way to Covestro's site for the production of Makrolon RP .
“Through chemical recycling, we can enable recycled content even for the most demanding applications,” said Jeroen Verhoeven, vice president of Value Chain Development for Neste's polymers and chemicals business. “Through this, we can help companies across a variety of sectors achieve their recycling-related goals – and we're excited to see Covestro take it live.”
“Borealis is pleased to support Covestro in this important initiative – helping to deliver trusted sustainable solutions and demonstrating the importance of value chain collaboration to bring new value to waste, ” said Thomas Van De Velde, senior vice president of Borealis Base Chemicals.
In addition to applications in the automotive industry, Covestro also wants to target other important industries such as electrical & electronics and the healthcare industry. The aim is to produce high quality and durable products with chemically recycled raw materials. At the end of the long-term use phase, plastics can still achieve a “third product life” through mechanical recycling and further development of chemical recycling technologies.
The new range complements Covestro's existing portfolio of more sustainable polycarbonate grades – the mechanically recycled Makrolon R products and the certified mass balance grades of the Makrolon RE range, manufactured with How to use biological waste and bioresidue. The RE line is also now available with a 25% renewable sustainable market share.
Note: The content of this press release has not been edited by Fiber2Fashion staff.
Covestro launches Makrolon RP, a polycarbonate plastic made from chemically recycled post-consumer waste, to advance circular economy efforts. Partnerships with Neste and Borealis ensure a sustainable supply chain for raw materials. Initial market engagement with automotive brand owners shows promise for high purity polycarbonate applications.
Fiber2 Fashion News Desk (HU)
