INEOS Styrolution will be contributing to the Remove2Reclaim research project alongside leading European research institutes to build expertise in recycling via dissolution.
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INEOS Styrolution receives funding from Flemish Agency of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to research plastics recycling
INEOS Styrolution has a proven record of investing into basic research on advanced recycling technologies. This includes completing the first lab-scale production of virgin PS from depolymerised material and driving the commercialisation of enhanced recycling. Developing expertise in recycling via dissolution contributes to an in-depth understanding of the material’s properties.
The Remove2Reclaim project aims at developing innovative solvent-based extraction routes to remove additives, such as titanium dioxide, from different polymer matrices and to reuse both titanium dioxide and polymer in new products. Targeted polymers in the project include polystyrene, HIPS and ABS. For INEOS Styrolution, this dissolution route complements the existing mechanical and depolymerisation recycling projects, rounding up the understanding of the broad range of recycling technologies available for styrenics.
Michiel Verswyvel, Global R&D at INEOS Styrolution, said: “Our main thrust is the mechanical recycling of materials such as ABS and polystyrene and advanced recycling technologies, primarily depolymerisation of polystyrene. The Remove2Reclaim project gives us the opportunity to get a complete picture by exploring additional recycling technologies such as dissolution. In parallel, we are optimising our mechanical recycling efforts and concentrating on commercialising recycled polystyrene via depolymerisation.”
The Remove2Reclaim project is funded by the Flemish Agency of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Vlaams Agentschap voor Innovatie en Ondernemen – VLAIO) and organised under the umbrella of the Flemish spearhead cluster Catalisti. Research partners include Ghent University, KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) as well as VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research in Mol) and Centexbel (Kortrijk-Gent). INEOS Styrolution becomes one of five industry partners signed up in this project.