Chemical company Sabic, headquartered in Sittard, the Netherlands has announced the launch of an industry first: certified circular polycarbonate (PC) resin and blends made from the upcycling of post-consumer mixed plastic.
The new polycarbonate joins Sabic’s growing family of Trucircle certified circular resins, the portfolio of materials introduced by Sabic in 2019 to promote the availability of more sustainable plastic materials. The portfolio includes certified circular materials derived from advanced recycling, mechanical recycling and bio-sourced materials.
Here, Sabic uses chemically recycled post-consumer mixed plastic as feedstock to produce its certified circular polycarbonate.Through a process called pyrolysis, this difficult-to-recycle used plastic is broken down into a liquid called pyrolysis oil, which serves as the input to create certified circular building blocks for high-performance plastics with the same properties as the virgin material – in this case, polycarbonate.
An internal Sabic LCA study indicates a potential carbon footprint reduction of up to 23%for the new polycarbonate, compared to its traditional oil-based counterpart.
“We are proud to have developed a new solution that can help our customers to meet their sustainability targets and generate value by increasing the amount of recycled post-consumer mixed plastic they process,” said Abdullah S. Al-Otaibi, ETP & Market Solution General Manager at Sabic.
The polycarbonate is certified by an independent third party under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) scheme using a standardised mass balance approach, which allows the recycled material content to be verified along according to predefined and transparent rules. In addition, ISCC PLUS accreditation provides traceability along Sabic’s physical-linked supply chain, from the feedstock to the final product, providing a chain of custody based on the mass balance system.