Royal DSM and chemical major Sabic have joined forces to demonstrate the use of mixed recycled plastic waste to produce DSM’s ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMwPE) Dyneema material via the mass balance approach.
The two partners are cooperating with members of the CirculariTeam, a cross-industry coalition formed to address the recycling and repurposing of end-of-use products made with Dyneema, who will be piloting the mass-balanced Dyneema in two different applications, namely a sailing rope and a pelagic trawl net.
The Dyneema will be produced by DSM using SABIC’s Trucircle certified circular ethylene, which uses mixed plastic waste as feedstock. This approach both reduces the amount of plastic waste and, compared to incinerating the waste, the carbon emissions produced but also lowers the dependence on fossil resources. The pilots are an important early-stage milestone in the journey toward making fully circular Dyneema from HMPE post-production and post-consumer waste, noted Jan-Lodewijk Lindemulder, President DSM Protective Materials.
“By working with partners from across the value chain, we are able to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the world’s strongest fiber – and we will continue to explore ways of reducing and eliminating waste across the entire product lifecycle.”
“This is another important step closer to closing the loop on Dyneema,” added Mark Vester, Circular Economy Leader at Sabic.