With the ongoing transition to the circular economy, demand for recycled and biobased raw materials is on the rise. Brand owners, manufacturers and converters across the industry are all aware of the need to comply with the stringent new requirements under the upcoming Green Deal.
Keeping apace with these changes, PolyOne has announced that it is expanding the production capacity for its post-industrial recycled nylon grades and bio-based thermoplastic elastomers into Europe.
Explaining the decision, the company pointed to the public commitments from brands across a range of industries to increase their use of recycled plastics. Moreover, the global market for bioplastics is predicted to grow by roughly 25 percent over the next five years, according to the European Bioplastics Association. Only a fifth of the production capacity is located in Europe, but this is predicted to grow to up to 27 percent by 2023.
Specifically, PolyOne is adding material capability at its facility in Barbastro, Spain for the production of Nymax PIR, a post-industrial recycled polyamide based on between 20 and 100 percent post-industrial polyamide materials, derived from, for example, recycled carpet; and at its Gaggenau, Germany site, for the production of its ReSound OM (overmoulding) thermoplastic elastomers.
Nymax PIR, with a comparable performance to prime polyamide grades, is an excellent alternative to prime nylon in many industries and applications, including automotive, outdoor high performance and industrial.
The company’s ReSound OM (overmoulding) TPE materials, available in four overmoulding grades compatible with rigid polypropylene and one suited to ABS, utilize between 40 and 50 percent bio-renewable content derived from sugarcane. The materials offer hardness levels and performance comparable to standard TPEs and are suitable for applications such as cosmetics packaging, personal care products, and consumer electronics.