US-based Trinseo announced that its depolymerisation plant in Rho, northern Italy, is scheduled to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024. The demonstration plant will chemically recycle and purify polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), also known as acrylic glass, a transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative to glass.
The plant is being built at Trinseo’s MMA manufacturing site in Rho. The manufacturer did not disclose the capacity of the chemical recycling facility but said the output material will be integrated in its R-Life portfolio, which already includes acrylic resins with both chemically and mechanically recycled content. Trinseo says the demonstration plant is being developed to produce recycled PMMA that matches the quality of its virgin counterpart.
“Innovation in recycling technologies is imperative to effectively recycle various types of materials,” said Trinseo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Francesca Reverberi. “This new facility is yet another major achievement towards a scalable system with the goal of making PMMA a truly circular material of high quality. When combined with our own in-house sourcing and treatment of collected materials through our Heathland recycling operation, our PMMA depolymerization plant will offer a high-performance solution for a world increasingly looking for new ways to address sustainability in the plastics supply chain,” she added.
Back in 2021, Trinseo announced another chemical recycling plant for polystyrene at its Tessenderlo site in Belgium. By February 2022, it said its plans were ‘on track’, adding that construction was expected to begin at the end of the year. There have been no further updates since.