US-based Trinseo announced it opened its depolymerisation plant in Rho, northern Italy, on June 25.
Last December, the polymer manufacturer said the demonstration plant was scheduled to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024.
The facility chemically recycles and purifies polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), also known as acrylic glass, a transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative to glass.
“We are thrilled about the opening of our depolymerisation facility, which will help advance our goal to support a circular economy,” said Francesca Reverberi, senior vice president of engineered materials and chief sustainability officer at Trinseo. “Our company remains committed to our sustainability goals, including investing in new recycling technologies that can support our customers in reaching their sustainability goals as well.”
The chemical recycling plant was built at Trinseo’s MMA manufacturing site in Rho. The manufacturer did not disclose the capacity of the facility but said the output material will be integrated in its ALTUGLAS and PLEXIGLAS R-Life product portfolios. They are a family of injection grade acrylic resins with a minimum 50% chemically recycled rMMA or 35% mechanically recycled PMMA, with applications such as vehicle tail lights or caravan windows that require high optical quality.
Trinseo’s PMMA depolymerisation technology uses a continuous process to produce high-purity regenerated MMA from pre- and post-consumer acrylic solutions. It leverages findings from the MMAtwo Consortium, a collaborative initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, to develop a new value chain for pre- and post-consumer PMMA and a versatile recycling process for converting this waste into high-quality regenerated monomer with carbon footprint reduction versus virgin MMA.
Trinseo says the recycled PMMA that matches the quality of its virgin counterpart.
“Today is a critical milestone in our sustainability journey,” said Han Hendriks, Chief Technology Officer at Trinseo. “Depolymerisation expands our recycled feedstock capabilities, which in turn, will help us innovate new solutions. With this new capability, we can build a more robust recycled acrylics portfolio to better meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
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.