MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber recently commercialized its recycled polystyrene (PS) from dissolution technology and is offering a new material using this process - STYRON CO2RE 687DI30, as per the company's press release.
This is the first of a series of recycled PS products that Trinseo intends to launch under the STYRON CO2RE brand in the coming years.
With this material/recycling method, post-consumer recycled (PCR) material is dissolved in a solvent followed by a series of purification steps to separate the polymer from additives and contaminants. The material is fed into a polymerization reactor train and the result is a PS polymer with 30 percent PCR content for use in applications including consumer electronics, packaging, and food contact applications if a functional barrier is present to ensure compliance.
According to Trinseo’s Plastics Circularity Manager, Julien Renvoise, STYRON CO2RE 687DI30 Polystyrene supports a circular economy.
To measure impact, Trinseo compared a general-purpose polystyrene (GPPS) produced with 100% fossil fuel with a batch made from 30% post-consumer recycled content in a lifecycle assessment and found a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions. In another study Trinseo found that performance properties remained similar. This includes transparency, a difficult property to achieve with recycled content.
Recycled PS is just one of Trinseo’s sustainable materials aimed at circularity. The company also is involved with depolymerization with technology provided by partner, Recycling Technologies, and plans to build a dedicated plant at its Tessenderlo, Belgium location, as MRC reported earlier. This will be one of two PS recycling plants in Europe estimated to add a total of 30,000 tons of PS feedstock into the European marketplace. The plant is expected to start operating in 2023.
According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim's PS prices remained unchanged in May. Prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS were in the range of Rb192,000-203,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas high impact polystyrene (HIPS) prices were at Rb196,000-207,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. At the same time, May prices of Penoplex's material fell by Rb15,000/tonne to Rb204,000-206,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC