Vinyl Institute Announces Grant Program to Accelerate PVC Recycling

The Vinyl Institute announced the initiation of Viability, the first grant program aimed at promoting recycling of post-consumer PVC, as per Plastics Technology

Up to $1 million in funds will be granted each year over the next three years from four PVC resin manufacturers in the U.S.: Formosa, Oxy, Shintech, and Westlake.

Individual grants issued through the Viability program are available to qualifying industry collaborations such as trade associations, material recovery facilities, construction and demolition waste facilities, recyclers, or colleges and universities in amounts up to $500,000. The funds may be used for the purchase of equipment, process investments, research and development, educational programs, and program management that supports long-lasting and sustainable recycling of vinyl products. A seven-member grant committee of the Vinyl Institute will choose recipients of the grants.

The first round of grant applications is due on March 1, 2023. The Vinyl Institute will announce the awarding of grants no later than 60 days after a grant application deadline.

The Vinyl Institute is a trade organization representing PVC manufacturers. The organization was established in 1982. Last year, the institute published a directory to help consumers find locations that accept PVC materials for recycling.

We remind, Kem One, a chlor-alkali producer, will convert all production at its plant in Fos, France from diaphragm to membrane-based production, said the company. The conversion will occur in the fourth quarter of 2024; the plant will be shut down for two months, according to the source.

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Revalyu Resources has broken ground on its $200m polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling plant in Statesboro, Georgia, the German producer said this week, said Petnology.

The plant is expected to have a recycling capacity of 90,000 tonnes/year (200m lb/year) of post-consumer PET plastic. Construction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025, said the company.

Once functioning at full capacity, the facility is expected to employ 121 workers. Revalyu recycles PET with its own proprietary technology based on glycolysis.

“Compared to conventional PET, Revalyu’s R-PET [recycled PET] is produced using 75% less water, 91% less energy, and saves around 0.7 barrels of oil and 0.2 cubic metres of landfill space per 2000 pounds of PET recycled,” the company said.

We remind, Neste, a Finnish oil company, has concluded a series of processing runs with liquefied waste plastic at its refinery in Porvoo. The purpose of the runs is to better characterize the behavior of the liquefied waste plastic through the chemical recycling process. The end product, called Neste RE, is a raw material for production of new plastic and a replacement for fossil-based material.

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For packaging manufacturers, the need to use a range of different heat seal coatings to ensure optimal performance and safety can add considerable cost and complexity to production, supply chains and inventories, said Henkel.

With the development of Loctite Liofol HS 1181, Henkel is helping brands and manufacturers take on these challenges with a universal, high-performing heat seal coating for sealing aluminum foil or polyester film to plastic substrates.

Containing improved formulations, food safe and compliant with the highest safety standards, Loctite Liofol HS 1181 provides a universal ready-to-use solution that eliminates the need for multiple coatings. It is ideal for applications like plastic coffee capsules, peelable dairy lidding, water bins and pharmaceutical blister packaging. The new heat seal coating is designed to provide strong sealing and hot tack properties for aluminum foil and polyester film and is sealable to various plastic substrates including PS, PP, PET, PE and PVC. At low coating weights, Loctite Liofol HS 1181 provides a peelable seal. The solution doesn’t contain Chlorine and Epoxy to ensure a high level of standards compliance for food contact. This ensures suitability for the manufacture of food packaging materials under the applicable FDA and EC-provisions.

“Loctite Liofol HS 1181 demonstrates our commitment to realize entirely new possibilities through innovation while ending previously unavoidable compromises,” explains Davide Coppola, Senior Business Development Manager at Henkel. “It brings unprecedented flexibility to manufacturers that can use the same heat seal solution for multiple packaging applications and thereby minimize cost and complexity. At the same time, this universal sealing product has been formulated with safer chemicals to provide consumers with safer food packaging that they can trust. Hence, it is a truly universal solution.”

We remind, Henkel launches first silicone-free multifunctional EMI thermal gap pad. As modern vehicles become increasingly reliant on advanced ADAS and telematics systems, OEMs are seeking to ensure the long-term reliability and performance of these mission-critical components by preventing unintended cross-talk.

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UPM Biochemicals announced on 28 Sep 2023 that it has selected Brenntag SE, the global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution, as sole distributor of its sustainable bio-monoethylene glycol (BioMEG) UPM BioPura in Europe, said the company.

The new distribution agreement will bring UPM BioPura to market, unlocking further commercial opportunities, while accelerating the introduction of sustainable forest-sourced materials into the chemical sector. UPM invests EUR 1180 M to build the world's first industrial scale biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, where sustainably sourced, certified hardwood will be converted into next generation biochemicals that will enable the vital shift away from fossil-based to renewable materials across a wide range of industries.

The Leuna biorefinery is part of a broader growth area, UPM Biorefining, focused on scaling refineries producing a variety of renewable fuels and chemicals made from sustainable biomass. UPM has already signed multiple distribution agreements in the past year to market UPM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF), another product within the innovative new category of bio-based products.

UPM BioPura will be produced from certified hardwood obtained from regional forests around Leuna. The biomass does not compete with food resources and will provide manufacturers with a viable option to progress towards their net zero targets and significantly reduce their scope 3 emissions by switching effortlessly from fossil-based ingredients to a renewable, drop-in solution.

We remind, UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of self-adhesive paper and film products, will showcase their more sustainable sticky notes products at the Insights-X stationery expo in Nuremberg, Germany on 11-14 October 2023. UPM Raflatac will be participating in the expo under the Global Notes by UPM Raflatac brand name after acquiring the AMC AG and the Global Notes brand in 2022.

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thyssenkrupp Uhde has been engaged by Hive Energy Limited to deliver a pre-FEED to support the development of Hive’s first green hydrogen / ammonia production plant in Spain, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The pre-FEED was awarded following a comprehensive techno-economic study for the power-to-ammonia facility, which was performed in 2022 using thyssenkrupp Uhde’s proprietary RHAMFS methodology.

The key goal of the pre-FEED is to enhance the technical concept and commence key engineering activities for the plant. thyssenkrupp Uhde will base the pre-FEED on its dynamic uhde ammonia synthesis technology, which has been specifically developed to tackle the unique challenges of dynamic ammonia production and will also provide integration engineering for the process facility. The pre-FEED will allow Hive Energy to advance through the subsequent commercial and regulatory phases of the project development.

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde, said: “We at thyssenkrupp Uhde are making a significant contribution to the green transformation. With our technologies and new partnerships like this one with Hive Energy Limited, we are building a sound business case for this groundbreaking green energy project. This marks another important step towards the sustainable and climate-friendly production of green ammonia.”

Shirvine Zhang, Head of Hydrogen and Hybrid Energy at Hive Energy Limited, commented: “Hive’s mission is to implement sustainable and clean technologies to mitigate the impact of climate change. We look forward to progressing this project with world-class and equally climate-minded companies, like thyssenkrupp Uhde, to support the energy transition.”

We remind, Ras Laffan Petrochemicals, a joint venture company owned 30% by Chevron Phillips Chemical and 70% by QatarEnergy, announced that it has secured USD4.4 billion to finance an integrated polymers facility to be located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, said the company. The project financing comprises commercial and Islamic lenders and a group of export credit agencies.

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