PureCycle Technologies launched recycling technology using the Feedstock Evaluation Unit (FEU), transforming a long-lasting plastic rug into a transparent odorless ultrapure recycled polypropylene (UPRP). This recyclable material was obtained through the introduction of recycling technology originally created by Procter & Gamble. The successful application of this innovation in an industrial enterprise opens up opportunities for the commercially viable disposal of a variety of polypropylene wastes by restoring them to a state similar to the original
to the polymer. The use of this technology can drastically reduce the amount of PP waste falling into landfills. A new technology using the FEU system was launched at the first of two planned phases of the PureCycle plant under construction in Hanging Rock, Ohio, USA. The second, which will be launched in the summer of 2021, will be able to process 55 million tons of polypropylene
waste per year. It is expected that the company will annually produce over 47 million tons of polypropylene, similar in its properties to the primary material, which will then be used for the manufacture of packaging for consumer goods, furniture and other products in which recycled polypropylene is currently used in very limited quantities. The company is also working to obtain an FDA (American Food and Drug Administration) certificate authorizing the use of UPRP in food contact products. “The demand for high-quality refurbished PP is huge, and the recent launch of large-capacity production has become a giant step forward for us and for the industry as a whole. “We are entering a growing market for recycled goods,” said Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle Technologies. “This achievement not only proved the efficiency of the technology on an industrial scale, but also gave impetus to the development of our business, bringing us closer to the expansion of capacities.” The emergence of the FEU methodology is associated with
the desire of Procter & Gamble to find new opportunities for the use of recycled materials, especially polypropylene, in the production of their goods. Since the volumes of recovered PP available on the market were very limited, the company decided to develop its own manufacturing process for cleaning plastic waste. This breakthrough innovation is currently the most important initiative of Procter & Gamble in the framework of the task set by this company to reduce the content of plastic produced from oil in its packaging by 50%.
In fact, the demand for restored PP is so great that the production capacities of the first PureCycle plant with the launch of the second phase are already fully reserved, and the company began to look for a place in Europe to host the second plant.
From open sources