For over twenty years, Teijin Aramid has been recycling Twaron® fibres in its own recycling facilities. In her quest to zero emission Teijin Aramid joined forces with Clariter and pioneered a sustainable solution in chemical advanced recycling for Endumax® an Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE). Together these environmental conscious companies are developing a sustainable disposal method for highly valuable, post-production and end of life material that is hard to recycle mechanically.
As a future-oriented enterprise, Teijin Aramid has been looking for a sustainable solution for recycling their end-products. Clariter’s innovative technology transforms potential plastic waste into high-value, pure industrial products with a net negative carbon footprint, which means it cleans the environment rather than pollutes it.
Successful upcycling
Tests of Teijin Aramid’s Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (Endumax®), feedstock were carried out at Clariter’s operational Pilot Plant in Gliwice, Poland. The results determined that samples of fishing nets, ropes and air cargo containers are indeed suitable for chemical recycling. High resistance UHMW-PE, which was once problematic to recycle, has been now successfully upcycled into feedstock as pure, crude-free industrial products with thousands of applications such as cleaning agents, degreasers, paints, and speciality wax. For some markets, like fishing nets this results in full circularity as the wax can be used to coat fishing nets again, in other markets this open loop recycling leads to valuable products that can either serve in production processes or in other applications.
Recycling solutions
Clariter is planning to build and operate a full-scale plant in the Netherlands at the same industrial estate in Delfzijl as Teijin Aramid for which Clariter is now in the process of obtaining the needed permissions. Additionally, preparations for more plants are ongoing in Poland and Israel.
Jasper Munier, Clariter Business Development Manager for North-West Europe, said: “Working with a partner like Teijin Aramid and proving that chemical recycling is the solution for the plastic waste epidemic, brought us again a bit closer to the cleaner and more sustainable future. As a next step, we want to process samples of much larger quantities and types at our 15,000m² Industrial-scale Plant in East London, South Africa. We look forward to working with Teijin Aramid team of experts and together positioning chemical recycling as an irreplaceable recycling solution.”
Hendrik de Zeeuw, Director Marketing & Sales Teijin Aramid: ”Via this partnership with Clariter, Teijin Aramid has set a next step in the recyclability of Endumax®. That means Endumax is now in the same league as the other products of Teijin Aramid, which is overall a great achievement. Together with Clariter, we will be able to help customers in the offshore to take back their Endumax® ropes, nets and cables to extend the end of life. In the aerospace business, from now on, we will devotely comply with end-user requirements, that after use, the full air cargo containers, including the panels, can be recycled. In collaboration with Clariter, we come again a step closer towards our ambition to be the best high performance fiber company for the world.”
About Teijin Aramid
Teijin Aramid is a subsidiary of the Teijin Group and world leader in aramids. Its aramid products Twaron®, Teijinconex®, Technora® and its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) Endumax® are renowned for their strength, sustainability, safety, heat resistance and low weight and are used in a variety of markets and segments, including automotive, safety and life protection, aerospace and a wide range of industrial applications. These high-performance materials are produced in the Netherlands, Thailand and Japan.
About the Teijin Group
Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan’s first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials including aramid, carbon fibers and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibers and products converting; healthcare including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions”, Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future. The group comprises more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 836.5 billion (USD 7.7 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,036.4 billion (USD 9.5 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2021
About Clariter
Clariter has created a revolutionary chemical recycling (upcycling) process that provides a large-scale solution for the worlds’ plastic waste problem. The technology accepts the majority of plastic waste streams, and not only helps to clean the planet effectively but also creates a strongly profitable business opportunity. Rather than recycling plastic waste into intermediates which require further processing, Clariter transforms it into 3 industrial, ready-to-use product families: oils, waxes, and solvents. These pure fossil-fuel alternatives are used as ingredients to make over 1000 clean, everyday end- and consumer products. The footprint of Clariter’s process is net carbon negative and preferable to landfill, incineration and other pyrolysis-based solutions. Their technology is proven through an operational Pilot Plant in Gliwice, Poland, and a Demonstration Plant in East London, South Africa. Their offices are based in Israel, Poland, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. Without compromise on profitability or sustainability – Clariter unlocks the value of the Circular Economy.
Source
Clariter, press release, 2022-01-04.
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