MultiCycle debuts plastic recycling technology

The Barcelona-based effort known as the MultiCycle project recently hosted an event to demonstrate technology it says culminated from 42 months of international collaboration “to demonstrate the Circular Economy for plastics in action.”

The April 7 event in Ghent, Belgium, displayed what the group calls “an industrial recycling pilot plant for thermoplastic-based multimaterials” that provides “selective recovery of pure single plastic recyclates and fibers from mixed wastes.”

Finished products resulting from the MultiCycle process can be used in “high-end applications in two important industrial segments – flexible multilayer films for packaging products and fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites in the automotive sector,” according to MultiCyle.

Its CreaSolv process “purifies polymers by physical means via selective dissolution, with advanced digitalization methods for feedstock identification, process monitoring and control,” states MultiCycle. One demonstration-level application involved the use in a blown film process of polyethylene (PE) recycled polymers “sourced from commingled, printed flexibles from household municipal waste without special pre-sorting,” adds the group.

A second project entailed the “successful substitution of polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) recyclate-based formulations into sheet laminate and hybrid composite injection molding processes for a reinforced car battery carrier,” says MultiCycle.

“Building upon the operational experience gained, the project’s sustainability and techno-economic analyses have provided the basis for recommendations towards future upscaling, and the project has also produced policy recommendations promoting waste management and resource efficiency improvements for the target packaging and automotive applications,” concludes MultiCycle.       

Presentations from MultiCycle’s event and case studies are available to download from the MutliCycle website.