The new deal sees the Dutch firm Royal DSM pair up with Neste, who are based in Finland. The deal involves developing high performance polymers made using sustainable plastics. This will involve moving away from the use of fossil fuels and replacing this with a feedstock generated from recycled waste plastics or bio-based hydrocarbons. DSM aims to produce a new range of high performance polymers that come with a significantly reduced environmental footprint
The technology to recycle plastics and to develop bio-hydrocarbons (polymers that consist of hydrogen and carbon atoms and are derived from natural compounds produced by living organisms, mainly plants) comes from Neste. The renewable raw materials for the hydrocarbons comes from waste and residue oils and fats. With the recycled plastics, the process uses plastics that have been determined as non-recyclable using traditional mechanical methods. The only alternative for these types of plastics is normally incineration or landfill.
Speaking with EE News Europe, Shruti Singhal, President of DSM Engineering Materials said: “As a next step we are going to even further reduce our footprint and will offer a full alternative range of our existing portfolio based on bio- and/or recycled-based materials by 2030.”
The change could have a significant and positive impact upon the environment, given the extent that polymers are used throughout the electronics and automotive sectors. The aim is to have the process achieve International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification, which guarantees that the material is actually recycled.
Recycling in the cloud
In related news, IBM developing a major cloud-based system to track plastic waste around the world in collaboration with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. The aim is to utilize cloud technology to track plastic waste and recover it globally, ideally for recycling purposes.
