Total, a France-based petrochemical company, has introduced a range of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) circular compounds with high levels of recycled content, which it will make available to its packaging segment customers. According to Total, the new recycled-content HDPE demonstrates performance that is either equal to or exceeds virgin resins.
Jean Viallefont, Total’s vice president of Polymers Europe, says, “Total is currently extending the applications of the recycled compounds concept by developing additional new grades, since we believe it will be essential to place the European virgin plastics industry in a new yet essential role as ‘circularity enhancer’.”
The range consists of HDPE polymer products, in natural color, that cover all the manufacturing needs for blow-molded bottles and heavy-duty containers for household and industrial liquids with a guarantee of between 25 percent-50 percent minimum post consumer recyclate (PCR). Total’s initial production capacity of HDPE circular compounds, which will total around 20,000 metric tons, will become available in 2017.
According to Total, the composition and manufacturing process of the new compounds has been designed to minimize their environmental footprint, while ensuring outstanding performance and processing properties, guaranteed by Total just as with any virgin resin. Their recycled content originates from post-consumer household waste collected in Western European countries and will be recycled by selected partners chosen by Total for their outstanding product quality and recycling process capabilities. The new recycled HDPE will be produced at Total’s Antwerp, Belgium plant. The company also says that it will apply a deep decontamination step, which will transform the PCR into a fragrance-free resin.
Finally, the PCR is compounded in Total’s plant with highly technological HDPE virgin products, specifically designed and produced as intermediate resins in order to overcompensate for any lack of performance and consistency of the PCR. The resulting compounds are meant to be fully equivalent to any virgin resin sold in the same application, but in reality they largely outperform them in all key aspects for their application.
Total notes that the new type of recycled HDPE plastics will allow the recycling industry and the virgin resin industry to open up new markets for high-quality recycled polymers.
Source: Recycling today
