Covestro has committed to creating 60,000 tonnes a year of recycled polycarbonate capacity in Asia Pacific by 2026, reported Plastics Today. The company celebrated its first dedicated mechanical recycling production line on Aug 19.
The multi-national company will also repurpose an existing production line in Thailand to produce recycled PC.
The new $27-million mechanical recycling line in Shanghai has the potential of churning out more than 25,000 tonnes per year of top-notch polycarbonate and blends comprised of mechanically recycled content. Commissioning of the line is due in 2023.
The rise in demand for post-consumer-recycled materials in electronics and automotive manufacturing has spurred the need for the new line.
“To meet the rapid growth in demand for more sustainable and circular solutions from our downstream customers, we will continue to invest in expanding our capabilities,” said Lily Wang, Head of Covestro’s Engineering Plastics segment, at the celebratory event.
“This MCR production line is the latest example of our efforts in this regard and signals our commitment to driving the transition to more sustainable products in this region, especially in China.”
“The MCR production line is another exciting step we have taken to fulfill our commitment toward a circular economy and achieve our goal to become operationally climate neutral by 2035,” said Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro.
“Recycling plastic waste is absolutely essential to the circular economy and addresses one of the major global challenges we face together as a society. We will continue to invest in expanding and improving our capacity for recycled plastics and leading the industry to create materials with higher recycled content.”
Covestro will also convert a plant in Map Ta Phut in Thailand for mechanical recycling which is set to be completed by the end of 2022.
Projections suggest that the unit will be capable of supplying up to 10% of post-consumer-recycled (PCR) base products annual production volume by 2030. The company is targeting an output of 60,000 tonnes of recycled content containing polycarbonate in Asia Pacific per year until 2026.
The two facilities in Shanghai and Map Ta Phut will increase Covestro’s yields of PCR polycarbonates Makrolon R and Bayblend R., which contain up to 75% recycled materials and can slash carbon emissions by up to 50%.