Pyrowave (Oakville, Ontario, Canada; www.pyrowave.com), which chemically returns mixed plastics to their respective monomers, has announced that materials production with its reclaimed styrene has been successfully trialled by French firms Michelin (Clermont-Ferrand; www.michelin.com), and Knauf Industries (Wolfgantzen; www.knauf-industries.com).

The testing produced batches of finished elastomer and plastic products incorporating 100% styrene from plastics waste recycled in Canada, the company said.

It noted that tyre maker Michelin produced a 4 t prototype batch of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) at its plant in Bassens, France. The SBR was made with 100% styrene recycled by Pyrowave, and the Canadian firm said the resulting material passed every quality test applied, showing no difference compared with products made from styrene of fossil origin. 

Related: Styrenics Circular Solutions signs technology pact with Pyrowave 

EPS packaging specialist Knauf Industries was also able to generate EPS parts using 100% recycled styrene produced through Pyrowave’s technology, the firm noted. The resulting products passed all laboratory tests for performance and quality and were equivalent to products made with fossil-based styrene, according to the company.

Pyrowave said SBR and EPS production processes were relatively sensitive to contamination, and the success of the tests demonstrated the reliability of its technology.