— By Plasteurope.com correspondent — 

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP (Potsdam, Germany; www.iap.fraunhofer.de) have developed a solvent-based recycling process that they say can process a wide variety of post-consumer plastics from the packaging, automotive, electronics, construction, and textile sectors, into high-purity recyclates.

Andreas Mäurer, the head of process development for polymer recycling, said his organisation’s process went beyond what had previously been achieved with solvent-based recycling. Compared to mechanical separation processes, Mäurer said Fraunhofer’s system allowed the target polymer to be selectively dissolved and recovered at high levels of purity, while foreign polymers and other solids remained undissolved and were effectively separated. Dissolved impurities – including flame retardants, plasticisers, degradation products, and odours – were separated by specific solvents, resulting in high-purity recycled plastics.

Recovering plastics from end-of-life vehicles had been a challenge, Mäurer said, but Fraunhofer had managed to extract polycarbonate and ABS, which was then compounded with virgin material and additives to produce a PC/ABS with a high proportion of post-consumer recyclate, “meeting even the high requirements demanded for reuse in vehicle interiors”.

Related: Fraunhofer develops PFAS-free polymer membranes for semiconductor processing

Fraunhofer was also able to recover valuable plastic resources from composite materials or materials contaminated with harmful substances. Mäurer said, “Plastics from old electrical appliances that cannot be recycled today, as the plastics content in electronic waste contains many different types of plastics and additional hazardous substances such as flame retardants, can be recovered free of harmful substances using our process.” 

Foamed polystyrene from construction waste, for example, contaminated with the flame retardant HBCD can also be processed as flame retardant-free polystyrene recyclate using solvent-based recycling, he added.

Other plastic products that can been recycled in this way included battery housings, coated and lacquered textile and plastic materials, together with PVC floor coverings from which unwanted plasticisers are removed.

Fraunhofer will be demonstrating their solvent-based recycling process at this year’s K Show in October. Plasteurope.com will also be present at the leading plastics trade fair, at Hall 6, Stand C28.