New polystyrene recycling project

Working together with leading European research institutes in the project will allow the company to build up expertise related to recycling via dissolution.

Styrenics are amongst the most recyclable polymers. Ineos Styrolution has a proven record of investing into basic research on advanced recycling technologies . This includes completing the first lab-scale production of virgin polystyrene from depolymerised material3 and driving the commercialisation of enhanced recycling of polystyrene forward . Developing expertise on recycling via dissolution contributes to an in-depth understanding of the material’s properties.

The “Remove2Reclaim” project aims at developing innovative solvent-based extraction routes to remove additives, such as titanium dioxide, from different polymer matrices and to reuse both titanium dioxide and polymer in new products. Targeted polymers in the project include polystyrene, HIPS (high impact polystyrene) and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). For Ineos Styrolution, this dissolution route complements the existing mechanical and depolymerisation recycling projects, rounding up the understanding of the broad range of recycling technologies available for styrenics.

The “Remove2Reclaim” project is funded by the Flemish Agency of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Vlaams Agentschap voor Innovatie en Ondernemen – VLAIO) and organised under the umbrella of the Flemish spearhead cluster Catalisti. Research partners include Ghent University, KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) as well as VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research in Mol) and Centexbel (Kortrijk-Gent). INEOS Styrolution becomes one of five industry partners signed up in this project.