At the forefront of the industry, Polyplastics plans to launch a 40% glass fiber-reinforced grade of DURAFIDE^Ⓡ rG-PPS by December 2025 as part of its mechanical recycling business. Polyplastics will be responsible for optimal formulation and objective quality assurance in this project, which is intended to play a role in helping achieve 100% circularity of engineering plastics by expanding the applications of mechanically recycled materials.

The first iteration of an open PIR mechanical recycling scheme : A 40% glass fiber-reinforced grade of DURAFIDE^Ⓡ rG-PPS

As part of Polyplastics’ mechanical recycling business, scraps of glass fiber-reinforced PPS from processes will be collected from customers through an Open PIR Mechanical Recycling Scheme^*1 and used as a raw material to make DURAFIDE^Ⓡ rG-PPS, which will be launched by this year. In initial processes, strict acceptance inspections will be conducted and metal will be removed. In later processes, recycled materials and some virgin materials will be reformulated to meet the target specifications and compounded under optimal conditions. The materials will undergo the same quality assurance system as that for virgin materials, and they will then be shipped to customers. Super engineering plastics typically have a large product carbon footprint (PCF)^*2, and the Open PIR Mechanical Recycling Scheme will both help our customers to reduce and effectively use waste and also help to significantly reduce the PCF for each of our customers’ products. For the time being, the glass-fiber reinforced PPS that will be collected from customers will be specific grades of our DURAFIDE^Ⓡ glass fiber-reinforced PPS.

*1: See Figure 1.
*2: Carbon footprint, i.e., CO₂ emissions

Figure 1: Open PIR mechanical recycling scheme

For specific physical properties, please contact our sales representatives or Contact Us.

Future outlook

We will develop a high filler grade as the second iteration of DURAFIDE^Ⓡ rG-PPS. We intend to establish a system to supply that grade and the 40% glass fiber-reinforced grade to customers in Japan. Our re-compounding business and institution of the Open PIR Mechanical Recycling Scheme require applications as well as establishment of collection routes, and we are looking to collaborate with our customers as well as companies in the recycling and industrial waste treatment industry^*3. In the future, we will build a “local production for local consumption” recycling chain that is complete within each region or country around the world, and use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic as a raw material will allow us to comply with the EU’s ELV regulation^*4, which is a trend that we are closely monitoring.

*3: The recycling and industrial waste treatment industry refers to the industry that collects unnecessary products and materials generated in the process of manufacturing and consumption and that reuses, recycles, or disposes of them properly.
*4: The EU’s ELV Regulation: A European Commission regulation that stipulates that, by 2031, at least 25% of the plastic used in new vehicles must be recycled plastic and at least 25% of that recycled plastic must come from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).

Our goal for “re-compounding”

“Re-compounding” is a coined term combining the terms “remanufacturing” and “compounding.” It is defined as the compounding of base resins containing recycled materials and various components to provide capabilities and value beyond those of simply recycled resins. Our engineering plastics are thermoplastic resins, and they all can, in principle, be mechanically recycled. However, many of the applications in which engineering plastics are used require durability and reliability. In many cases, simply “recycling resin” (i.e., deforming waste plastic with heat and returning it to a pellet shape, known as “repelletizing”) cannot meet quality and performance requirements. As a manufacturer specializing in engineering plastics, Polyplastics has accumulated expertise in material technology, production technology, and application technology. Polyplastics draws on that expertise to provide capabilities and value beyond those of simply recycled resin through re-compounding rather than repelletizing. We are helping to achieve 100% circularity of engineering plastics by expanding the applications of mechanically recycled materials.

About DURACIRCLE^Ⓡ

As a leading engineering plastics company, we launched our DURACIRCLE^Ⓡ initiatives for every solution that helps to achieve 100% circularity of engineering plastics. Keep looking to Polyplastics for more sustainable solutions.

【Related information】
　◆ An introduction to DURAFIDE^Ⓡ PPS
   ◆ An introduction to the grades of PPS
   ◆ Special Web Page for Sustainable Solutions under the “DURACIRCLE^Ⓡ” Initiative

【For inquiries about our technologies and materials, please contact us via 】
　◆ Polyplastics Group Representative
　◆ WEB Inquiry