K’2022 Review K 2022, the innovation driver for the global plastics and rubber industry showed a multitude of concrete solutions, machines, and products for the transformation towards a circular economy The joy of the plastics and rubber industry at finally being able to exchange ideas in person on a global level again after three years characterised K 2022 Düsseldorf and ensured an excellent mood among the 3,037 exhibitors who again unanimously underscored the necessity of having operational circular economies along the complete material chain and to this end already presented numerous concrete solutions. 176,000 trade visitors from all continents travelled to their most relevant sectoral event in Düsseldorf. “Especially now in turbulent times and where the plastics industry is undergoing a transformation towards the circular economy K 2022 was the ideal place to jointly and actively chart the course for the future”, said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the Exhibitor Advisory Board at K 2022. And certainly, bioplastics and plastics made from CO 2 or advanced recycling played an ever increasing role at the mega-event. By far more than 200 companies were listed in the official catalogue with the keyword bioplastic. Our joint booth with European Bioplastics was constantly crowded with visitors interested in sustainable solutions to get away from fossil resources. Show Review The 5 th Bioplastics Business Breakfast organized by bioplastics MAGAZINE again attracted more than 125 attendees from 27 countries around the globe. And for those attendees that could not travel to Düsseldorf, the hybrid format offered a solution to participate remotely. Video recordings are still available. Just contact the editor. This year’s K has again exceeded the organizers’ expectations and was able to generate key impetus for sustainable governance and new business models.AT/MT (Foto: Messe Düsseldorf / Constanze Tillmann) Westlake Vinnolit Westlake Vinnolit (Ismaning, Germany) continues to expand its lower-carbon GreenVin ® product line: Effective immediately, the company also offers GreenVin bio-attributed PVC based on renewable ethylene from e.g. used cooking oil. Westlake Vinnolit’s lower-carbon GreenVin product line continues to expand: in addition to GreenVin PVC, with approximately 25 % CO 2 savings through the use of renewable electricity (Guarantees of Origin with quality label) in the Westlake Vinnolit production chain, GreenVin bio-attributed PVC is now also available. GreenVin bio-attributed PVC is produced with renewable electricity and ISCC PLUScertified renewable ethylene from biomass. The CO 2 savings of GreenVin bio-attributed PVC is about 90 %, compared to conventionally produced Vinnolit PVC. “With GreenVin bio-attributed PVC, we rely on non-food biomass (second generation), such as plant residues and waste materials, which does not compete with the food chain”, said Karl-Martin Schellerer, Managing Director. “Westlake Vinnolit sources the renewable ethylene from OMV and other partners, replacing fossil ethylene in PVC production. GreenVin bio-attributed PVC is both ISCC PLUS and REDcert2 certified, using the mass balance approach”. www.westlake.com 34 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/22] Vol. 17
Avient Avient (Avon Lake, OH, USA, formerly PolyOne) exhibited its latest innovations and initiatives for the plastics industry as part of its drive toward creating sustainable and specialized material solutions. This includes offering lower-carbon alternatives to thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) without sacrificing performance, expanding their portfolios to include the use of bio-renewable feedstock and post-industrial or post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, and introducing new materials and services focused on meeting specific customer needs while helping to advance a circular economy. New launches by Avient include New Maxxam REC, Maxxam BIO, and Nymax BIO grades, an expanded portfolio of recycled and biobased polyolefin and polyamide formulations now manufactured in Europe. These grades can offer a more sustainable alternative to traditional grades while achieving equivalent performance in many applications and industries, including transportation, industrial, consumer, electrical and electronic, and building and construction. TheSound Ultra-Low Carbon Footprint TPEs offer an industry-first cradle-to-gate negative, neutral, or near-zero product carbon footprint (PCF) while delivering comparable performance to traditional TPEs. Among other things Avient also announced customer success collaboration with L’Oréal and a joint study with Borealis using Avient’s Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) Colour Prediction Service: A digital service using sophisticated technology to illustrate the colour possibilities or limitations of certain types of PCR. This can improve the customer experience of working with PCR content for materials used in packaging by offering options that can create global colour consistency, improved quality, and greater circularity. www.avient.com K’2022 Review DSM DSM Engineering Materials (Geleen, the Netherlands) showcased its recent innovations in circularity, sustainable mobility, and digitalization that are driving transformation and empowering customers across automotive, electric, electronics, and consumer goods. Akulon ® RePurposed is a high-performance polymer (PA6, PA66) made from recycled fishing nets collected from the Indian Ocean and is used by Samsung in key components across its Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 series in an industryfirst smartphone application. It is also at the centre of DSM’s successful partnership with Schneider Electric for its Merten range of sustainable home socket and switch solutions, and with Ford Motor Company in the Ford Bronco Sport – recognized by Ford as the first of many potential applications in a major vehicle platform. Several biobased mass-balanced polymers unlock a huge range of more sustainable applications across demanding consumer products, automotive and sports. Ranging from 75 % to 100 % biobased mass-balanced content, solutions include Akulon PA6 B-MB line, specific grades in the Arnitel ® TPC B-MB family, and an industry-first biobased mass-balanced high-temperature polyamide PA46 as an exciting addition to the flagship Stanyl ® brand. Stanyl B-MB (Biobased Mass Balanced), with up to 100 % bio-attributed content enables DSM Engineering Materials to halve the carbon footprint of this product line and, in turn, of the Stanyl B-MB-based products of its customers. Launched in June, this 100 % bio-attributed high-temperature polyamide underlines the business’s ongoing commitment to helping customers fulfil their sustainability ambitions by making planet-positive choices and supporting the transition to a circular and biobased economy. www.dsm.com TotalEnergies During K 2022 TotalEnergies announced the launch of its new product range RE:clic for its low-carbon polymers that contribute to addressing the challenges of the circular economy. The RE:use polymers range contains recycled plastic obtained through a mechanical recycling process. They are derived from post-consumer and postindustrial plastic wastes. The RE:build polymers are produced through an advanced recycling process that converts hard-torecycle plastic waste into circular feedstock. The recycled content of the resulting polymers is tracked throughout the production process thanks to the ISCC PLUS certification. These polymers exhibit identical properties to virgin polymers and are therefore suitable for highend, demanding applications, including food contact. The RE:newable polymers are derived from biobased products. Produced from renewable feedstocks certified under ISCC PLUS, these polymers substantially reduce the carbon footprint of finished products and retain virgin-like properties. “This announcement marks yet another step forward in TotalEnergies’ development of a circular economy for plastics and is fully aligned with the Company’s ambition”, said Nathalie Brunelle, Vice President Polymers at TotalEnergies. “The products associated with these new ranges are concrete solutions to help us reach our ambition of commercializing 30 % circular polymers by 2030”. www totalenergies.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/22] Vol. 17 35
