A CIrcular Multilayer Plastic Approach for value retention of end-of-life multilayer films

Project Information

CIMPA

Grant agreement ID: 101003864

DOI

10.3030/101003864

Project closed

EC signature date 6 May 2021

Start date 1 June 2021

End date 30 November 2024

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 4 984 396,25

EU contribution

€ 4 984 396,25

Coordinated by

CENTRE TECHNIQUE INDUSTRIEL DE LA PLASTURGIE ET DES COMPOSITES
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CIMPA (A CIrcular Multilayer Plastic Approach for value retention of end-of-life multilayer films)

Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

“Our goal is to create an economy in which plastic never becomes waste”. This is the philosophy we develop and demonstrate within the CIMPA project.
So far multilayer films have been developed with a sole focus on barrier performances without taking into account their recyclability.
The current designs and absence of sorting and recycling technologies for such multilayers, makes them unsuitable for recycling in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.

The objective of CIMPA is to develop the first recycling value chain for post-industrial and post-consumer multilayer films retaining up to 72% of their value yield vs 2% today, based on a synergetic approach combining innovative compositional sorting, mechanical and physical (dissolution) recycling, and upgrading solutions (decontamination, properties improvement, in-line adaptive process control with soft computing feedback loop for stable recycled materials properties).

CIMPA gathers 4 RTOs to lead development (AIMPLAS, IPC, TNO, VTT), 2 technology-provider SMEs developing cutting edge sorting equipment (PELLENC ST, FILIGRADE), 1 large waste management company (PAPREC), 3 producers of multilayers for food and agricultural applications (EVERSIA, LEYGATECH, BARBIER), 1 institute for consumer attitude/acceptance studies (PROSPEX INSTITUTE), 1 association representing the EU plastic recycling industry (EURIC) and 1 consultant company for exploitation and coordination support (BENKEI) together constituting the basis of a widely deployable industrial value chain aimed at the production and circular recycling of multilayer films.

Within 3 and a half years, the partners worked together and managed to achieve tremendous results. The CIMPA value chain proved to be efficient in recycling multilayer packaging, with several routes to obtain return to food contact application. The loop can be closed, with respect to investments at every stage of the cycle (sorting, recycling, decontamination and upgrading). Even though some work still remains to be done, especially for scaling-up and association with industrial partners, the CIMPA project answers to the EU objectives in plastic recycling.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

All along the project, results and objectives were achieved within the entire CIMPA value chain. For the sorting step, the multilayer films proved to be classified in 3 families, by improving the actual NIR technology (from TRL4 to TRL9). The prototype combining NIR and CurvCode was successfully implemented (brought from TRL3 TRL7-8), achieving 99% in both efficiency and purity in several steps, and allowing to sort other families of films, such as PE/EVOH or food contact materials.
Innovative processing for mechanical recycling showed very promising results, especially in mechanical and barrier properties. The structure was changed by extensional continuous mixer and barrier properties enhanced with multinanolayer extrusion evolving from TRL5 to TRL6. Demonstrators made using this technology found applications, even though the return to food contact is still challenging for some families of waste. Further work to include such technology in industrial plants is to be done.
Physical recycling has proven to be a powerful tool leading to high purity material that can be used in food contact application. Even if it needs to be readditivated after the recycling, the flexibility allowed by the removal of pigments, inks, additives and contaminants enlarges the possible applications of the resulting material. The envisioned yield was achieved at TRL4, the process was scaled up to TRL5 and more investigations are further to be done for the TRL5 equipment.
The decontamination work demonstrates the possibility, through several techniques, to achieve the desirable final Volatile Organic Compounds content. Its TRL changed from 5 to 6. The final levels in Overall Migration Limit were below the regulation, and the materials were odourless.
The upgrading gave highly interesting results in narrowing the viscosity curve of recycled materials, but also with the study of several compatibilizers that can be added during recycling. The final properties of the recycled materials were proved to be stable and fine-tuned to maximize the reprocessing step. The VAREX process switch from TRL3-4 to TRL6.
The public and stakeholder engagement was successful all along the events organized, with Citizen labs, but also workshop and a Stakeholder Advisory Board highly motivated in the CIMPA results. New guidelines were drawn, based on the project’s results, and new designs were proposed and tested for recycling following the CIMPA steps.
Dissemination and communication showed a high level of commitment from every partner, reaching (and even outperforming) the CIMPA objectives. Clustering activities with other EU-funded projects were sucessfully carried out. Legislative activities were performed leading to the publication of 2 policy briefs with key recommendations in relation to the new EU packaging rules (PPWR). Several Key Exploitable Results were identified and strategies to exploit them were drawn, in accordance with the state-of-play available, and the partner’s strategy.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

With the CIMPA project we overcome the main barriers to recyclability of flexible multilayer films (ML).
First, highly efficient sorting of 3 major families of complex ML films, i.e. PE/PA, PE/PET and metallized films, collected in sorting centers, is now possible combining NIR, and digital watermarking technologies.
Decontamination of sorted materials using processes with smart stripping agents combinations and optimized supercritical CO2 technology led to demonstrated low odour and low VOC contents.
Reprocessing these wastes with value-retention was demonstrated using VAREX process by homogenizing the viscosity of recycled plastics therefore stabilizing the mechanical properties.
The physical recycling of multilayer post-consumer waste allows the recovery of polyolefin that can be used in food contact application, therefore closing the loop.
Our innovative mechanical recycling process by morphology controlled blends allows now production of produce PA/PO, PET/PE and PE/EVOH blends.
With the CIMPA project, an economically viable process was developed for enabling recycling of ML films from post-consumer waste leading to raw material to be used for packaging or agricultural films.
We have rethought the entire value chain approach to plastic multilayer films to prepare and design the next generations of 100% recyclable multilayers.
We have implemented a circularity-by-design methodology and produced associated guidelines, based on concatenated data from sorting, recyclability, decontamination and upgrading, and identified designs compatible with advanced sorting and recycling.
The GHG emissions proved to be up to 9% lower when the materials are recycled according to CIMPA, with even superior performance in eight other impact categories, albeit with some trade-offs.

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