Periodic Reporting for period 3 - CREAToR (Collection of raw materials, Removal of flAme reTardants and Reuse of secondary raw materials)
Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-05-31
Flame retardants are chemicals added to materials to prevent fires. They have been used in various consumer and construction products since the 1970s, but many, including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), have now been banned as they remain in the environment for years, accumulating to toxic levels. CREAToR developed a process to remove BFRs from polymer waste in the building, construction, electrical and electronic equipment and aviation sectors. It also paved the way towards a circular economy, revalorising the purified materials for new applications.
CREAToR conducted process development and industrial-scale trials to identify and sort hazardous, already banned BFRs from waste and remove them using continuous purification technologies: supercritical-CO2 and cost-effective solvent-based processes using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) in twin-screw extruders. The project showed that the purified materials can be reused in demanding industrial applications, e.g. insulation panels for ETICS, automotive interior parts and 3D printed items for aeronautics. Furthermore, it elaborated an optimised logistic concept model and a harmonised material quality classification scheme.
CREAToR thus contributed to transforming waste streams that are currently incinerated at high cost into useful secondary raw materials. The economic viability was validated through material benchmarking and LCA/LCC assessment for the whole value chain for next-generation products.
Based on these results, CREAToR compiled a policy brief stating policy recommendations and also topics that need further research to achieve a circular economy for polymers.
CREAToR conducted process development and industrial-scale trials to identify and sort hazardous, already banned BFRs from waste and remove them using continuous purification technologies: supercritical-CO2 and cost-effective solvent-based processes using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) in twin-screw extruders. The project showed that the purified materials can be reused in demanding industrial applications, e.g. insulation panels for ETICS, automotive interior parts and 3D printed items for aeronautics. Furthermore, it elaborated an optimised logistic concept model and a harmonised material quality classification scheme.
CREAToR thus contributed to transforming waste streams that are currently incinerated at high cost into useful secondary raw materials. The economic viability was validated through material benchmarking and LCA/LCC assessment for the whole value chain for next-generation products.
Based on these results, CREAToR compiled a policy brief stating policy recommendations and also topics that need further research to achieve a circular economy for polymers.
The 48-month project covered various topics. First, material inventories and requirements were elaborated from the perspective of manufacturers, recyclers and reusers. For the identification and sorting, a LIBS-based pilot line was set up and calibration models for waste plastics were developed. To purify the contaminated polymers a pilot line for extractive extrusion using CO2 and NADES liquids was established at a 20 kg/h scale and an analysis protocol for the reproducible measurement of the BFRs was developed and validated.
CREAToR demonstrated reusable material recipes by manufacturing insulation panels for ETICS (including a demonstration insulation wall), injection-moulded automotive interior parts and 3D-printed aeronautic parts. Newly developed, eco-friendly FRs were integrated into the recipes for the 3D printing filaments. In the area of logistics CREAToR delivered a methodology to design new logistic chains.
The results were presented to the scientific community at conferences and in publications, and more publications are underway. Various demonstrators were presented at industrial fairs. Two summer schools on polymer recycling were held for bachelor and master-level students. A final event, the Innovation Forum 4 Plastics, targeted the R&I community including policy makers, and a policy brief was elaborated.
CREAToR demonstrated reusable material recipes by manufacturing insulation panels for ETICS (including a demonstration insulation wall), injection-moulded automotive interior parts and 3D-printed aeronautic parts. Newly developed, eco-friendly FRs were integrated into the recipes for the 3D printing filaments. In the area of logistics CREAToR delivered a methodology to design new logistic chains.
The results were presented to the scientific community at conferences and in publications, and more publications are underway. Various demonstrators were presented at industrial fairs. Two summer schools on polymer recycling were held for bachelor and master-level students. A final event, the Innovation Forum 4 Plastics, targeted the R&I community including policy makers, and a policy brief was elaborated.
CREAToR achieved progress in the following areas:
• Online and offline identification and sorting of FR-containing polymers
The focus was LIBS technology, however mid-wave infraded spectroscopy, XRF and GC-MS were also used to analyse the BFR contamination of waste.
A LIBS pilot line was set up, showing its potential as an identification tool to be combined in recycling lines with float-sink technology, electrostatic sorting or dismantling processes, to separate BFR-contaminated waste streams. Valuable insights were obtained with models based on partial least square regression algorithms for the automated inline recognition and classification of BFR-containing plastic waste.
The potential of mid-wave infrared spectroscopy for the polymeric detection of technical plastics was also evaluated. Furthermore it was concluded that a combination of XRF and GC-MS-analysis can ensure compliance with all regulations.
• Material purification to remove FRs
The extractive extrusion process using scCO2 and NADES in extrusion was tailored to remove BFR contaminants. Suitable extraction materials were selected depending on the polymer matrix and the FR to be removed. CREAToR removed up to 99 % of BFRs from the waste stream in the state-of-the-art batch process within several hours, and up to 50 % in the extractive extrusion within minutes.
• Reusing the generated secondary raw materials
CREAToR developed new FR recipies to replace legacy FRs with eco-friendly but still economically viable substitutes.
It also showed that the recycled, purified materials can be reused in new industrial applications. EPS-based insulation panels were processed to construct a demonstrator wall, automotive interior parts were injection moulded in a 3D geometry with the aesthetic appearance demanded in this sector, and 3D printing filaments were developed with and without FRs and processed into aeronautic fairings and cable clips.
• Optimised logistics concept
CREAToR developed a reverse cycle design and evaluation method for reverse cycle logistics. The method considered all processes and coordination mechanisms needed for the transportation and storage of materials and information flows within the network. Despite its theoretical foundation, it allows an operational derivation of a specific logistics concept for an individual reverse cycle network. Case studies showed the model’s feasibility for the strategic set up of a recycling process, including the selection of the recycling site and process equipment.
• Creating a harmonised classification of the material purity
CREAToR introduced a smart labelling system indicating the components of the (purified) waste streams and linking them with material properties. It includes information on the material’s mechanical properties and its purity from hazardous substances.
Potential impacts:
The project results firstly impact the sectors represented in the consortium (construction, aerospace and automotive, recycling and recycling machinery).
Until CREAToR, it was not commercially viable for recyclers to market any fraction arising from FR polymers, due to the uncertain properties of polymer waste and the likely presence of hazardous substances.
CREAToR demonstrated routes to reliably identify the presence of hazardous substances, to remove them, and to provide a high-quality secondary raw material for new industrial applications.
A clear environmental impact is that less material will be landfilled and/or incinerated. This was validated in the LCA on the identification, sorting and purification process stream.
CREAToR’s targeted social impact is the creation of > 4 500 EU jobs in the short term. As it comprises partners from the whole value chain, a simultaneous market push and market pull will be created, strengthening the collection, purification and sustainable reuse of secondary raw materials.
Through CREAToR, more secondary raw materials will be implemented in products, and also labelled and certified as such. This will support public acceptance of recycled plastics, and generate trust in the purification systems developed. Overall, CREAToR will help generate a market pull and also a public demand for reused materials, closing the loop into the circular economy and hence contributing to the EC’s circular economy roadmap.
CREAtoR’s policy brief specifies policy recommendations but also research and innovation needed to enable a circular economy in plastics.
• Online and offline identification and sorting of FR-containing polymers
The focus was LIBS technology, however mid-wave infraded spectroscopy, XRF and GC-MS were also used to analyse the BFR contamination of waste.
A LIBS pilot line was set up, showing its potential as an identification tool to be combined in recycling lines with float-sink technology, electrostatic sorting or dismantling processes, to separate BFR-contaminated waste streams. Valuable insights were obtained with models based on partial least square regression algorithms for the automated inline recognition and classification of BFR-containing plastic waste.
The potential of mid-wave infrared spectroscopy for the polymeric detection of technical plastics was also evaluated. Furthermore it was concluded that a combination of XRF and GC-MS-analysis can ensure compliance with all regulations.
• Material purification to remove FRs
The extractive extrusion process using scCO2 and NADES in extrusion was tailored to remove BFR contaminants. Suitable extraction materials were selected depending on the polymer matrix and the FR to be removed. CREAToR removed up to 99 % of BFRs from the waste stream in the state-of-the-art batch process within several hours, and up to 50 % in the extractive extrusion within minutes.
• Reusing the generated secondary raw materials
CREAToR developed new FR recipies to replace legacy FRs with eco-friendly but still economically viable substitutes.
It also showed that the recycled, purified materials can be reused in new industrial applications. EPS-based insulation panels were processed to construct a demonstrator wall, automotive interior parts were injection moulded in a 3D geometry with the aesthetic appearance demanded in this sector, and 3D printing filaments were developed with and without FRs and processed into aeronautic fairings and cable clips.
• Optimised logistics concept
CREAToR developed a reverse cycle design and evaluation method for reverse cycle logistics. The method considered all processes and coordination mechanisms needed for the transportation and storage of materials and information flows within the network. Despite its theoretical foundation, it allows an operational derivation of a specific logistics concept for an individual reverse cycle network. Case studies showed the model’s feasibility for the strategic set up of a recycling process, including the selection of the recycling site and process equipment.
• Creating a harmonised classification of the material purity
CREAToR introduced a smart labelling system indicating the components of the (purified) waste streams and linking them with material properties. It includes information on the material’s mechanical properties and its purity from hazardous substances.
Potential impacts:
The project results firstly impact the sectors represented in the consortium (construction, aerospace and automotive, recycling and recycling machinery).
Until CREAToR, it was not commercially viable for recyclers to market any fraction arising from FR polymers, due to the uncertain properties of polymer waste and the likely presence of hazardous substances.
CREAToR demonstrated routes to reliably identify the presence of hazardous substances, to remove them, and to provide a high-quality secondary raw material for new industrial applications.
A clear environmental impact is that less material will be landfilled and/or incinerated. This was validated in the LCA on the identification, sorting and purification process stream.
CREAToR’s targeted social impact is the creation of > 4 500 EU jobs in the short term. As it comprises partners from the whole value chain, a simultaneous market push and market pull will be created, strengthening the collection, purification and sustainable reuse of secondary raw materials.
Through CREAToR, more secondary raw materials will be implemented in products, and also labelled and certified as such. This will support public acceptance of recycled plastics, and generate trust in the purification systems developed. Overall, CREAToR will help generate a market pull and also a public demand for reused materials, closing the loop into the circular economy and hence contributing to the EC’s circular economy roadmap.
CREAtoR’s policy brief specifies policy recommendations but also research and innovation needed to enable a circular economy in plastics.