Project description
A second life for complex plastics
Plastics allow us to create a wide range of products for multiple applications, offering low cost of manufacturing, product durability and flexibility. Unfortunately, plastic is difficult to recycle and leaves 69% of one-use plastic packages in landfilling and incineration while polluting the environment. The EU-funded MultiCycle project aimed to introduce an advanced and sustainable recycling process as well as the value chains for plastic-based multi-materials. The project demonstrated monitoring systems for material identification and an industrial recycling pilot plant for fossil or bio-based multilayer packaging and fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites from automotive sector. The plant was based on an innovative solvent-based selective extraction process to retrieve pure plastics and additives from mixed wastes. Recyclates were reprocessed into new value-added products.
Objective
Plastics bring unprecedented value in terms of convenience, versatility of design and lightweight to European consumers as well as increasingly advanced performances even in high end applications. But only 31% of plastic packaging are currently recycled due to infra-developed technologies or to their unsatisfactory economic viability. This is in fact aggravated by considering plastics as commodity where their economic value is linked to a single use, often not taking into account the potentially generated end of life hurdles. In line with the just released Plastic Strategy for Europe, the time has come to stop the depletion, landfilling and incineration and shift to a Circular Model in the plastic sector improving the recycling rate but also the value of secondary raw materials from plastic recycling.
As such, with an overarching mission to maximise the valorisation of our finite plastic resources, based on the CreaSolv® process (CreaSolv® is a registered trademark of CreaCycle GmbH) patented by the partner FRAUNHOFER, which will be upscaled and digitased, MultiCycle will deliver an industrial recycling pilot plant for thermoplastic-based multi-materials. This is a solvent based selective extraction process which allows recovering pure plastics in mixed wastes but also fibres without downgrading. The later compounding of recovered materials will also be optimised in terms of process and formulation. Our economically and environmentally sustainable MultiCycle process will be demonstrated in 2 main large volume sectors (as providers of waste to recycle and end users of the recycled materials):
-Multilayer packaging but also flexible films that cannot be recycled cost effectively to date and altogether account for around 50% of plastic packaging, i.e. ca. 10 millions tons/year in EU.
-Fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites for the automotive sector from which plastics constitute around 16% of End-of-Life Vehicles weigth, i.e. ca. 1 million tons/year in EU.
Fields of science
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
08940 CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT
Spain
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Participants (23)
80686 Munchen
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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46980 PATERNA VALENCIA
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92700 Colombes
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391 02 Plana Nad Luznici
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WV14 8XQ Coseley Dudley
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
59929 Brilon
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41420 Kocaeli
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34394 Sisli, Istanbul
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46800 XATIVA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8050 ZURICH
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63762 GROSSOSTHEIM
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
8020 Graz
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06000 Nice
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
80805 MUNCHEN
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
143 42 NEA FILADELFEIA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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145 61 Athina
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
OX4 2HN Oxford
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
W1W 7LT London
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
1080 Wien
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
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1080 Wien
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3013 AK Rotterdam
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V93 PPA0 KERRY
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.