Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FlexPack2Circle (Transfer of Multimaterial Flexible Packaging to Circular Economy)

Teaser

saperatec creates new recycling solutions especially for composite materials which have no satisfying end-of-life treatment. Currently, these materials are in the most cases landfilled or incinerated. This behaviour led to the public perception that multilayer packaging...

Summary

saperatec creates new recycling solutions especially for composite materials which have no satisfying end-of-life treatment. Currently, these materials are in the most cases landfilled or incinerated. This behaviour led to the public perception that multilayer packaging materials are a symbol for environmental pollution and the failure of corporate responsibility.
saperatec is the first company with the ability to recover individual raw materials from multilayer packaging creating a recycling rate of close to 100%. The unique separation liquid technology breaks up the composite material into its various components without losing or transforming any of the materials. As these components can then be fed back into the raw material cycles, the best possible added value is achieved. With this new recycling concept, saperatec is contributing to solve the worldwide plastic challenge as well as customer’s path towards sustainability and circular economy.
saperatec provides full support to achieve sustainable packaging solutions for its customers - starting from suitable product design for the saperatec technology up to a closed loop recycling concept of a specific packaging.
Based on this technology, the worldwide 1st recycling plant for post-industrial FlexPack waste, which has a recycling rate of close to 100%, will be installed.

Work performed

Within the H2020 initiative, saperatec has focused to accelerate the upscaling of its technology and to keep R&D as well as pilot line activities on high level to further upgrade the output material quality. Furthermore, the FlexPack2Circle project enables us to develop new packaging designs with optimized adhesives and to expand the infeed portfolio of our process to other packaging types. We took the opportunity to extend contacts to Europe- and worldwide potential customers and to increase our general visibility in the recycling industry.
More precisely, the detail engineering of the recycling plant is progressing very well and will lead to a request for a Federal Immission Control Approval of the 1st industrial plant in short-term.
saperatec increased its network of Europe- and worldwide potential customers. Major public relation activity was the trade fair K2019, the largest rubber and plastic fair, at which saperatec presented its technology to a global audience. saperatec has broadly announced the successful start of the 1st industrial plant realisation.
In the context of the FlexPack2Circle project 750 kg pf PE/Alu/PET FlexPack material was treated in our pilot line in Bielefeld. The quality of output fractions was improved by testing new machinery types and thus leads to higher realizable market prices. In addition, we proved the full value chain of our PE output material to final PE foils manufactured by a blow film process.
R&D of saperatec has evaluated the influence of different FlexPack adhesives on the saperatec recycling process. Based on the results, new package designs were introduced together with our partners, which are optimized for the saperatec recycling technology. In addition, saperatec advanced its separation fluid technology so that a broader variety of new multilayer material types can be treated.

Final results

The H2020 project allows us to keep our 1st industrial plant on schedule and go ahead with further R&D work in parallel without trade-offs. At the end of the project a recycling plant is built up, which recycles 18.000 t/a FlexPack material to gain PE granules, PET agglomerate and aluminium briquettes as high quality sales products. Furthermore, the saperatec separation technology will be continuously developed so that it covers a broad variety of FlexPack composite material types.
Environmental and economic benefits are:
• FlexPack waste will be prevented from incineration/landfilling,
• Recovery of high grade secondary raw materials in solid state with attractive prices,
• Energy and CO2 saving production process due to reduce demand of fossil fuels and
• Reduction of inefficient waste treatment on customer-side.

Flexible multi-layer materials have proven to be a valuable material type for packaging applications due to its low weight, material saving and superior barrier properties. saperatec offers now companies a technology so that proven FlexPack materials like PE/Alu/PET for food packaging have a proper end-of-life treatment and thus creating circularity and sustainability.
The combination of excellent material properties and recyclability of FlexPack material will serves the society and our whole planet on a long run.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.saperatec.de.