Sumitomo Chemical builds pilot plant for chemical recycling of PMMA ? Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical has constructed a new pilot facility for chemical recycling of acrylic resin (polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA) at its Ehime Works in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Samples of chemically recycled methyl methacrylate or MMA monomer produced in this facility and acrylic resin made from the monomer will become available later this year. ? The company said it plans to “accelerate the development of a circular system for acrylic resin that integrates all steps, from collection of used acrylic resin, to recycling of the collected resin into a monomer material, to use of the material as products”. ? Acrylic resins, which possess the highest level of transparency among plastics, as well as superior weatherability and processability, are used in a wide range of applications, such as automobile tail lamps, home appliances, water tanks, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and protective partition panels to reduce the spread of droplets. ? Sumitomo Chemical has jointly developed with The Japan Steel Works Ltd (JSW) a technology for pyrolysing acrylic resin and recycling it, with high efficiency, into MMA monomer. The new pilot facility is equipped with JSW’s twin-screw extruder. Sumitomo Chemical will validate the technology to recycle acrylic resin at a high quality and work on scaling the production process. ? “The recycled MMA monomer will have the same level of quality, and its GHG emissions over the entire product life cycle are expected to be at least 60% less, compared to MMA monomer manufactured from fossil resources,” the company said. ? Follow Chemical Weekly page for regular industry updates ? Subscribe to Chemical Weekly magazine: https://lnkd.in/g3S4ZSu9 ? Chemical Weekly is the official media partner for ChemExpo India 2023 (Apr 18-19, Mumbai). To know more visit www.chemexpoindia.com ? #chemicals #chemicalindustry #chemicalweekly #specialitychemicals #pilotfacility #pilotplant #chemicalrecycling #acrylicresin #recycling #polymethylmethacrylate #PMMA #pyrolysing #MMA #monomer #GHGemissions #technology #methylmethacrylate #circularity #sustainability #twinscrewextruder www.chemicalweekly.com
