The technology selectively dissolves and separates PPS from the materials while retaining its polymer form instead of breaking it down into a monomer. Because this process does not require such decomposition, it removes impurities more efficiently than conventional chemical recycling processes.
PPS is a super-engineering plastic with excellent heat and chemical resistance. Demand for it is growing, particularly for automotive parts and electrical and electronic components. Recovering usable PPS from end-of-life products has been difficult because contaminants are hard to remove and because there have been no effective recycling processes to date. At the same time, stricter resource circulation regulations, particularly in Europe, are increasing the importance of post-consumer recycling the automotive and other industries.
Virtually no solvents can dissolve PPS because of its high chemical resistance. Toray overcame this challenge by leveraging decades of PPS manufacturing technology to selectively dissolve and crystallize PPS from waste materials and remove glass fibers and other impurities. The resulting recycled material maintains the same molecular weight and melting point as virgin PPS.
A preliminary Toray study suggests that recycled PPS made with this technology may reduce cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions compared with the company’s PPS made from virgin materials. Toray is currently verifying these potential reductions through ongoing demonstration testing.
Having completed the study, Toray is conducting a scale-up demonstration through a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry fiscal 2024 project called “Support for enhancing the resilience and autonomy of circular economy systems through industry-government-academia collaboration.” The company aims to start commercial supply in around 2030. It will work with partners in the automotive, recycling, and other industries to establish a resource circulation system spanning the collection of PPS-containing waste materials through the reuse of recycled PPS.
