Extrusion International 6-2021

25 Extrusion International 6/2021 Quantafuel develops technology that is contributing to solving the global waste problem. In collaboration with dedicated partners, they have achieved the combined goals of recycling low-quality plastic and sustainable waste management. And Busch Vacuum Solutions is one of these partners that delivers the vacuum technology for the pyrolysis process to give plastic waste a second life. By converting almost all kinds of plastic waste into more environmentally friendly fuel and chemicals, Quantafuel is making a significant contribution to lowering pollution and emissions. The two companies are linked by a close partnership. Busch supports Quantafuel during the development of the innovative pyrolysis process where they melt all sorts of used recirculated plastic waste and generate mineral oil out of the pyrolysis gas. The mineral oil itself arises in the melting process. DOLPHIN liquid ring vacuum pumps by Busch are used for degassing during the pyrolysis pro- cess. The gas is then compressed for further downstream process with the help of vacuum technology. This innovative process makes the recycling of plastic waste much more environmentally friendly. Quantafuel‘s solution places a value on plastic waste by treating used plastic as a valuable resource and transforming it into new products. And therefore, Busch presented Quanta- fuel with the “Innovation in Vacuum Busch Award 2020”. Busch Vacuum Solutions www.buschvacuum.com Presentation of the “Innovation in VacuumBusch Award 2020”; from left to right: Dr Karl Busch, Ayhan Busch, Oyvind Hansen Billing (General Manager Busch Vakuumteknikk AS), Hans-Christian Felde (Procurement Director Quantafuel ASA), Ayla Busch, Kaya Busch BASF www.ecovio.basf.com, www.biopolymers.basf.com WPO Polymers wpopolymers.com Cooperation „ As part of its growth strategy for its biopolymers business, BASF will cooperate with WPO Polymers to further advance on the fast developing Spanish and Portuguese markets: The plas- tics solutions provider will act as distributor of BASF‘s ecovio ® fi lm product range for certi fi ed compostable shopping bags, organic waste bags as well as fruit and vegetable bags in Spain and Portugal. Building on their respective strengths, BASF and its new partner will be better positioned to accelerate business on this important market and to support food companies and retailers to comply with the Spanish Royal decree 293/2018 on the reduction of plastic bags including the mandatory usage of compostable bags (<50 μ m thickness) certi fi ed according to EN 13432. „We have chosen WPO Polymers as partner because of its rec- ognized technical expertise in the fi eld of extrusion and its in- depth knowledge of recycling and plastics materials, which complements BASF’s customer-focused strategy for ecovio ® in the Spanishmarket,” saysMia Pettersson, head of BASF’s global business unit Specialty Polymers. „With this new partnership, we want to further improve services for our processors through greater proximity, tomeet our customers’ needs more effective- ly and increase our delivery fl exibility. The cooperation will also allow us to support the separate collection of organic waste, as high-quality compost is important for climate change mitiga- tion.“ Since 2018 Spanish legislation has step by step tightened the consumption of bags made of conventional plastics, which in this year culminates in the obligation for retailers and bag producers to offer only light and very lightweight certi fi ed com- postable bags to consumers. Thus, the Spanish market for bio- polymers is expected to become one of the largest in Europe. „Our expertise is backed by more than 40 years of experience in the plastics industry. With the inclusion of BASF’s innovative biopolymer ecovio® into our portfolio, we will both expand our established business and push the adoption of organic re- cycling in the Iberian peninsula,” says Manuel Olaegu, CEO and Founder of WPO Polymers. „We give tailored material advice and technical support to each customer to ensure the optimal use of the right material for the respective process and certi fi ed compostable application – these are key success factors in the Spanish and Portuguese bioplastics markets.“ The BASF biopolymer ecovio ® is certi fi ed compostable in accor- dance with e.g. DIN EN 13432. It is a blend of BASF’s PBAT eco- fl ex® and renewable raw materials, which means that ecovio ® is also partly bio-based. Typical applications for ecovio ® are or- ganic waste bags, cling fi lm, fruit and vegetable bags, as well as agricultural mulch fi lms and food packaging applications.