ANDRITZ has opened a new, state-of-the-art test and research centre, ANDRITZ Recycling Technology Centre (ART-Center) for the recycling industry.

The ART centre has been equipped with innovative shredder technology from the ANDRITZ ADuro product line, which enables customers to conduct recycling tests under real plant conditions with industrial-scale equipment.

The ADuro shredders can be used for primary and for secondary shredding as well as for fine granulation and dismantling of composite materials. As a result, tests are possible with very different waste streams and complete recycling processes can be replicated.

“We know how important it is to improve processes and products on a continuous basis. That is why we are also offering our customers the opportunity to experiment with new machines and configurations in the ART-Center in order to find the best possible solution for the respective need,” explains Michael Waupotitsch, Vice President Reject & Recycling at ANDRITZ.

The new technology center covers a total area of 3,600 m2 and is available to recycling customers from different industries as well as to research and development organizations.

The same site also accommodates the newly opened Digital Waste Research Lab of the University of Leoben – a research center for waste processing and waste management. The collaboration between ANDRITZ and the University of Leoben creates synergies between research and industry in order to develop technologies and products for the future needs of the recycling industry. “A recycling-oriented circular economy is a response to our environmental problems. New, innovative sorting and processing technologies can convert more and more of our waste into useful secondary raw materials,” adds Dr. Roland Pomberger, Professor at the University of Leoben and Head of the Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management.

There are already 20 technology leaders and 1,800 university researchers working jointly on solutions for climate protection and the circular economy at this new innovation center in southern Austria,” says Bernhard Puttinger, General Manager of Green Tech Cluster.

Orion Engineered Carbons, a specialty chemical company, started commercial sales in Italy from the first new reactor for carbon black production to be commissioned in the European Union in over 40 years. 

The new 25-kiloton line at the facility in Ravenna, in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, produces both specialty and technical rubber carbon blacks, primarily for the European market, the company said in a release. 

Corning Painter, CEO, Orion, said, “The new line offers customers seeking long-term solutions a unique strategic opportunity to align with a dependable plant that has been operating for more than 60 years in Europe.” 

Additional investments at the plant include a new co-generation facility to convert waste heat into electricity, generating up to 120 MWh of electricity per year. Seventy percent of the electricity is supplied to the national grid, serving about 30,000 households. Orion is a net exporter of electricity in Europe and worldwide. (TT)  

Shin-Etsu Chemical, a leading chemical company, plans to invest $702 million in its silicone portfolio, a key component of its functional materials business segment.

This latest investment follows a plan announced in February 2022, worth $562 million, to meet the surging demand for advanced functional silicone products. However, due to the continuous growth in need, especially for eco-friendly options that align with the global goal of carbon neutrality, the company has decided to expand the applications of its silicone products. The company will also focus on enhancing the advanced functionality of its product lineup and further developing environmentally friendly silicones.

In alignment with its newly announced silicones investment plan, Shin-Etsu Chemical will make investments not only in its central production hub in Japan, the Gunma Complex in Gunma Prefecture, but also in its Naoetsu Plant in Niigata Prefecture, Takefu Plant in Fukui Prefecture, and the Group company plant in Thailand, where silicone monomer and polymer production is conducted. The company will also invest further in existing silicone plants across other Asian countries, the United States, and Hungary. Simultaneously, Shin-Etsu Chemical will accelerate efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by embracing greener manufacturing processes.

Klean Industries Inc has announced that its partner Pyrolysis Hellas SA has completed Phase II of the Detailed Feasibility Study to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece. Greek Authorities gave permits to its final Phase, the company said in a release. The company, while terming it as a significant milestone for the PHS project, claimed that it was the first tyre pyrolysis and carbon upgrading project in Greece to receive full authorizations.

Klean Industries Inc has announced that its partner Pyrolysis Hellas SA has completed Phase II of the Detailed Feasibility Study to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece. Greek Authorities gave permits to its final Phase, the company said in a release. The company, while terming it as a significant milestone for the PHS project, claimed that it was the first tyre pyrolysis and carbon upgrading project in Greece to receive full authorizations.

Klean Industries Inc has announced that its partner Pyrolysis Hellas SA has completed Phase II of the Detailed Feasibility Study to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece. Greek Authorities gave permits to its final Phase, the company said in a release. The company, while terming it as a significant milestone for the PHS project, claimed that it was the first tyre pyrolysis and carbon upgrading project in Greece to receive full authorizations.Klean Industries Inc has announced that its partner Pyrolysis Hellas SA has completed Phase II of the Detailed Feasibility Study to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece. Greek Authorities gave permits to its final Phase, the company said in a release. The company, while terming it as a significant milestone for the PHS project, claimed that it was the first tyre pyrolysis and carbon upgrading project in Greece to receive full authorizations.

Each year, over 1.5 billion tyres are sold worldwide, representing more than 26 million metric tonnes, and just as many tyres each year also fall into the category of end-of-life tyres providing a large and partially untapped potential for resource and material recovery. Today, most traditional ELT treatment processes are not circular and do not result in any production of raw materials that are suitable to be reused in the tyre manufacturing industry. Without such ELT solutions in the EU, more than half of the EU end-of-life tyres and secondhand tyres are landfilled or are exported as tyre derived fuels for use into furnaces as an industrial fuel. The PHS project intends to reverse these trends and create a vibrant addition to advancements being made in the tyre recycling sector, the release said.

The PHS project is co-owned by Karabas European Hellenic Recycling. Currently, KEHR collects and recycles all types of scrap vehicle tyres and recycles them through traditional methods by shredding tyres into rubber granules, rubber powder & shock-absorbent surfacing slabs.

PHS has partnered with Klean Industries to build a modern tyre recycling facility that encompasses a state-of-the-art scrap tyre pyrolysis plant to recycle 20,000 TPA of waste tyres into valuable chemical products.

PHS proposes to construct and operate the Waste Tyre Pyrolysis Plant in Moulkia, a seaside town near Skala, Greece. It is located at an existing industrial site that is owned by KEHR, the release added. (TT)

ResiCare, an adhesive manufacturing subsidiary of Michelin, has found commercial use in Allin's plywood manufacturing unit, R'PLY. Allin and Michelin have been in collaboration since 2018.

The company claims that R'Ply is the first responsible plywood made using certified Poplar wood and integrating a ResiCare resin that is kinder to human health as well as the environment. The R’Ply is a high-performance plywood which can be used for multiple applications, according to the company. The plywood can be used for boat-building or in the building trade and will be available at certain DIY stores soon.

Michelin had set up a mobile ResiCare production unit at its Olsztyn site in May 2021. The company hopes to replace more than 80 percent of the usual adhesive used in its tyre textile reinforcement with the new ResiCare adhesive, which is free from any substances of very high concern for health (SVHC), by 2025. The company further plans to set up mobile production units similar to the one in Europe and Asia in the coming months. (TT)