France’s Technip joins polystyrene recycling market

French engineering firm Technip Energies and Norway-headquartered Agilyx Advance Technology have launched a technology for chemical recycling of polystyrene.

The TruStyrenyx technology combines Technip's purification technology and Agilyx's pyrolysis method to convert waste polystyrene into recycled styrene monomer with over 99.8pc purity. SM is used to make plastic products and resins such as polystyrene, synthetic rubbers and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

Polystyrene is a polymer that can be tough to recycle, especially when it contains impurities like halogens and because of its lightweight and porous nature. Initial trials using the TruStyrenyx technology at a facility in Massachusetts, US showed a negligible halogen concentration in line with American Society for Testing and Materials standards, Technip said on 25 August. Technip has traditionally focused on oil and gas and petrochemical technologies.

Polystyrene has been subject to regulatory scrutiny globally, some as part of single-use plastic regulations. India has banned the use of single-use plastics since 1 July, contributing to a fall in polystyrene and SM demand in the country. Thailand in April banned packaging made from styrofoam - a form of polystyrene - and single-use plastics across national parks in the country.

Such scrutiny has also encouraged other firms to pursue polystyrene recycling. Germany-headquartered Ineos Styrolution is collaborating with UK-based Recycling Technologies to start operations at a pilot polystyrene chemical recycling plant in the second half of this year.

By Akash Ravinran