For over twenty years, Teijin Aramid has been recycling Twaron fibres at its own recycling facilities. In its quest to achieve zero emissions, Teijin Aramid has joined forces with Clariter and is pioneering an advanced recycling solution for Endumax, an Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE).

Together, these environmental conscious companies are developing a sustainable disposal method for highly valuable, post-production and end of life material that is hard to recycle mechanically.
As a future-oriented enterprise, Teijin Aramid has been looking for a sustainable solution for recycling their end-products. Clariter's innovative technology transforms potential plastic waste into high-value, pure industrial products with a net negative carbon footprint, which means it cleans the environment rather than pollutes it.
Feedstock tests with Teijin Aramid's Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (Endumax®), material were carried out at Clariter's pilot plant in Gliwice, Poland. The results showed that samples of fishing nets, ropes and air cargo containers were indeed suitable for chemical recycling. High resistance UHMW-PE, which was once problematic to recycle, has been now successfully upcycled into feedstock for pure, crude-free industrial products with applications such as cleaning agents, degreasers, paints, and speciality wax.
For products such as fishing nets, full circularity may be achieved, as the wax can be used to coat fishing nets; however, open-loop recycling can result in the production of valuable products for use in production processes or other applications.

Recycling solutions
Clariter is planning to build and operate a full-scale plant in the Netherlands in Delfzijl, near the Teijin Aramid plant. Additionally, preparations for more plants are ongoing in Poland and Israel.
Jasper Munier, Clariter Business Development Manager for North-West Europe, said: “Working with a partner like Teijin Aramid and proving that chemical recycling is the solution for the plastic waste epidemic, brought us again a bit closer to the cleaner and more sustainable future. As a next step, we want to process samples of much larger quantities and types at our 15,000m² Industrial-scale Plant in East London, South Africa. We look forward to working with Teijin Aramid team of experts and together positioning chemical recycling as an irreplaceable recycling solution."

Hendrik de Zeeuw, Director Marketing & Sales Teijin Aramid: ”Via this partnership with Clariter, Teijin Aramid has set a next step in the recyclability of Endumax®. That means Endumax is now in the same league as the other products of Teijin Aramid, which is overall a great achievement. Together with Clariter, we will be able to help customers in the offshore to take back their Endumax ropes, nets and cables to extend the end of life. " He added that in the aerospace business, the company will be able to comply with end-user requirements demanding that after use, the full air cargo containers, including the panels, can be recycled. "In collaboration with Clariter, we come again a step closer towards our ambition to be the best high performance fiber company for the world,” he said.

www.teijinaramid.com