29 TRADE SHOW REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 12/21 www.petpla.net Milliken’s additive solutions boost recycling & the circular economy Milliken & Company supports the plastics recycling industry with polymer additives that allow for the increased use of recycled content by improving the properties of recycled polypropylene (rPP) itself. As a global producer of additives and colourants, Milliken offers many ways to improve resin formulations, compounds and end products. At the show Milliken showed the following products and initiatives: DeltaMax Performance Modifiers for PP used by converters processing recycled polypropylene (rPP) or impact copolymer (ICP) resins , Partnership with PureCycle Technologies to purify recycled PP, Engagement with HolyGrail 2.0, Europe’s Digital Watermark Project. Enhancing PP’s properties Milliken’s DeltaMax Performance Modifiers for PP help contribute to a circular economy by enhancing the impact strength and melt-flow properties of rPP resins, blends and PP impact copolymers. DeltaMax can raise melt flow by five times while maintaining impact and stiffness properties. This allows converters to increase operating efficiencies and create innovative part designs with easier flow through moulds. DeltaMax technology is claimed to be effective in modifying postconsumer and post-industrial recycled resins as it elevates impact strength and melt flow to the same levels as – or better than - those of virgin resin. This enables compounders and converters to incorporate up to 100% recycled PP without sacrificing performance or processing. Partners in the cause Milliken is passionate about helping to drive recycling and the circular economy but knows it cannot do it alone. Success in this area requires partnerships and collaboration. One such example is Milliken’s ongoing work with PureCycle Technologies, which began early in 2019. PureCycle’s patented recycling process, developed and licensed by Procter & Gamble Co., separates colour, odour and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like PP. Milliken, whose additives will play a critical role in reinvigorating recycled PP, has formed an exclusive supply relationship with PureCycle to help solve the plastics end-of-life challenge. Additionally, Milliken’s Chemical Division has joined the Digital Watermarks Project, a large-scale initiative testing the viability of digital watermarking technologies for the accurate sorting of plastics. The project was part of HolyGrail 1.0, a pioneering initiative facilitated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that brought together brand owners, retailers, recyclers, packaging producers and sorting technology providers from across the plastics value chain to investigate ways to improve the sorting of post-consumer plastics. HolyGrail 2.0, the 2nd iteration facilitated by AIM, the European Brands Association, will take this initiative to the next stage by validating the concept and the technology on a semi-industrial scale. The project is due to report on its findings in mid-2022. www.milliken.com
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