SABIC’s 5,000-Ton Recycled Polycarbonate (PC) Project Settles in Zhangjiagang; A Review of Leading Global Recycled PC Enterprises

On the morning of August 19,The Trinseo polycarbonate sustainable materials regeneration project has been signed and settled in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, with a total investment of approximately 20 million USD.The first phase plan has an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons.

Trinseo is a leading global materials science company and one of the first foreign enterprises to settle in the Yangtze International Chemical Industrial Park. The company is committed to providing innovative and sustainable material solutions for diversified industries such as automotive, electronics, medical, and construction. Since establishing itself in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone in 1998, Trinseo has invested nearly $400 million, building its largest production base in the Asia-Pacific region.

The recently implemented PC dissolution recycling project will utilize Trinseo's proprietary dissolution technology. This technology can accurately extract PC polymers from various sources such as discarded automotive parts and consumer electronics through selective solvents, achieving efficient material recycling and reuse.

Compared to traditional mechanical recycling methods, Shengxiao's dissolution technology has significant advantages. It breaks the limitations of recyclable materials, capable of processing mixed or contaminated materials, greatly expanding the range of recyclable PC waste and providing a broader and more efficient solution for the development of the circular economy.

Major Recycled PC Companies Domestically and Internationally

The Trinseo recycled PC project will utilize Trinseo's proprietary dissolution technology to extract PC polymers from end-of-life automotive parts, consumer electronics, and other sources through selective solvents, achieving efficient recycling and reuse of materials. Compared to traditional mechanical recycling methods, dissolution technology can handle mixed or contaminated materials, expanding the range of recyclable PC waste and providing broader solutions for the circular economy.

In 2021, SABIC launched certified circular polycarbonate as part of the SABIC TRUCIRCLE™ circular solutions portfolio. This product utilizes an advanced recycling technology to upgrade post-consumer mixed plastic waste, which would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled. Through a high-temperature pyrolysis process, post-consumer mixed plastics that are difficult to recycle by traditional methods are broken down into a liquid known as "pyrolysis oil." This pyrolysis oil is then used as a feedstock to produce high-performance, certified "circular base materials." Plastics produced using this method possess the same performance as virgin plastics.

Covestro adopts a diversified strategy to build a plastic circular industry system from the raw material, recycling, and application ends. At the raw material end, Covestro collaborates with upstream companies to jointly establish a waste plastic recycling system to ensure raw material supply. Covestro has successively signed waste plastic recycling cooperation agreements with companies such as Weixiang and Nongfu Spring. Weixiang is responsible for collecting discarded electrical and electronic products, while Nongfu Spring is responsible for collecting unused 19-liter PC water buckets, enabling the recycling of approximately one million water buckets annually.

On the production side, both mechanical and chemical recycling businesses are being developed. In the field of mechanical recycling, Covestro’s world’s first dedicated mechanical recycling production line for polycarbonate (PC) was put into operation in Shanghai in 2023, with a capacity of 25,000 tons per year, and plans to expand to 60,000 tons per year by 2026, producing the Makrolon® R series. In the field of chemical recycling, Covestro has developed its own chemical depolymerization process for recycling polyurethane components such as polyols and TDI, with pilot testing already underway and plans to build a commercial-scale facility by 2030.

At the application end, Covestro engages in cross-sector collaboration and actively cooperates with downstream users to jointly develop recycled products, involving automobiles, stationery, and luggage. Covestro works with automobile manufacturers to carry out market application development and mass production of high-purity PC, supplying the automotive market with transparent PC products containing chemically recycled raw materials. Currently, cooperation has been established with NIO and Volkswagen; meanwhile, Covestro collaborates with companies such as KACO, Xiaomi, and Anker to jointly develop recycled daily products including stationery, luggage, and power banks.

Wanhua Chemical mainly engages in plastic recycling and circular business through multiple physical and chemical recovery pathways, involving various product series such as polycarbonate, polyolefin, and polyurethane.

In the physical recycling PC business, Wanhua Chemical, in collaboration with industry chain partners, uses discarded products such as water buckets, sheets, and automotive lamps as raw materials. Based on the needs of end customers, they custom-develop PC modified materials with different PCR content. These materials have obtained international authoritative certifications such as GRS and UL2809, and can be applied in the automotive, electronics and electrical appliances, and consumer goods sectors.

In addition, Wanhua Chemical is committed to the development of chemical recycling technology for polycarbonate (PC), complementing physical recycling to achieve high-value recycling of a wider range of waste polycarbonate products and accelerating the commercialization process.

Wanhua Chemical has launched modified rPC, rPP, and rPA12 materials with different PCR contents for the automotive industry in response to policies and market trends regarding plastic recycling and utilization. These materials are applied in automotive components such as lamp housings, dashboards, bumpers, and piping systems.

Recently, Wanhua plans to build a new 600,000 tons/year PC project in the Jiangyin Port Economic Zone in Fuqing. Combined with the expansion at the Yantai base from 480,000 tons to 600,000 tons in 2024 (not yet fully operational), Wanhua's total PC production capacity will exceed 1.2 million tons/year, firmly securing its position as the domestic leader.

In September 2023, Mitsubishi Chemical completed the construction of a demonstration facility for chemical recycling of PC resin. Starting in January 2024, they will conduct verification tests on polycarbonate (PC) resin collected from scrapped car headlights in the Kanto region, aiming to achieve the world's first commercialization of chemical recycling (depolymerization) of PC resin.

Currently, LG Chem has multiple series of recycled PCR plastic products with physical properties equivalent to those of virgin materials. LG Chem can produce PCR PC products with up to 90% recycled PC content and developed high-quality, difficult-to-manufacture white PCR ABS in 2020.

LG Chem has completed a chemical recycling closed-loop solution. This closed-loop solution uses supercritical pyrolysis technology to convert waste back into pyrolysis oil.

Teijin Chemical has developed a new process for the complete recycling of waste polycarbonate (PC). Polycarbonate is depolymerized under atmospheric pressure at 40–50°C in the presence of a strong alkaline catalyst. Since no by-products are generated, this method is highly suitable for producing bisphenol A with a purity of 99.9%, which can be directly used in PC manufacturing plants to produce polycarbonate. The key innovation of this method lies in Teijin's proprietary liquid-phase purification technology. Compared with distillation, this method not only reduces operating costs but also achieves a total bisphenol A recovery rate of over 95%.

Formosa Plastics' subsidiary, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, has three major segments in its plastic recycling program: PCR physical recycling, EPS chemical recycling to regenerate PS, and chemical recycling of waste car lamps to regenerate PC.

Chimei PC has high transparency and is suitable for modification into light diffusion materials. The company is in the early stages of technology development for rPC but has already reached a certain scale. Chimei Ecologue PCR FR-PC contains mechanically recycled post-consumer recycled (PCR) PC, combining Chimei's expertise in PC production with recycling technology. It possesses properties comparable to virgin materials, including excellent flame retardancy. This makes it an ideal choice for electrical manufacturers, as it reduces the risk of product ignition.

Xu Ri Hong Yu Group focuses on innovation and application in the field of polycarbonate (PC) and engineering plastics. Its industries include three major sectors: recycled plastics (PCR), new material modification, and low-carbon construction panels. The products are widely used in home appliances, new energy vehicles, medical and health, smart meters, low-voltage electrical equipment, lighting, and construction panels.