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Co-operation project shows: Multilayer packaging can be separated and recycled

The recycling of multi-layer films has been difficult up to now. As part of a co-operation project, four companies have now shown that PET/PE multilayer packaging can be separated into individual materials and fed back into the material cycle as raw materials.

The recycling of multi-layer films has been difficult up to now. As part of a co-operation project, the companies BASF, Krones, Südpack and Tomra have now shown that PET/PE multi-layer packaging can be separated into individual materials and fed back into the material cycle as raw materials.

Multilayer films are used for a wide variety of packaging materials, especially in the food sector. According to the European Green Deal, a large proportion of packaging must be recycled by 2030. In future, the details will be regulated in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the draft of which was presented in November 2022. However, the recycling of multi-layer films has so far been difficult due to the use of different materials.

As part of a co-operation project, the companies BASF, Krones, Südpack and Tomra have now shown that PET/PE multi-layer packaging can be separated into individual materials and can be fed back into the material cycle as raw materials. In the first industrial trial, the partners succeeded in completely separating 69 per cent of the PET/PE components and partially separating twelve per cent in a pilot plant at Krones in Flensburg. The special thing about this approach is, that multilayer packaging can be recycled in the existing infrastructure.

Partnership as the basis for success

Decisive for the success of the project team was the Cooperation between the partners, who pooled their expertise, to close the loop. The project started at the beginning of 2021, when Tomra carried out the first sorting tests on PET/PE trays. These trays were previously produced by Südpack using BASF's debonding adhesive.

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„As part of the joint project, we are contributing our many years of expertise in the field of lamination. Thanks to our special expertise in water-based lamination, we are able to produce multilayer films that can be separated using a basic hot-wash process.“

Carolin Grimbacher, Managing Partner Südpack

In order to enable a closed material cycle, the multi-layer films to be recycled had to be sorted out of the remaining waste stream beforehand. The key success factor for this is the ability of Tomra's autosort technology to separate recyclable PET/PE trays from non-recyclable trays.

„We were able to do this with the help of our NIR technology. This allows us to recognise PET multilayer trays that contain the BASF adhesive so that we can then remove them from the waste stream and recycle them.“

David Rüßmann, Manager Special Projects, Tomra

In July 2022, Krones, a supplier of plastic recycling systems among other things, came on board the project team. Trials were carried out on one of the company's pilot plants to separate PET and PE from the composite films on an industrial scale. A hot washing process commonly used for PET recycling was used. The materials were successfully separated in the process. This means that PET and PE can be recycled by type.

„In our system, we have proven that the delamination of multilayer films works, whereby the separation of the films can be further increased by optimising individual process parameters and, for example, the particle size of the flakes.“

Thore Lucks, Head of Technology Recycling Solutions at Krones

The separability of the PET/PE film components is based on specially developed adhesives that are used when laminating multilayer films in order to combine different functional materials. It is important that the laminating adhesive adheres very well if required, but allows the two films to be separated as easily as possible during recycling.

„We have already achieved very good results in the laboratory with our water-based Epotal adhesives when separating multi-layer packaging. We consider it a great success that we were able to completely separate 69 per cent of the packaging in our first industrial trial. This can certainly be further expanded by optimising our debonding adhesive system.“

Kresimir Cule, Commercial Marketing Industrial Adhesives, BASF SE

Outlook: Further development of the laminating adhesive used

The project is currently being continued. By adjusting various process parameters in the recycling process and by further developing the laminating adhesive used, the project participants see opportunities to further increase the recycling rate of plastics. There is also a particular focus on the quality of the recyclate. The aim is to use PET again for the production of food packaging. The PE fraction is also to be used as a raw material for new packaging in the non-food sector. Studies on this will follow shortly.

Source: BASF

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