CreaSolv Process

In 2002 CreaCycle GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV) in Germany combined their competencies in a cooperation aimed at Plastic Recycling with a solvent-based technology.

CreaCycle GmbH designs tailored CreaSolv® Formulations for specific CreaSolv® Processes developed by Fraunhofer IVV (CreaSolv® is a registered trademark of CreaCycle GmbH). CreaCycle is specialized in the application of solvents with the lowest possible risk potential for users and environment, in order to enable a safe Circular Economy. 

The steps of this process are:

• Dissolution - After sorting by polymer type the plastic waste is shredded and dissolved in a vessel with a tailored CreaSolv® Formulation. The target polymer and imbedded impurities dissolve.
• Cleaning - Insoluble impurities are separated to produce a clear solution. The impurities will be waste-handled or can be recycled if they contain valuable substances.
• Precipitation - By changing the solubility property of the solution only the polymer drops out and can be regained when imbedded hazardous impurities stay in solution.
• Extrusion - The dried recycled polymer is processed to new polymer granulates with similar properties like the virgin material, thus allowing it to be re-used in the original application.
• Distillation - The solution is collected and distilled in order to recycle the CreaSolv® Formulation. The remaining insoluble impurities are collected to be waste-handled or recycled if they contain valuable substances.
• Regeneration - The recycled CreaSolv® Formulation is re-used for the dissolution of plastic waste.

The CreaSolv® Process is a Solvent-based Purification (dissolution) and able to separate different thermoplastic polymer types (as used in flexible packaging) and/or imbedded (dangerous) contaminants or additives (as found in post-consumer waste streams) to enable the re-use of thermoplastics for the original purpose.

As mechanical recycling, solvent-based purification belongs to the category Physical Recycling (plastic2plastic or plastic2polymer). The polymers only change their physical state (solid-liquid-solid) and their composition remains intact. This keeps the polymers in the loop and avoids down-cycling to raw-materials (e.g. fuel, syngas, hydrocarbons) or building blocks of polymers, which have to be polymerized again to bring them back into the cycle as it is the case for chemical recovery/recycling (plastic2monomers, plastic2feedstock, plastic2fuel, plastic2energy). 

The Basel Convention Technical Guideline included "Dissolution" as PRE-TREATMENT for POPs (persistent organic polutants) in 2017 to create a base for the CreaSolv® Process for the recycling of expanded polystyrene polluted with the flame retardant HBCD (today considered as POP).

The volume of solvents used is very small in relation to the processed plastic (<1%), because the CreaSolv® Formulation is run in a closed-circuit and routinely recycled, whereas the relatively small volume of impurities is separated and concentrated. With its energy balance this process performs very well in environmental impact assessment studies (47% lower CO2 foodprint vs. incineration with energy recovery). The smallest plant has a capacity between 2-4.000 tons annually.

The CreaSolv®  Process can handle composite systems like plastic/plastic or plastic/metal which are widely-used in automotive, sanitary, electro(nic) and packaging industry, to name only a few. In the case of metal composites actually one is only interested in the recovery of the metals and in packaging mechanical recycling normally fails with combinations of different plastics and imbedded hazardous additives.

In their recent November 2019 update “Waste & Packaging” Unilever informed also about their achievements in regard to the CreaSolv® Process for sachet recycling. Their pilot plant in Indonesia, opened in 2018 and is actually the only facility in the world where this technology is being used to recycle sachets.

In November 2019 the PolyStyreneLoop cooperative (with more than 70 members from the entire polystyrene value chain) started the construction of a CreaSolv® Demonstration plant in Terneuzen/The Netherlands for the recycling of expanded polystyrene insulation bords from construction polluted with HBCD. The plant will have a capacity of 3.300 tons/year and the start-up is expected for 2nd Quarter 2021.

It should be noted, that CreaCycle does not operate a recycling facility.