12 December, 2023 13:15:28 IST 
Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, is building a next generation polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) depolymerization plant in Rho, Italy, which is scheduled to be commissioned in Q1 2024.
The advanced depolymerisation and purification process will enable the efficient recycling of end-of-life PMMA, to produce the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA), which will ultimately be used to produce acrylic resins, sheets, and compounds containing recycled materials.
While mechanical recycling is vital to a successful circular economy, depolymerisation creates brand new opportunities by reducing the polymer back to its constituent monomers. This allows for the recycling of a wider variety of PMMA-based materials, supporting an increase in recycled content and overall recycling rates, and helping reduce the manufacturing demand for virgin materials.
“This new facility is yet another major achievement towards a scalable system with the goal of making PMMA a truly circular material of high quality,” said Trinseo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Ms. Francesca Reverberi. “When combined with our own in-house sourcing and treatment of collected materials through our Heathland recycling operation, our PMMA depolymerization plant will offer a high-performance solution for a world increasingly looking for new ways to address sustainability in the plastics supply chain,” she added.
Material produced using the depolymeriaation process will be integrated as part of Trinseo's distinctive “R-Life” portfolio designed around a commitment to sustainability, covering both mechanically and chemically recycled PMMA grades.
