Partnerships are at the centre of Borealis’ (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) focus on circular economy, as Lucrèce Foufopoulos, the company’s executive vice president of polyolefins, innovation and circular economy solutions, emphasised at this year’s “K” trade fair in Düsseldorf / Germany. The company has a joint presence there with its JV Borouge (Ruwais / United Arab Emirates; www.borouge.com) and Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada; www.novachem.com) under the motto “Building Tomorrow Together”.

The “STOP” initiative (“Stop Ocean Plastics”, www.stopoceanplastics.com – see Plasteurope.com of 19.10.2017), co-promoted by the three producers, recently joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). The alliance’s three-year collaboration with STOP will focus on the Jembrana region on the northwest coast of Bali, said Borealis CEO Alfred Stern. The aim is to find possibilities for treating plastics waste and to provide financial support and technological expertise.

Making production more sustainable is another goal. Beginning in late 2019, Borealis will be purchasing propane produced using 100% renewable resources from refinery operator Neste (Espoo / Finland; www.neste.com). The bio-based propane will be used to produce propylene in the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo / Belgium. According to the Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe (www.polyglobe.net) database, Borealis operates a PP plant with a capacity of 300,000 t/y, with plans to expand it by an additional 80,000 t/y next year.

In addition to this, the Austrian company is introducing recycled polyolefin compounds with a recyclate content of over 80% under the Borcycle brand – see Plasteurope.com of 01.07.2019. Household goods manufacturer Bosch is using this material in a vacuum cleaner, as Borealis announced at the K 2019 trade fair. Flexible packaging solutions made of virgin polyethylene and a high proportion of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) have also been developed in cooperation with Borouge and consumer goods manufacturer Henkel (Düsseldorf / Germany; www.henkel.com), such as a stand-up pouch from Ecoplast (Wildon / Austria, www.ecoplast.at), the recycling subsidiary of Borealis, that contains 30% PCR.

Because of the importance of mono-materials for packaging recycling, Borealis and Borouge are also investing in their development, said Wim Roels, CEO of Borouge. For example, a number of bag models have been developed, including one with a PCR content of 35%.

Borealis has developed such a mono-material with “BorPure RF777MO” for use in flip closures, a growing market segment for caps and closures. It consists of a random-copolymer polypropylene (PP) and, as a mono-material solution, is 100% recyclable. For certain closure applications, cycle times have been reduced by more than 10% thanks to faster crystallisation behaviour, according to Borealis.