Sumitomo Chemical's recycled MMA will be launched in spring 2023

        Sumitomo Chemical has completed the construction of a PMMA chemical recycling facility at its plant in Ehime Prefecture, Niihama, Japan, which will be used to produce samples of chemically recycled methyl methacrylate or MMA monomer. Acrylic resin made from this monomer will be available in the spring of 2023.

        The company said it will accelerate the development of an acrylic resin recycling system that will cover everything from collecting used acrylic resins to recycling these resins into monomer materials and finally into end products. Acrylic resins have the highest level of transparency among plastics, as well as excellent weather resistance and processability, and are widely used in automotive taillights, home appliances, water tanks, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and protective partitions to reduce the spread of droplets. At the same time, since plastics are made from fossil resources, there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the entire process from plastic production to disposal, and to promote the recycling of waste plastics as resources.

        Sumitomo Chemical, in collaboration with Japan Steel Works (JSW), has developed a technology that can be used to crack acrylic resin and efficiently recycle it into MMA monomer, a raw material for acrylic resin.

        The new pilot facility built by the company at its Ehime Plant is equipped with a twin-screw extruder from JSW. Sumitomo Chemical will validate its technology for high-quality recycled acrylic resin and scale up its production. The recycled MMA monomer will have the same quality level as new material, and its carbon emissions over the entire product life cycle can be reduced by 60% compared to petroleum-based MMA.

        Sumitomo Chemical has also set out to establish an acrylic resin recycling system to collect acrylic plastic waste and used acrylic resin from NIPPURA (Kitakami-michi, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan), a long-term business partner of Sumitomo Chemical and a partner of major home appliance manufacturers, while also working to develop a customer base for acrylic resin made from recycled MMA monomer. Sumitomo Chemical will strengthen cooperation with other industry partners in collection, recycling and business development to accelerate the development of acrylic resin recycling systems.