Japan Steel Works Europe GmbH partners European project MMAtwo to develop a recycling process for PMMA waste

aunched on 1st October this year, the MMAtwo consortium aims to develop a new and innovative recycling process by depolymerization of PMMA, known for Automobile Tail Light Lens, Tableware, Lighting Plate, Aquarium Plate, Contact Lens etc., waste, and to allow the creation of a first commercial unit soon after the end of the project (2022).

This four-year European project comprises 13 partners from 6 different countries representing all the stages of the PMMA value chain.
It is supported by a €6.6 M funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program centered on three priorities: scientific excellence, industrial primacy, and societal issues.

MMAtwo is being coordinated by HEATHLAND, a Dutch collector and recycler of PMMA waste, and its executive committee chaired by Arkema (represented by Jean-Luc Dubois, Scientific Director).
The kick-off meeting for this project is being held in Brussels on Thursday 25 October in the presence of all partners.

The challenge of this project consists in converting PMMA post-industrial scraps and end-of-life waste into high quality raw material and therefore contribute to the circular economy.

PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), or acrylic glass, typically is a material that is an ideal fit for the recycling and circularity principle, as its unique feature allows it to be regenerated into its original monomer that can then be reintroduced into the production process for new resins.

Only 10% of European PMMA production is currently recycled, and the existing recycling processes tend to focus on post-industrial scraps.
However, the main share of PMMA waste stream concerns end-of-life products that are either exported, landfilled, or incinerated.