Pan Era, Milliken tie up on Indonesian PP recycling

Indonesian polyolefins recycler Pan Era has today signed an initial agreement with US manufacturing company Milliken to recycle polypropylene (rPP) in Indonesia.

Pan Era will provide the rPP while Milliken Chemical, the subdivision of the company specialising in additives, will enhance the rPP with additives and handle the manufacturing of finished goods. The partnership will allow the Indonesian recycler to access more customers in the domestic Indonesian markets and within the region. The rPP produced will be under Pan Era's patented recycled polyolefin brand Eterlene.

The rPP will initially be used to produce thin wall plastic packaging for non-food contact applications. Pan Era will supply approximately 8,000 t/yr of rPP, based on existing Indonesian recycling rates of rPP, according to Milliken's plastic additives, chemical division country manager Daniel Tanzil. Using rPP in food-contact applications is currently tricky, given a lack of standardised regulations within the region.

The melt flow index (MFI) of rPP produced in Indonesia is typically below 30 g/10 minutes. The collaboration between the two companies has produced three new grades of rPP, all with an MFI of 40 g/10 minutes or higher. A higher MFI diversifies the range of rPP applications from thin wall packaging and can extend to the automotive, electronics and industrial sectors, Tanzil said.

The new grades of rPP could be commercially available to customers within the next two months, but this could be prolonged as prospective customers will have differing requirements for the specifications of grades of rPP needed for their products, Milliken said. Milliken has begun marketing the product to global brand owners such as Procter and Gamble and Unilever as well as local companies such as Wings, Tanzil said.

Milliken has previously collaborated with other PP recyclers such as Florida-based Purecycle Technologies to enhance their rPP.

By Akash Ravinran