Versalis to launch new solid polystyrene products with up to 75% recycled raw material.

Petrotahlil - Versalis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian oil supermajor Eni, has entered into an agreement with Forever Plast SpA, a leading Italian company in the recovery and recycling of post-consumer plastic to develop and market a new range of solid polystyrene products made from recycled packaging.

The new polystyrene-based compounds will be marketed under the Versalis Revive PS - Series Forever brand name. The compounds will contain up to 75% of recycled solid polystyrene and are suitable for multiple applications, including thermal insulation, non-food packaging and household items.

The recycled polystyrene comes from separate household waste collection, including yoghurt pots and disposable dishes that will be supplied by the COREPLA network, the National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging.

The new compounds join the previously launched products in the Versalis Revive family, based on expandable polystyrene - Versalis Revive EPS - and polyethylene  - Versalis Revive PE. All compounds in the Versalis Revive portfolio incorporate materials derived from mechanical recycling.

Versalis is also exploring the potential of chemical recycling in a project called Hoop. In February of this year, the company signed an agreement with Italian engineering company Servizi di Ricerche e Sviluppo to further develop that company’s proprietary pyrolysis technology into a viable process for producing virgin-like feedstocks for new polymers. To that end, Versalis is building a 6000 t/pa plant at its Mantova site.

“The Hoop project aims to create a theoretically endless plastic recycling process, producing new virgin polymers suitable for all applications and that are identical to polymers that come from fossil raw materials,” said Daniele Ferrari, Versalis’ CEO.

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