Page 53 - Plastics News March 2025
P. 53
BUSINESS NEWS
Company sees smoother operations Five P&G applications are currently in the indus-
trial trial stage, and PureCycle aims for full ap-
The Ironton facility produced 3.6 million pounds proval in the second quarter, Olson said. PureCy-
of resin in Q4, with December operating time cle would then ramp up sales volumes through
at a historical high of nearly 70%, with outage the end of the year, with an expected 2.5 million
frequency as well as severity both decreasing, pounds of resin in the fourth quarter for use in
Olson said. packaging components of such brands as Old
Spice, Tide, Metamucil, Febreze and Cascade.
The Ironton plant recently achieved a sustained Olson added that there are more than 10 addi-
feed rate 12,500 pounds per hour, which is 88%
of nameplate capacity, but Olson said commer- tional applications that are in earlier trial stages.
cial demand will determine overall run rates and Automotive sector accelerates
the company currently will not produce excess
resin to keep as inventory. “Running ahead of Access to the huge automotive market has tra-
the customer requirements is premature for us,” ditionally eluded recyclers, even as proposed
he said. regulations in Europe and Japan look to include
25% recycled content per vehicle by 2030, Ol-
The resin quality – both opacity and odor – also son said. The high performance and consistency
is improving, which Olson attributed to the start- requirements of automotive equipment, as well
up of the company’s sorting facility in second- as paint adhesion, are among the traditional limi-
half 2024. He added that Ironton is using “almost tations for recycled resin.
exclusively very challenging PCR feedstocks.”
The company previously had been using higher- To this end, PureCycle recently worked with
quality curbside PP bales as it worked to refine compounder Washington Penn to make a
the new technology. bumper fascia containing 60-70% recycled PP,
currently undergoing safety testing that is ex-
Third-party certification is in progress, expect- pected to be completed later in the year.
ed to be completed toward the end of the first
quarter. The company expects it to apply ret- Olson said global demand for just one bumper
roactively to the 7.2 million pounds of finished fascia on one vehicle model would account for
product and inventory. about 30 million pounds per year, about half of
which would be consumed in North America.
Procter & Gamble expands exclusivity licens-
ing In addition to the bumper, PureCycle is fielding
other automotive inquiries about interior prod-
Massive CPG company Procter & Gamble re- ucts such as fiber backing behind the dashboard
cently granted PureCycle exclusive licensing for and carpet fiber, Olson said.
its North American operations, and extended
exclusivity periods for all other regions. “It’s a Fiber, souvenir cups adopt PureFive resin
pretty strong vote of confidence by Procter &
Gamble to us,” Olson said. In January, Drake Extrusion placed its first order
of nearly 500,000 pounds of the company’s
P&G developed the PP purification technology PureFive resin, for making staple fibers and con-
and licensed it to PureCycle. tinuous filament yarns used to produce textiles
March 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 53
