November 18, 2024 15:15

The Norwegian company Elkem has advanced its chemical recycling technology for silicone waste from laboratory development to a newly launched pilot unit at its Saint-Fons site near Lyon, France.
This facility will provide essential scale-up information for the safe and energy-efficient recycling of silicones at an industrial scale, supplying Elkem’s target customers with representative quantities of silicone containing recycled content.

According to the company, the patented depolymerization technologies offer several benefits, including low process temperatures, which enable lower carbon emissions, high conversion rates, and chemical selectivity that avoids generating undesirable byproducts and residues.

The refinement of the depolymerization process stems from the Repos (Resourcing Silicones Polymers) research project, initiated three years ago. This initiative involves collaboration with French universities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supported by the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bpifrance.

“As a manufacturer of silicones since 1948 and leading global supplier of silicones, we are committed to creating a circular economy for our products, giving them a second life,” says Joséphine Munsch, Elkem's Sustainability Project Manager. “Chemical recycling of silicones is a key technological enabler to close the loop. Through our innovative technology, we can provide a solution for silicone waste and offer low carbon solutions from recycling with the same quality as those made from virgin material to the market.”

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