December 18, 2024 15:36

Germany-based Röhm has partnered with NextChem, a Maire Group company, to implement chemical recycling of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using NXRe PMMA technology, developed by the Italian firm.

Under a toll manufacturing agreement, Röhm will supply PMMA waste to MyRemono, a subsidiary of NextChem, and receive regenerated monomer (rMMA) in exchange for a processing fee.

This collaboration builds on the establishment of a European consortium for PMMA circularity, which includes MyRemono, Röhm, Pekutherm, and Polyvantis. As part of the consortium, Pekutherm will manage PMMA waste logistics, while Polyvantis oversees the mechanical recycling of recoverable fractions.

Röhm already offers customers a range of products with a reduced carbon footprint, which are marketed under the proTerra brand. These are manufactured either by adding recycled PMMA, methyl methacrylate (MMA) or by using ISCC-Plus certified sustainable raw materials.

Thanks to the partnership between the four companies, considerably more PMMA materials can now be processed through both mechanical and chemical recycling and returned to the market as MMA and PMMA in virgin-like quality.

The continuous industrial-scale depolymerization plant will be built in Abruzzo, Italy, by MyRemono. Representing a €15 million investment, the project is financed through a bank loan and a €4 million grant from the European Innovation Fund. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the facility will process up to 5,000 tons of PMMA annually, producing high-purity monomer for Röhm to create new polymers.

According to NextChem, recycled MMA produced with NXRe PMMA technology can reduce the carbon footprint by more than 90% compared to virgin MMA production processes.
Developed in partnership with Biorenova, the continuous catalytic depolymerization process uses thermal energy and a specific catalyst to break polymer bonds, converting PMMA back to its original monomer form (MMA). This technology has been tested on a pilot scale in Montorio al Vomano, Teramo, where the new facility will also be located.

When operational, this will become Italy's second chemical recycling plant for PMMA, following Trinseo's facility, inaugurated in June near Milan.

Featured in the opening photo (from left): Hans Peter Hauck (COO, Röhm), Lukas Dössel (Director, Circular Economy, Röhm), Daniela Pfister (Commercial Director, Pekutherm), Heiko Pfister (Managing Director, Pekutherm), Giovanni Sale (Corporate and Business Strategy SVP, Maire), and Massimo Di Amato (Circular Solutions VP, NextChem and Managing Director, MyRemono).

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