Page 32 - Packaging New magazine Jan-Feb 2023

PLASTICS IN PACKAGING
A new process for decontaminating post-consumer polyolefin films has gained global recognition and the US$3m Alliance Prize for Circular Solutions in Flexibles that could see it upscale to commercial levels, with scope for uptake in Australia. Lindy Hughson reports.
COtooCLEAN wins US$3m prize
AHEAD OF THE awards night held in New York on 29 November, PKN sat down with Prof Ed Kosior, founder and CEO of Nextek, to record a pod- cast to discuss circularity for plastics packaging. Also discussed was Nextek’s COtooCLEAN breakthrough process, and how the $3m would be spent should Nextek win. (See packagingnews.com. au/podcasts Ep 62). And then it came to pass. Alliance to End Plastic Waste selected the COtooCLEAN technology as the winner of the Alliance Prize for circular solutions for plastics films.
Commenting on the victory, Kosior said, “It is a great honour and respon- sibility to be selected as the winning technology for one of the big challenges facing our planet. Thanks to all our COtooCLEAN members and the teams that have made this project what it is and we collectively look forward to implementing this technology on a com- mercial scale.”
As Kosior explains, currently the recycling of films is greatly held back by the absence of a technology that can decontaminate post-consumer poly- olefin (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP) films back into food-grade material. Existing processes use a mixture of aqueous or organic solvent washing, drying and thermal desorption. These processes are unable to reach food-grade compli- ance yet are still energy intensive and have a high environmental impact.
“The vision of COtooCLEAN is to fill the gap and achieve circularity for food-grade films by converting post- consumer film waste to the highest value recyclate that can be used in new films with recycled content for food contact applications. This will create
COtooCLEAN is
a revolutionary commercial process that can efficiently and effectively clean and decontaminate post-consumer polyolefin films to a food-grade status.
ED KOSIOR, CEO, NEXTEK
Below: In a single
step, the process allows for the simultaneous removal of oils, inks, adhesives, labels and chemical contamination from post-consumer polyolefin film.
high value end-markets for polyolefin films and ensure that recycling targets can be met,” Kosior says.
The COtooCLEAN multiparticipant project, which was selected as one of five finalists from 600 entries to the Alliance award, aims to deliver what Kosior describes as a “revolutionary commercial process that can efficiently and effectively clean and decontaminate post-consumer polyolefin films to a food- grade status”. It involves an innovative Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (ScCO2) cleaning process. According to Kosior, ScCO2 is a non-toxic, non-flammable and non-corrosive solvent that can selec- tively remove contaminants through use of co-solvents.
“In a single step, the process allows for the simultaneous removal of oils, inks, adhesives, labels and chemical contami- nation from post-consumer polyolefin films, using an environment-friendly process that can easily recycle the non- toxic solvent and separate the residues.”
Alliance to End Plastic Waste says, “The COtooCLEAN process offers an impactful solution for the high levels of flexible film waste growing around the world. By creating circularity within food-grade films, the process will reduce demand for virgin resin and improve recycling rates of flexible films. In addition, by creating a new recycling stream (ie recyclate for food-grade film), COtooCLEAN will also divert film waste from landfill and lower value products.
“The relatively simple modification to the existing mechanical recycling process makes the potential impact of COtooCLEAN even greater because of its scalability to global adoption over time.” ■
32 ❙ JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2023
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