Making sustainability work

Solutions for mechanical and chemical recycling

Coperion contributes to the performance materials circular economy by enabling plastics manufacturers and chemical companies to reuse valuable resources that would otherwise be discarded. This enables companies to meet near-term sustainability goals while hedging against potential future petrochemical cost increases and shortages.  

Our integrated handling and processing solutions play an essential role in the recycling value chain by supporting the efficient, cost-effective use of recycled and waste materials that may go into new manufactured products or be transformed into useful chemical compounds. 

We support two types of industrial recycling: 

• Mechanical recycling, which repurposes existing pre- and post-consumer polymers by grinding, classifying and transforming them into pellets, granules or powders without changing their chemical composition. These are then fed into plastic and polyolefin manufacturing processes to supplement, or even replace, virgin resins and feedstocks in the manufacture of products such as composite decking, siding and fiber insulation. 
• Chemical recycling or chemcycling, which breaks down and reformulates waste material that may include polymers or biomass to produce new chemicals such as naptha or pyrolysis oil, a synthetic fuel also known as bio-oil or bio-crude.  

The value of industry expertise and leading technology 

Our solutions are employed by many of the largest plastics manufacturers and chemical companies in the world. This, combined with extensive cross-industry experience in performance material and food manufacturing, gives us insight into the process challenges of working with diverse and often difficult-to-handle materials while maintaining high quality—efficient transport, consistent, tight-tolerance classification, precise weighing and feeding, all at scale. 

Our comprehensive technology portfolio includes industry-leading loss-in-weight and volumetric feeders, dilute- and dense-phase conveying systems, classifier and sifting/screening technologies, highly efficient dust control systems, and twin-screw extruders. Our solutions are also highly automated and optimized, to minimize waste and the need for operator intervention. 

Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for working with recycled materials, we leverage our expertise by working closely with you to find the optimal solution for your intended application. We can also provide technology and full process proof-of-concept demonstrations at our dedicated test and innovation centers to help ensure that your solution will fully meet your requirements.