Arkema Aims to Improve Recycling of Powder Coatings

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Arkema is joining a consortium of companies in exploring and advancing the recyclability of postconsumer PET (from bottles and other plastic items). The goal is to regain monomers from postconsumer PET for reuse as raw materials, aiming for more sustainable polyester powder resin creation and improvement for the coating market.

The project, “SusChemPol,” is led by the Spanish Superior Council of Science Research (CSIC) and was founded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación as part of NextGenerationEU Initiative. SusChemPol is derived from “enhancing circularity by using renewable monomers and sustainable chemical strategies of polymer upcycling.”

“This project was a natural fit for Arkema,” explains Neil Tariq, global business director for the coating resins branch at Arkema. “As a provider of polyester resin for the solvent-free powder coating technology, we are constantly exploring new paths, partnerships and scientific research that advance the circularity of our products. We are excited by the long-term goals of this project and look forward to sharing more innovation with our customers and partners in the years to come.”

Arkema says its offerings and experience in powder coating enables the production of the company’s low volatile organic compounds technologies for the coating industry, together with waterborne, UV/LED/EB and high-solid systems.

Powder coatings are well positioned to further sustainability through an optimized coating process that uses minimal energy, waste and time, and the ability for unused powder to be collected and recycled — even reused — the company says. Powder coatings find different applications across industries, including in-home appliances and furniture, automobiles and sports stadiums.