Chemical recycling of PMMA in Abu Dhabi

The Coperion system for chemical recycling of PMMA will be installed at Abu Dhabi’s Kezad Polymer Park, one of the most popular vertically integrated polymer downstream manufacturing ecosystems in the region. It will thermally convert PMMA to liquid rMMA in a continuous process. The system includes material handling, two ARW discharge agitators with discharge screws and two Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) feeders, as well as a ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder with a 92 mm screw diameter, a Vacuum system and a condenser. Key components of the system are produced in-house by Coperion.

Nilesh Jain, founder of Renov8, visited Coperion’s booth at K 2022 and signed the contract. The chemical recycling of PMMA was extensively tested at the Coperion test center before the contract was signed.

Coperion’s process solutions allow thermal recovery of PMMA to rMMA in a very economical continuous process.

The PMMA recyclate is conveyed to the Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) feeder via the discharge agitator ARW and discharge screw. This low headroom weight feeder accurately weighs large quantities of bulk material and feeds it into the ZSK twin-screw extruder.

In the ZSK Mc18 twin-screw extruder, mechanical energy is introduced into the PMMA through the co-rotating twin-screw due to a torque of 18 Nm/cm³. Melt temperature is efficient and energy-saving in a short time. The material depolymerizes. Gaseous MMA is produced, extracted through the degassing dome of the vacuum system, and then converted to liquid rMMA in a condenser. Coperion’s chemical recycling solutions have lower energy consumption than pyrolysis processes without extruders or compared to recycling with single screw extruders.

Renov8’s chemical recovery system will allow two separate product streams to be processed. Due to its self-cleaning properties, PMMA with different light transmittances can be recycled in a short time on the same ZSK 92 Mc18 twin-screw extruder without quality loss.