In their press release, Dow, the world's leading materials science company, and Mura Technology, the global pioneer of an advanced plastic recycling solution, have announced the intention to construct a new plant at Dow's Bohlen site in Germany. The unit will be the latest in a series of planned facilities across the United States and Europe to rapidly scale advanced recycling of plastics and the first expected to be based at the Dow site. This project is targeted for a final investment decision by the end of 2023.

Mura's new Bohlen facility in Germany, which is expected to be operational by 2025, would deliver about 120,000 tpy of advanced recycling capacity at full run-rate. This and the other planned units expected to be constructed across Europe and the United States would collectively add as much as 600,000 tpy of advanced recycling capacity by 2030 and position Dow to become the largest consumer of circular feedstock for polyethylene production globally.

‘We continue to increase Dow's capacity to use recycled content as feedstock and continue to invest in the most effective technology available to enable our circular business model for plastics. The diversification of our feedstock slate and decarbonisation of our assets will enable the achievement of Dow's goal of a sustainable, low-carbon future and meet strong and growing customer demand for circular polymers. This will be a significant step forward to decrease our dependency on virgin fossil-based feedstocks,’ Diego Donoso, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics President, said.

Steve Mahon, Mura Technology Chief Executive Officer, reported, ‘Combating the global plastics crisis requires innovative solutions that can drive a circular economy. Mura's collaboration with Dow has led to the largest commitment across the industry to date, showcasing the urgency from industry leaders to adopt scalable solutions such as HydroPRS that will transform the plastics industry worldwide. Dow's continued support for Mura Technology has resulted in a highly financeable commercial arrangement and the deepening collaboration will allow both companies to achieve their stated ambitions in the advanced recycling space.’ ‘Dow's commitments to accelerating a global circular plastics economy is exemplified through deploying HydroPRS at the newest advanced recycling facility in Germany, which will enable us to dramatically increase recycling capacity. Through our collaboration and Dow's extensive global reach, we can accelerate the pace and scale at which a circular plastics economy becomes a reality worldwide,’ he added.

With Mura's process, the same material can be recycled repeatedly, meaning it has the potential to eliminate single use plastic and prevent it from going to landfill or being incinerated. This has additional carbon benefits, with advanced recycling processes expected to save about 1.5 t of carbon dioxide per tonne of plastic recycled, compared to incineration and reducing reliance on fossil-based feedstocks.

On Monday, the Foreign Trade Chamber of the Brazilian Ministry of Economy announced the extension of the definitive anti-dumping duty on suspension PVC imports under the HS code 3904.1010 from the United States and Mexico for up to five years. The tariff on the US and Mexican suspension polymer will slip from 16% ad valorem to 8.2% and from 18% ad valorem to 13.6% respectively. According to government officials, they will suspend the reduction if PVC exports from Mexico to Brazil rise to a level that could damage the Brazilian economy. The anti-dumping duty will be levied at the rate charged on the customs value of the goods. The Chamber’s decision also includes assessing PVC imports from Mexico that occurred during the period when the duty collection was suspended. Brazil has a quarterly quota limit for suspension-made PVC imports of 160,000 t. Imports of suspension-made PVC from countries with existing free trade agreements are not included in this quota, though.

Reminder: On July 20, government officials suspended its 12.6% tariff on emulsion PVC imports. The legislation will be effective from 25 July 2022 to 24 July 2023 but only for the first 12,000 t imported during the period. On 5 August, the Brazilian government reduced separate duties on all PVC imports from 11.2% to 4.4%, which will be valid until August 2023. All reductions were included to the List of Exceptions to the Mercosur Common External Tariff (LETEC).

Although demand is currently weak in Brazil amid forthcoming elections in October, this decision has the potential to increase shipments from the United States and Mexico to Brazil in the long run.

   The leading EPS maker Epsilyte plans to expand both production and recycling capabilities of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in the USA, according to the official press release. The company aims to debottleneck EPS production in Peru, Illinois, increasing capacity by around 25 million lb/year (11,340 tpy) by 2023, and to start an engineering study to expand the same facility, adding 220 million lb/year (99,790 tpy) by 2025. Epsilyte’s EPS plant in Peru, Illinois, is able to make 120,000 tpy now. The company also intends to expand post-consumer recycling capabilities at a unit in Piqua, Ohio, enlarging the facility’s ability to efficiently use post-consumer polystyrene as a feedstock to manufacture advanced materials.

   ‘We believe these investments are the most efficient way to increase North American EPS production to meet the needs of our customers,’ Glenn Wredenhagen, Vice President, Commercial and Supply Chain, informed in the press-release.

   The EPS market segment has been growing rapidly in recent years. EPS would be used only for packaging applications 10—15 years ago. Nowadays, the bulk of EPS sales are going into durable end users, primarily in the building and constructions sector.