ExxonMobil and partners develop foamed products with recycled content
Key takeaways
- ExxonMobil Signature Polymers, Erema, Moxietec, and Engel have formed a collaboration to overcome challenges in using recycled content in foamed products.
- The collaboration combines recycling, foaming, and injection molding technologies to improve product performance.
- The collaboration builds on ExxonMobil Signature Polymers’ broader strategy to drive recyclable solutions across the value chain.
ExxonMobil Signature Polymers has joined forces with Erema, a developer and manufacturer of plastic recycling machines and system components, Moxietec, a foam injection molding innovator, and Engel, an injection molding machine manufacturer. The collaboration aims to tackle the challenges faced by the plastics industry when incorporating recycled content into foamed products.
ExxonMobil Signature Polymers unifies ExxonMobil’s polyolefin products under a single brand, aiming to simplify portfolio navigation and promote collaboration across the value chain.
“For this partnership, Erema processed a mixed stream of recyclates — 95% PP rigids and 5% PE film — into high-quality pellets using its advanced filtration and degassing system, while Moxietec applied its innovative foam technology to create lightweight locking blocks for construction applications to ensure impact strength was maintained where conventional foaming often falls short,” say the companies.
Innovative foamed solutions
ExxonMobil Signature Polymers contributed Vistamaxx performance polymers to improve the mechanical properties of the foamed products. Vistamaxx 3020 is said to have enhanced foam impact strength by approximately 10% over Erema foam alone, while Vistamaxx 6102 delivered an enhancement of around 17%.
Engel combined recycled materials and foaming technology into its injection molding systems to produce thick-walled foamed blocks.
Last month, ExxonMobil Signature Polymers partnered with Hosokawa Alpine and IMA Ilpack to create a monomaterial, recyclable PE pouch for cheese packaging. It featured ExxonMobil Signature Polymers resins for the PE barrier substrate and the sealant film.
Earlier this year, as part of ExxonMobil Signature Polymers’ portfolio, the company collaborated with Dania Agricultural to develop a more efficient mulch film solution to increase the use of PCR content and reduce film thickness.
Meanwhile, Erema introduced the Agglorema machine generation, a recycling system that processes contaminated post-consumer waste into feedstock for chemical recycling.
