Polypropylene is always cited as the polymer of future. There is a growing demand for recycled polypropylene in various industries, according to the latest survey conducted by the Association of Plastic Recyclers.
Recycled Polypropylene (PP)
Polypropylenes are plastics polymers that are members of the ‘polyolefin’ family. It is a highly flexible material that has many beneficial physical properties. Most importantly, polypropylene is recyclable. In chemical terminology, polypropylene is a linear hydrocarbon polymer with slight unsaturation.
Properties & Applications of Polypropylene (PP)
Polypropylene can be used for various applications as it is an exceptionally flexible material. It is extremely resistant to heat, chemicals, and exhaustion.
It has a wide range of uses, including:
Labeling
Carpet Fibres
Automotive Components
Clear film packaging
Thermal Underwear
How can we say Recycled Polypropylene has huge demand?
So, how can we say that there is a growing demand for recycled polypropylene? To simplify this question, the international trade organization representing the plastics recycling industry conducted a survey of 21 major consumer brand companies. They had recognized that these companies have a huge requirement for more than 280 million pounds of the recycled polypropylene annually.
Recycling of Polypropylene
Several factors must be taken into consideration to make recycling of polypropylene. Majorly, the difficulty and expense of the recycling process need to be reduced. On the other hand, this process includes sorting, collecting, cleaning and reprocessing.
A wide range of companies has undertaken ‘life cycle’ studies, which provides a glance on the plastic from the raw material production to the final stages of waste management to evaluate the sustainability of the product. The important harmony from these studies is that polypropylene has considerable potential as a sustainable product.
The polypropylene must be separated from any other plastic polymers to make the recycling process possible. This can be accomplished by sink-float separation, which works on the principle that polypropylene has a different specific density. In practice, polypropylene is often mixed with PET to produce plastic products such as drinks bottles.
Environmental Benefits of Recycled Polypropylene:
Recycling of polypropylene is becoming an important and economically viable option on a large scale. The major benefit of Recycled Polypropylene is the reduction in the consumption of raw, finite resources such as propane gas and oil. There will be an 88% reduction in energy usage if plastics are produced from recycled polypropylene.
On the other hand, PP can be recycled back into many different products, including:
Industrial fibers
Clothing fibers
Compost Bins
Food containers
Speed humps
Gardening Apparatus
However, a reasonable proportion of polypropylene is recycled from major industries, but a considerable proportion is still dumped into landfills.
The plastics industry growth rate is rising accordingly, with plastics consumption growing at 16% a year. Besides this, nearly 47% of plastics are recycled in India every year. Recycled polypropylene is an essential material with considerable opportunities in developing nations like India. Catalyzing this particular industry can also reduce the impact on the environment.
