A Canadian plastics-to-waxes pioneer is getting a US$3 million funding boost to expand its production capacity.
GreenMantra Technologies Ltd. of Brantford, Ontario, said July 26 that the Closed Loop Fund will invest up to $3 million in the company. Closed Loop Fund has raised $100 million to lend to companies and municipalities to support recycling. Major retailers and brand owners finance the fund.
GreenMantra has developed a thermocatalytic process to convert scrap polyethylene and polypropylene to waxes suited for plastics processing, adhesives, asphalt additives, roofing and other industrial markets.
"We have more demand than we have capacity," said GreenMantra President and CEO Kousay Said in a phone interview.
Said said his company now can convert 11 million pounds of scrap plastic to waxes annually. The fund infusion will be spent to increase production capacity by 50 percent. He said the company's wax production is sold out. The expansion should be complete in the third quarter of 2018.
Said stressed that the firm's patented, proprietary process is not pyrolysis. Recyclate is heated to a temperature below its decomposition point in the presence of an undisclosed catalyst to yield waxes. Said described the process occurring in its reactor as semicontinuous. He declined to provide more details for proprietary reasons.
GreenMantra was founded in 2011 and is owned by a consortium of private investors and two venture capital funds. Cycle Capital Management of Montreal and ArcTern Ventures invest in firms with promising clean, disruptive technologies.
The Brantford company markets its synthetic waxes under the Ceranovus tradename. Earlier this year it debuted a new line of polypropylene waxes that it claims it can customize for specific applications. As plastics additives, the waxes can improve throughput, enhance additive dispersion and reduce defects during processing. GreenMantra provides third-party certification for recycled content for the waxes.
Said indicated his company now is using mainly post-consumer plastic scrap along with some post-industrial material. It can handle tough-to-recycle plastics such as films and bags.
"Green Mantra's platform technology is an important innovation that builds a new regional market for post-consumer recycled mixed plastics," noted Margot Kane, chief financial and investment officer for Closed Loop Partner, in a news release.
"This investment will enable us to continue our rapid growth and provides additional credibility for our efforts," Said stated.