Saperatec combining technologies to separate laminates

Düsseldorf, Germany — Companies have developed countless ways to combine plastic, metal, paper and even glass into useful products that keep food fresh and offer protection.

But separating these constituents at the end of a product's useful life has been much more of a challenge. So much so that many of these multilayer products end up as trash.

A German company, however, is on the verge of opening its first commercial-scale processing plant to delaminate thin-layer composite materials, allowing for them to be recycled.

Saperatec GmbH has spent years developing an approach that separates plastics and other materials from one another using a combination of chemistry and mechanics.

"Our world relies on advanced materials," CEO Thorsten Hornung said. "Many of these important aspects of life rely on composite materials. And composite materials are, on the other side, hard to recycle. Because you have combination of plastics, paper, metals, glass and so on."

Currently under construction, Saperatec expects to open its first recycling facility to handle composite packaging in Dessau, Germany, next year with an initial plan of processing 18,000 metric tons of material each year. Eventually, that number is expected to reach 30,000 tonnes.

"It's a hot wash process. It's very similar to when I put my laundry in the washing machine on Saturdays," explained Hornung during an Oct. 19 chat on the K show floor.

"Packaging is where we are center stage right now. That's where we commercialized the technology, right now. But we also have working solutions plastic compositions like car safety glasses, like electronic device displays," he said.

Except the washing machine is actually a giant vessel — think something like a fermentation tank found at a craft brewery — that heats and stirs composite packaging that's been shredded to just a few centimeters in size.

"Then we add our specially formulated separation liquid," Hornung said.

Chemistry allows the liquid to get in between layers and the heat and agitation helps complete the process, resulting in plastics separating from other constituents.

This first plant will run on a continuous basis by relying on the output of 10 separate delamination tanks, the CEO explained. While delamination will take place as a batch process, the facility actually will operate on a continuous basis in the steps leading up to and after delamination by moving from one tank to the next.

Saperatec uses different chemical mixtures for different applications based on what is being processed.

Once materials are separated, they are washed, screened, sorted and dried. The separation liquid is reconditioned and can be reused more than 30 times, the company said. And the chemistry, which Saperatec does not reveal, is so mild that spent liquid can be discharged to municipal wastewater treatment plants, the CEO said.

The company's approach is based on a water-based fluid, developed after 10 years of research. No enzymes, no solvents.

"In 2016 or thereabouts, the management decided to focus on laminated flexible packaging and the fluid that was tested and invented and improved over the past years was then dedicated to these applications," said Lars-Oliver Stock, chief operating officer at Saperatec.

"It's based on mechanical recycling, but we have a delamination step in between. Our focus right now is flexible packaging with an aluminum barrier layer, used generally for applications such as coffee pouches and dog foods."

He added that the feedstock mainly comes from the PolyAl waste from beverage cartons.

"Nowadays the PolyAl goes into incineration most of the time or into concrete applications. Another source is postindustrial film foil misprints, roll ends. There's a lot of waste during production which is very clean pure material."

He continued, adding that the idea for the technology came from the university, which led to the founding of the company. We started at lab scale and worked steadily further, first moving to a 3-liter scale where we could process maybe 100 grams at a single time, and ultimately reaching pilot plant scale, where we have a cubic meter vessel to which we can add maybe 50 to 100 kilos of material," explained Stock.

Saperatec initially will focus on flexible packaging and tubes with aluminum foil barriers and beverage cartons with plastics and aluminum layers. The technology, however, "opens the door for future recyclability solutions" for other types of composite packaging as well as other applications that combine plastics, metal, glass and paper, the company said.

The company's commercial-scale facility, now under construction in Dessau, measures 5,000 about 53,800 square feet and is costing tens of millions of euros, but the CEO declined to be more specific about those costs.

Hornung, from his booth, hopes to attract attention for his company's technology that will lead to further investment. This will allow for additional facilities to be constructed over time. The Dessau location is slated to open next year, and the company aspires to have one overseas location in the company's plans by sometime in 2024.

About 40 percent of the equipment is in place at the new Dessau location, and the company expects everything to be in place by February. "We hope to commission the plant by the middle of 2023 and start commercial production in quarter three," Hornung said.

"We are set to grow this technology beyond this first plant. We will start looking for further projects next year, essentially discussions about that have already started. We plan to bring this technology not only to the European Union but also to other markets," he said.

Saperatec, which has a pilot-scale location in Bielefeld, Germany, that opened in 2014, was founded in 2011. Like many startups, Saperatec spent years finding funding for a commercial facility. And then COVID-19 came along to help further cause delays, the CEO explained.

Karen Laird of Sustainable Plastics contributed to this report.