TPI September 2024

Business & market news

Swedish pipe recycling facilities unlock new opportunities

products. Konstantinos Akritanakis, R&D international project manager at Pipelife, emphasises that current technologies allow for manufacturing highly durable products from recycled plastics with a service life of several decades. However, sourcing reliable quality recyclates remains a largely unaddressed challenge for manufacturers. “There is a high demand for recycled plastics in industries such as packaging and automotive manufacturing, where the quality specifications for recyclates are not as stringent as those for pipe grade materials. Thus, most recyclers focus on these sectors. At Pipelife, although we have significantly increased our use of recycled materials, sourcing high quality recyclates and ensuring their constant availability remains difficult,” said Mr Akritanakis. To address the current challenges of plastic recycling, such as downcycling or incineration of high quality used products, Pipelife has launched a number of its own circular initiatives, such as free collection service and recycling of used drip irrigation pipes. Another major circularity investment is a new PE/ PP compounding facility in Ölsremma, Sweden. Having commenced operations in April 2024, the compounder allows converting PE and PP waste into premium quality recyclates with properties closest to virgin material. During compounding, PE or PP plastic flakes are melted, filtered, enriched with fillers and additives as required and pelletised, enhancing the material’s physical, thermal and aesthetic properties. The end product — PE/PP pellets — is a high end recyclate that can be used in pipe manufacturing just like pellets from virgin material.

While plastics have become integral to modern life, most of the plastic waste in Europe is still incinerated or relegated to landfills. The increasing global demand for the material highlights the need for enhanced plastic circularity. Pipelife Sweden’s plant in Ölsremma has been revamped into a state-of-the-art PE/PP recycling facility, producing premium quality materials that can be used in pipe manufacturing just like virgin alternatives. The major investment is a crucial part of Pipelife’s commitment to meet its sustainability goals. The demand for plastics in Europe and globally is rising, as the material boasts excellent durability, long life span and cost savings along the value chain. However, growing reliance on plastics underscores the urgent need to increase plastic circularity. Despite efforts, most plastic waste is still incinerated or ends up in landfills. The European Environment Agency has highlighted recycling as a crucial step for improving waste management across the bloc. Although the EU has scaled its recycling initiatives in recent years, the overall share of recycled plastics remains low. In 2021, the EU produced 16.13 million tons of plastic, but only 6.56 tons were recycled. Numerous challenges for scaling plastic recycling remain, from hard-to-recycle product designs and collection issues to inconsistent quality of recycled materials and its often higher price compared to virgin alternatives. A common practice is the so-called downcycling, when recyclates are used to manufacture lesser quality, lower-value products, which often have shorter lifespans and cannot be recycled again. Pipelife is committed to promoting a circular approach and dispelling misconceptions about circular

In its first year, the Ölsremma plant is expected to produce 900 tons of premium quality recyclate, saving 1,170 tons of CO 2 compared to an equal amount of virgin material

“Using recycled materials is a complex process that can be challenging in practice. To ensure the premium quality of our products, we started with the recycling process itself — by designing a custom-made compounding system tailored to our industry’s specific needs,” said Mr Akritanakis. The products recycled are mostly plastic pipes; however, the plant also handles bottles, caps, containers and other PE/ PP waste in smaller quantities. In its first year, the Ölsremma plant is expected to produce 900 tons of premium-quality recyclate, saving 1,170 tons of CO 2 compared to an equal amount of virgin material. The output will increase as the facility reaches its full capacity. Pipelife www.pipelife.com fillers and additives as required and pelletised. The end product is a high end recyclate that can be used in pipe manufacturing During compounding, PE or PP plastic flakes are melted, filtered, enriched with

AkerBP’s Utsira High offshore project awarded to Corinth Pipeworks

the North Sea. Symra will be a tie-in to the Ivar Aasen platform, while Solveig phase 2 will be connected to the Edvard Grieg platform. The Utsira High project adds valuable production, while all producing fields on the Utsira High will be operated with electrical power from shore. Thus, the CO 2 emissions from the production phase will be low.

The pipes will be manufactured at Corinth Pipeworks’ facilities in Greece, while the scope of supply also includes an external 3-layer polypropylene coating applied at the same location as pipe manufacturing at Thisvi, Greece. Corinth Pipeworks www.cpw.gr

Corinth Pipeworks has been awarded a contract from TechnipFMC for 27km of high frequency welded, steel pipes for the Utsira High project development project in the North Sea. The Utsira High Project is a bundle of two separate subsea tie-in projects, Symra and Solveig, in the central part of

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL September 2024

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