SABIC and P&G to Collaborate on Recycling Face Masks

Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT, SABIC and Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced their collaboration on an innovative circular economy pilot project aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of closed-loop recycling of single-use face masks.

The use of billions of single-use face masks due to COVID-19, particularly when carelessly discarded in public spaces including parks, outdoor areas and beaches, raises environmental concerns. Beyond the challenge of sustainably managing such large volumes of essential personal health products, simply disposing of used masks in landfills or incineration facilities represents a loss of valuable raw materials for new material production.

Dr. Peter Dziezok, Director of Open Innovation Research and Development at P&G, says: "Recognizing the challenge, we began to investigate how used face masks could potentially be returned to the value chain of new face mask production. However, creating a true circular solution from both a sustainable and economically viable perspective requires partners. Therefore, we worked together with expert scientists from Fraunhofer CCPE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT and technology and innovation specialists from SABIC to explore potential solutions."

As part of the pilot application, P&G collected used face masks worn by employees or given to visitors at its production and research facilities in Germany. Although these masks were always disposed of responsibly, there was no efficient way to recycle them. To help demonstrate a possible change of direction in this scenario, special collection boxes were set up and the collected used masks were sent to Fraunhofer for further processing at a dedicated research pyrolysis facility.

"A single-use medical product like a face mask has high hygiene requirements in both disposal and production. Mechanical recycling would not do the job," explains Dr. Alexander Hofmann, Head of Recycling Management at Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Hofmann, who is also Head of the "Advanced Recycling" Research Department at Fraunhofer CCPE, adds: "Therefore, in our solution, the masks were first automatically shredded and then thermochemically converted into pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis breaks down plastic into molecular fragments under pressure and heat, which also destroys residual contaminants and pathogens such as coronavirus. In this way, it is possible to produce virgin-grade raw material for new plastics that also meets the requirements of medical products."

The pyrolysis oil was then sent to SABIC to be used as raw material for the production of new PP resin. The resins were produced using the mass balance principle, which is widely accepted for combining alternative raw materials with fossil-based raw materials in the production process. Mass balance is considered a very important bridge between today's large-scale linear economy and the more sustainable circular economy of the future, which is currently operated on a smaller scale but is expected to grow rapidly.

Mark Vester, Global Circular Economy Leader at SABIC, says: "The high-quality circular PP polymer obtained in this pilot study clearly demonstrates that closed-loop recycling can be achieved through active cooperation of players across the value chain. The circular material is part of our TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio, which aims to prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste and to reduce the depletion of fossil resources."

Finally, to close the loop, the PP polymer was given to P&G, where it was converted into nonwoven fiber material. Hansjörg Reick, Senior Director of Open Innovation at P&G, says: "This pilot project helped us evaluate whether the closed-loop approach works for hygienic and medical-grade plastics. Of course, more work is needed, but the results we have obtained so far are very encouraging."

The entire closed-loop pilot project from face mask collection to production was developed and implemented in just seven months. The transferability of advanced recycling to other raw materials and chemical products is being further investigated at Fraunhofer CCPE.

Fraunhofer, SABIC and Procter & Gamble demonstrated in an innovative circular economy pilot project the feasibility of closing the loop in face masks to help reduce plastic waste and reduce the depletion of fossil resources. (© SABIC / Fraunhofer)