For embargo until: October 25th/2018
New innovative process by MMAtwo for recycling end-of-life PMMA waste
The MMAtwo (pronounce it Matou - /mætu:/) project coordinated by the Dutch company
Heathland has just been launched on October 1st 2018 for a 4 years duration. It is supported bya 6.6 M€’s funding from the European Union Horizon2020 Research and Innovation programme.
MMAtwo collaborative consortium gathers 13 partners from 6 different countries and willdevelop a new and innovative process to recycle post-industrial and end-of-life PMMA waste
into Second Generation MethylMethAcrylate (MMA) raw material.
PolyMethyl MethAcrylate (PMMA) is a well-established polymer known for its opticalproperties. About 300 000 tons of PMMA are produced in Europe every year, or close to 1 billion
Euro of market value. Although PMMA can be turned back into its monomer by thermal
depolymerization, thus saving precious resources and CO2 emission, it is estimated thatcurrently only 30 000 tons of waste is recycled annually in Europe, or only around 10% of theyearly production. For a large part, recycling of PMMA is currently reliant on a lead-based
process which does not allow to reprocess the lower PMMA qualities. PMMA scraps’s current
recycling processes focus on post-industrial PMMA, rather than end-of-live PMMA which
represents the main share of the total PMMA waste stream which is either exported, landfilled
or incinerated.
MMAtwo’s innovative concept for PMMA waste recycling through depolymerization will focus
on handling both post-industrial and contaminated end-of-life PMMA waste, thereby converting
difficult to recycle waste that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated into high quality
secondary raw material. The PMMA recycling process will be validated at a TRL 7 scale (TRL=Technology Readiness Level, Level 7: pre-commercial system is demonstrated in operationalenvironment), enabling the possibility of a first commercial unit soon after the end of the project(2022).
The MMAtwo consortium consists of partners representing every step of the PMMA value chain:
Heathland, a Dutch collector and recycler of PMMA waste; Comet Traitements, a Belgian
recycler of end-of-life vehicles; Ecologic, a French private non-profit company in charge ofExtended Producer Responsibility compliance for WEEE; Arkema, a French PMMA
producer; Delta Glass (part of Polyplastic Group), a Dutch producer of PMMA windows; JSWEurope, a German based division of Japan Steel Works and core technology provider; Speichim(part of Séché-Environnement group, French leader of waste treatment ), a French based
specialist in purification of solvents and chemicals; AKG-Gazbeton, a Turkish company
manufacturing heat-insulated, light, non-combustible autoclaved aerated concrete blocks andreinforced products as well as insulating boards; University of Gent, a Belgian academic
partner to train researchers on polymer recycling; Quantis, a Swiss based specialist in Life CycleAnalysis; Process Design Center, a Dutch SME for process development, integration andoptimization; Certech, a Belgian applied research center in chemistry, specialised in emissions
and odours of materials and polymer recycling standards; and Ayming a French consulting
group supporting the project management, communication and dissemination activities.
The MMAtwo’s Advisory Board includes several academics, CEFIC’s Methacrylate sector groupand other PMMA producers’ representatives, illustrating the commitment of the PMMA valuechain.

Acknowledgement
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research andinnovation programme under grant agreement No 820687.
.
Contact information:
Simon van der Heijden (Heathland), Project Coordinator: simon@heathland.com. Tel: +31 30
721 0890; Heathland B.V., Arkansasdreef 8, 3565 AR Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Jean-Luc Dubois (Arkema), Chairman of the project executive board: jeanluc.dubois@arkema.com. Tel : +33 616200048
Maud Bossard (Ayming), Project Management Officer: mbossard@ayming.com. Tel: +33 4 72
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