Eastman and partners announce success with automotive waste recycling study

Eastman announced the successful completion of the closed-loop recycling project for automotive mixed plastic waste. Through a collaborative effort, Eastman, the United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC (USAMP), automotive recycler PADNOS and global automotive interior supplier Yanfeng, demonstrated first of its kind plastic recycling from the by-product of shredding end-of-life vehicles.

When automobiles are at the end of their life, metals, tires and glass account for 80%-90% of the materials that can be recycled through traditional mechanical recycling streams. The other 10%-20%, referred to as automotive shredder residue (ASR), consists of mixed plastic and other non-recycled materials that currently end up in landfills or are recovered through waste-to-energy technologies.

Under this initiative, PADNOS supplied a plastic-rich fraction of ASR as a sustainable feedstock to Eastman’s carbon renewal technology (CRT). Eastman successfully demonstrated the addition and conversion of that ASR feedstock into a synthesis gas (syngas) which is subsequently used downstream in the production of its polyester and cellulosic thermoplastics. 

Resins from this production process were further formulated and then supplied to Yanfeng. The parts molded by Yanfeng for demonstration were successfully tested to meet a variety of OEM – Ford, GM, and Stellantis – requirements, thereby demonstrating proof of concept for a truly circular solution.

Eastman and partners show that their new technology provides cost-effective options to create sustainable materials from automotive plastic waste.

The study proved feasibility of Eastman’s carbon renewal technology (CRT), one of Eastman’s two molecular recycling technologies, which breaks down the plastic-rich ASR into molecular building blocks. By recycling these complex plastics in CRT, Eastman can replace fossil-based feedstock and create polymers without compromising performance for use in new automotive applications.

In addition to diverting waste from landfills, USAMP, a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR) also sees the potential for energy savings and reduced overall greenhouse gas emissions.

“We are encouraged by the initial results of this study,” said Warwick Stirling, USCAR Executive Director. “Innovative processes that enable ASR to be used in automotive parts can help bring us closer to more fully recycling end-of-life vehicles and enabling the possibility of a truly circular economy.”

“This is a prime example of how collaboration across the value chain is essential to making material circularity mainstream,” stated Steve Crawford, Eastman executive vice president, manufacturing and chief sustainability officer. “We’re demonstrating a future where automotive hard-to-recycle plastics and fibers are diverted from landfills and recycled to produce new automotive parts.”

Kari Bliss, principal of sustainability at PADNOS, commented, “The collaboration on this project is indicative of the work that is needed to create closed-loop and circular economy solutions. Our purpose statement is on full display with this project — to continue to find ways to innovate, lead and make a positive impact in this world. We are proud to be the mechanical recycler involved in this complex endeavor, which is the first of its kind in North America.” 

“Yanfeng is honored to be part of this project with USAMP, PADNOS and Eastman. Circularity and keeping plastic waste out of landfills is a priority for our company and the industry,” added Jeff Stout, executive director global innovation for Yanfeng. “We see a lot of potential with the resin developed with molecular reprocessing. We are pleased with the performance of the interior components we molded during the study and believe it would be a sustainable solution in production.”