Teijin Develops Solvent-based Recycling Technology, Producing Recycled Polycarbonate (PC) Comparable to Virgin Material

Teijin Limited recently announced that it is developing high-quality recycled polycarbonate (PC) resin, utilizing an emerging solvent-based recycling technology, with quality comparable to virgin resin. This innovative recycling method uses a solvent to dissolve waste PC resin, separating the pure polymer from contaminants like coatings, effectively addressing the material degradation issues associated with mechanical recycling and the challenges of high cost and carbon emissions faced by chemical recycling.

Expanding the use of recycled materials has become an urgent task, particularly in Europe, where a draft End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation is currently under deliberation. This directive would mandate the use of recycled plastics from ELVs in new vehicle manufacturing.

Polycarbonate resin is widely used in automotive parts, electrical and electronic components, and other fields due to its excellent transparency and impact resistance. However, waste PC resin can contain contaminants that negatively affect the performance, transparency, and aesthetics of the recycled resin. Therefore, Teijin is developing a solvent-based recycling technology to process waste PC resin sourced from items like end-of-life vehicle headlights.

Advantages of Solvent-Based Recycling for Waste PC Resin

Teijin processes PC resin that has undergone traditional mechanical recycling steps (such as crushing and washing) but is still unsuitable for high-transparency applications. By dissolving the material in a solvent and removing impurities, it is converted into reusable polymer.

This process enables Teijin to produce recycled PC with performance, including transparency, comparable to virgin PC. The recycled PC resin produced via solvent recycling boasts high transparency, allowing, for instance, waste automotive headlights to be recycled into new headlights or other transparent components. In this way, solvent-based recycling helps promote the application of recycled materials and supports compliance with upcoming regulations.

Furthermore, as the solvent-based recycling process does not require breaking down the material into its chemical constituents, it offers lower costs compared to recycled PC resin produced via chemical recycling. Additionally, the solvent-based process involves fewer steps, contributing to reduced CO2 emissions. Teijin plans to achieve commercialization of its solvent-recycled PC resin in fiscal year 2026. Moreover, the company will continue research and development on the solvent-based recycling technology to further enhance the quality of the recycled PC resin produced by this method.