Essen [Germany]: Evonik, a leading global specialty chemicals company, has made an investment in Interface Polymers Ltd., a British company specialized in producing Polarfin® additives. With its advanced technology, Polarfin® can simplify the production of plastic mixtures with Polyethylene or Polypropylene and make it possible to recycle plastics more capable, proving to be a great solution for one of the biggest challenges when it comes to recycling.

Evonik, a specialty chemicals company, is exploring solutions for the circular economy on many fronts. Polyethylene and Polypropylene plastics have become very popular due to their light weight and durability. However, one of their major drawbacks is that they are not compatible with other materials. Up until now, expensive and time-consuming surface preparation was the only available solution to this problem. Interface Polymers has developed Polarfin® additive technology which makes such preparation unnecessary and reduced the number of additives needed as well. This technology makes it easier to recycle mixed plastics.

Its core technology is Polarfin®, a diblock copolymer which combines Polyethylene and Polypropylene with polar materials. Through this innovative combination, it allows for improved compatibility with other materials including metals, ceramics and other plastics. These advantages include better recycling of mixed plastics, improved adhesion of paints inks and glues to plastic surfaces, as well as the dispersion of materials within molded plastics.