Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Tuesday, May 05 2020 - 15:00
AsiaNet
Lucite International and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation increase the pace on a Circular Economy for PMMA with Agilyx Corporation
PORTLAND, Oregon, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Lucite International (LI), together with Agilyx Corporation (Agilyx), is 
working to deliver a significant contribution to the Circular Economy for PMMA 
(initially in Europe) with the support of LI's parent company, Mitsubishi 
Chemical Corporation (MCC). 

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1154285/Agilyx_Logo.jpg 

MCC's vision is based on "the sustainable well-being of people, society and our 
planet Earth" – a philosophy known as KAITEKI. Delivering a truly circular 
economy is a key part of achieving that. LI has been creating a value chain 
that:

(i)  Gives manufacturers of PMMA products the ability to have their products 
     recovered and recycled back through MMA into PMMA at the end of 
     their life. 
(ii) Offers end consumers fully recycled acrylic products that have been 
     produced from PMMA recyclate.

PMMA is one of the very few plastics that can be chemically de-polymerised and 
purified to produce a virgin quality monomer (MMA). This is the basic ethos 
behind achieving a truly circular economy. 

LI is increasing the pace of its activity and is pleased to announce an 
exclusive agreement with Agilyx to use the Agilyx depolymerisation technology 
to define the most suitable chemical recycling infrastructure for recycling 
PMMA. 

Phil Bailey, General Manager EMEA SBU Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, says: 

"We are delighted to be leading this project within MCC and are committed to 
ensuring PMMA becomes a fully sustainable material. We know from our customers 
that there is great demand for this, driven by societal and environmental 
concerns. As global leaders in the MMA industry, we have a responsibility to 
take the lead in this area.  

"We are excited to be working with Agilyx on the depolymerisation aspects and 
believe that with the expertise of both companies, alongside other stakeholders 
in future, we will be able to deliver an industry leading, all-encompassing 
solution for the circular economy."

Joe Vaillancourt, Chief Executive Officer of Agilyx Corporation says: 

"Lucite International and Mitsubishi Chemical continue to demonstrate their 
leadership in sustainable manufacturing through the advancement of recycling 
initiatives of their products. We are honoured to be working with them to 
deliver fully recycled material for their products." 

"We take pride in being a leader in chemical recycling and view this 
collaboration as a way to expand the circular economy for plastics through this 
new chemical pathway."

Lucite International (LI) is working with Agilyx with the aim of bringing this 
to commercial realisation by 2023. In the interim, LI will be working with all 
key stakeholders - including MMA customers, PMMA customers, manufacturers, 
distributors, fabricators and recyclers - to develop a robust value chain for 
all.

ABOUT LUCITE INTERNATIONAL

Lucite International is a part of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, the global 
market leader in the production of MMA and PMMA. For over 85 years, we have 
been focused on the methacrylate molecule - the building block of all acrylic 
materials. With operations across EMEA, APAC and the USA, our MMA Monomers, 
PMMA Polymers and Specialty Polymers & Resins benefit people's lives worldwide.

ABOUT AGILYX 

Agilyx is the leader and pioneer in chemically recycling difficult-to-recycle 
post-use plastic streams into high value low carbon circular feedstocks and 
fuels. The company has developed a system capable of recycling PMMA back into 
MMA, the building block of PMMA. Agilyx has also commercialized a technology 
that converts polystyrene waste into styrene monomer, which is then used to 
remake new polystyrene products. Agilyx is working with waste service 
providers, municipalities, refiners, and private and public enterprises to 
develop closed-loop industrial solutions for mixed waste plastics.

For more information visit us at www.agilyx.com.

Media Contact
John Desmarteau, Director of Communications and Government Affairs
jdesmarteau@agilyx.com
+1-(503)-597-6406

SOURCE:  Agilyx
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