Centre of Excellence for Plastics Circularity

Polyethylene

Polyethylene Centre of Excellence for Plastics Circularity

Advancing plastics circularity through innovation and collaborative R&D

Plastic products play an essential role in our daily lives, and at NOVA Chemicals we believe that businesses like ours have a responsibility to reshape those plastics by delivering innovative solutions that help make everyday life healthier, safer, and more efficient. We also know that developing effective and scalable solutions to the world’s various complex plastics challenges will take more than us alone. This is why we created our Centre of Excellence for Plastics Circularity, which is a hub for knowledge exchange and technology development for the circular economy of plastics.

With a shared vision for furthering global efforts in responsible plastics management, we collaborate with industry innovators and Canadian research institutes. Our mission is to bridge the gaps that exist between transforming these innovations from leading-edge ideas into commercially viable solutions.

Research Collaboration
NOVA Chemicals is proud to work with other innovators on developing scalable solutions for the world’s most complex plastics challenges. In 2024, we issued a Research Challenge to Canadian researchers for work on advancing plastics circularity and evaluated over 40 proposals. Given the importance of Mechanical Recycling, as an essential pathway for enhancing the use of recycled plastics, we are pleased to share that we have selected our first two projects focused on mechanical recycling. These projects aim to develop novel approaches in the processing of reclaimed materials to improve the quality of recycled polyethylene (rPE).

This project aims to enhance the performance and quality of rPE through innovations in the recycling process. The primary focus will be on effectively removing contaminants commonly found in recycled material feedstocks to improve both the processability and physical properties of the final product. By targeting the extrusion stage where these contaminants can be accessed in a molten state, this project seeks to overcome limitations of current recycling methods and elevate the quality of recycled polyethylene.

The objective of this project is to create higher performing rPE through the use of additives. Mechanical recycling of polyethylene can be challenged by degradation during re-processing of the polymer, at times leading to lower-performing and lower-value materials. This project explores dynamic additives that have the potential to address this degradation, enhancing the performance of rPE products and enabling their use in higher-value applications with improved properties.

About our Innovation Centres