If something is clear to us at Novsus, it is that in a sector flooded with greenwashing, only open, honest, and direct communication can earn us your trust. We take very seriously the need to be transparent in everything we do, always. For this reason, today we want to share with you our new recyclability study.
In this study, we compare the quality of a recycle obtained from 100% pure polypropylene copolymer and the same loaded with 30% Oryzite. Our goal was to determine the quality of a traditional polymer recycle compared to our Oryzite polymer formulation.
In this article, we tell you what we have analyzed, how we have measured it, and the conclusions we have drawn.
Are you ready?
What is 100% virgin polypropylene copolymer?
Polypropylene copolymer, commonly known as PPC, is a thermoplastic made up of block copolymers (macromolecules made up of two or more monomers, which join in different ways by chemical bonds) of ethylenepropylene blocks.
This material is characterized by its flexibility, high resistance, and higher thermal stability than other polymers. It is used to produce elements as diverse and different as containers, bottles, and medical devices.
This variability of uses is due, among other things, to the fact that, due to its thermoplasticity, it is highly moldable, so by applying heat, you can get any shape you want.
That it is 100% virgin refers to the fact that this material is pure plastic. It isn’t mixed with additives such as carbon or glass, nor it contains impurities or recycled materials.
What is the compound 30% Oryzite + 70% ppc virgin?
On the other hand, the 30% Oryzite + 70% virgin ppc compound is a blend of 100% virgin polypropylene copolymer with Oryzite.
Oryzite is the result of 15 years of research to reuse rice husks by Iban Ganduxé (CEO of Oryzite) and the Montsià Rice Chamber.
And it is that every year some 750 million tons of rice are produced in the world, of which 20% is husk. This husk is one of the largest agro-industrial by-products in the world and is utterly indigestible for both humans and animals.
In this way, and based on a sustainable and KM0 treatment (in facilities located in the same growing areas), Oryzite has been developed, an alternative raw material to plastic that allows us to reduce the use of it and also that of its derived waste, as well as its environmental impact.
What have we measured and how?
As we have told you, the main objective of this study was to compare the quality of a recycle obtained from 100% pure polypropylene copolymer and the same load with 30% Oryzite.
For this, the transformation was carried out by injection of both compounds, A, and B:
• A: 100% polypropylene copolymer
• B: 30% Oryzite compound + 70% virgin PPC
We obtained a test tube of each of the injected materials and, in both cases, the results were crushed and injected again. This process of injection, grinding, and reinjection was carried out a total of 6 times.
Why six reps? To be able to evaluate with guarantees the quality of compounds A and B after subjecting them to several cycles of injection and grinding. Thanks to this repetition, we were able to measure how the quality of both compounds changed after each cycle. In this way, we have been able to determine which of the two injection tests of the recycled compounds is better.
Next, we see the evaluations corresponding to the 1st and 6th tests:
As can be seen in the table, the properties of compound B, which corresponds to the compound 30% Oryzite + 70% virgin PPC, have turned out to be 59.2% better than those of compound A (100% polypropylene copolymer). This result is obtained from the weighted comparison of the initial data with the final data between both compounds.
Final thoughts
The conclusions obtained after the analysis of the data leave no room for doubt; compound B has, clearly, a higher recyclability than compound A.
In this way, we can affirm that the recycled compound B with a 30% Oryzite load maintains a higher percentage of the properties of the original plastic when we compare it to pure recycled polypropylene, which suffers a greater degradation of its properties.
Thus, we can conclude that using Oryzite as filler in recycled plastic is an effective option to improve the quality of the recycled material, making it more similar to the original material.
Would you like to see the real effectiveness of this material in action? At Novsus, we are looking forward to showing you how our formulation can help you turn your cosmetic brand into an even more sustainable and environmentally friendly product. Request a sample and discover everything Oryzite can do for you.
