Breakthrough recyclable thermoset plastics

ADESSO Advanced Materials (China) and Connora Technologies, Inc. (USA) have partnered to speed up the delivery of novel recyclable epoxy resin technology that will make a big impact on the thermoset plastics industry. Their proprietary cleavable polyamine technology, offered as Recyclamine and Cleavamine, by Connora and Adesso respectively, allows cured epoxy thermoset plastics to be degraded under a specified chemical process.

From the basis of responsive polymers, commonly used in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries today, this specific class of polyamines can be used as an epoxy resin curative, and then degraded into a thermoplastic. The availability of degradable thermoset plastics would enable the recycling and reclamation of high value composite materials (carbon fibre, precious metals, plastics), from both post-industrial and post-consumer composite waste. Similar to the estimated $60 billion thermoplastic industry today, the creation of a secondary market for reclaimed composite materials also has significant market potential.

In this team up, Connora will focus on the volume manufacturing chemistries and further development of the Recyclamine curing agents, while Adesso Advanced Materials expands into other classes of Cleavamine curatives and broadens its activities downstream to include the design of recyclable epoxy formulations for liquid and compression molding processes and the establishment of pilot scale composite recycling facilities. Both companies hope the partnership will yield near term use of the technologies and products in the composites market.