MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
Rifra Masterbatches has unveiled its PCR Plus Project, winner of the Lombardy region’ s“ Ricerca e
Innova” call for proposals. The project concerns a method to increase the use of post-consumer resins( PCRs) in the production of plastic items.
PRODUCTION OF SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS: THE PCR PLUS PROJECT
Italian technology plast / April 2025
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In the context of environmental sustainability, Rifra’ s commitment to the intelligent use of plastic materials is, for the company, a key objective to be pursued through clear strategies:“ We believe it is essential to actively contribute to making the use of plastic materials more sustainable through research and collaboration with our customers, also with the aim of making PCRs increasingly functional in the value chain of plastics.” Rifra has engaged its Research & Development team in defining a work method that fosters the creation of skills and knowledge to be used in the formulation of products capable of improving the quality of second-life plastics. To this purpose, the company set up a laboratory with specific analysis instrumentation for the characterisation of plastics and the relative additives. The main steps of the work method defined by Rifra are the following:- Study of secondary plastics to assess their quality;
- Testing of specific active ingredients to identify their potential in PCRs;
- Development of specific analytical methods to characterise raw materials and manufactured items;
- Collection of data and results to be made available to those who are willing to cooperate with Rifra in solving specific critical issues.
In accordance with these cornerstones, the“ Ricerca e Innova” call for proposals launched by the Lombardy Region within the framework of the 2012-2027 European Regional Development Fund( ERDF), offered an excellent opportunity to give shape to a project that Rifra had been pursuing for some time. In fact, thanks to this call, Rifra’ s project soon led to an alliance with the industrial community with the aim of circulating the information collected and actively cooperating in the promotion of higher quality PCRs.
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