Issue 05/2023

On-site
Bioplastics experts
Renewable Carbon Plastics visited FKuR in Willich, Germany
Two friends who studied plastics engineering at
RWTH University Aachen (Germany) and earned their
doctorates in the 1980s met a few years later at a
trade show in Germany. It was in those days that plastics
recycling became kind of a hot topic for the first time. But it
seemed that nobody really felt responsible to take the lead
here. So, Heinz Breuer and Edmund Dolfen had the idea,
that a kind of recycling institute was needed. Heinz Breuer,
who was a professor at the University for Applied Sciences
in Krefeld (Germany) at that time, suggested to simply
found such an institute connected to the university. And so,
in 1992, they did it.
Research Institute
With a start-up funding from the German Federal State
of North Rhine-Westphalia, the institute started with a
name that today will certainly ring in many ears: FKuR.
This abbreviation stands for the German words for Research
Institute for Plastics and Recycling. Almost at the same time,
a support association was founded to determine the destiny
and research goals, along with additional industrial funding.
The total number of about 60 members included machine
manufacturers, recycling companies, and others, but also
the DKR (German Society for Circular Economy and Raw
Materials, creator of the Green Dot). First research topics
included the recycling of rubber tyres or plastic pallets.
Services like consulting and certification rounded off the
FKuR portfolio. Our Michael Thielen remembers very well his
visit to the first Recycling Colloquium in Krefeld, a conference
with 40 exhibitors. And finally, the FKuR also founded the
first Quality Association for Recycled Standard Polymers
to prove and certify that plastic recyclates can indeed offer
reproducible qualities.
Plastics – made by nature!
End of the 1990s, plastics recycling had outgrown its infancy
in Germany. At the time, Edmund Dolfen was convinced that
nature itself is the best recycler. That was the time when
FKuR focused on the development of biodegradable plastics.
“Not many in the market believed in bioplastics end of the
nineties”, says Patrick Zimmermann, today one of the three
managing directors of FKuR, “bioplastics were a child treated
stepmotherly and not given much chance for the future”.
“As a matter of fact, in the context of the circular economy
and the waste management legislation different endof-life
options were discussed”, adds Carmen Michels,
Managing Director of FKuR, “and organic recycling is
definitely a solution”.
Already experienced in the field of conventional recycling,
including the technologies of sorting, cleaning, preparation,
and compounding, it was just a logical step to investigate
biodegradable plastics, Carmen explains. And soon it became
a specialty of FKuR to develop tailor-made compounds for
certain applications. A first example was a biodegradable
packaging for poultry meat with certain water vapour barrier
and flexibility properties. The result was a special compound
based on PLA, a biodegradable copolyester, and certain
fillers to laminate already existing starch-based trays. “The
challenge was to create a compound that would offer all: the
biodegradability, water vapour barrier, flexibility (not too stiff
and not too soft) that could be processed on a film blowing
line and subsequently be laminated onto a tray in a kind of
thermoforming process”, Patrick explains.
The first range of products included different PLA/
copolyester compounds branded as Bioflex ® , soon to be
followed by the Biograde ® cellulose acetate-based materials.
For Biograde Patrick describes the challenges with the
need for a biodegradable heat-resistant material that can
be injection moulded in short cycletimes, and transparent,
if desired. The experience and know-how in the area of
compounding, finding the secret recipe to build on the
strengths of the individual ingredients while offsetting their
weaknesses, would become a core competence of FKuR.
In 1998, FKuR started its cooperation with the Fraunhofer
Institute UMSICHT (Oberhausen, Germany), which soon
proved to be a fruitful symbiosis.
A new company
As the scope of material developments took on an everincreasing
scale, and the need to commercially produce
larger amounts of resins increased, the decision was made
in 2003 to found a separate company. FKuR the research
institute became FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, the company, which
is now celebrating its 20 th anniversary.
In the course of time, the Bioflex and Biograde range was
complemented by more and more products, such as Fibrolon ®
natural fibre filled compounds, or Ceroflex ® biobased and
compostable starch compounds for fast degrading films –
their development was often initiated by customer requests.
Milestones
A significant milestone and highlight for Carmen was the
installation and commissioning of their first large turnkey
compounding line in 2012 in addition to the lines they had
engineered and built themselves over the years.
Patrick likes to remember the start of their US facility and
company FKuR Plastics Corp. in Texas, USA in 2009 and SKYi
FKuR Biopolymers Pvt Ltd. In India in 2019.
Another milestone is definitely the cooperation with
Braskem that started in 2011.
Increasing the portfolio
In addition to different special, and – if desired – tailor-made
biobased and/or biodegradable compounds, FKuR started
to act as a sales organization for other biobased plastics.
These materials are for example Eastlon 30 % biobased PET
for transparent packaging and recyclable bottles. As a drop-
16 bioplastics MAGAZINE | Renewable Carbon Plastics [05/23] Vol. 18