Orlando, Florida-headquartered PureCycle Technologies has announced the initial sale of nearly 500,000 pounds of its PureFive recycled polypropylene (PP) resin to Drake Extrusion, for the production of continuous filament yarns which could be used to make items such as rugs, upholstery, and apparel.

Drake, based in Ridgeway, Virginia, is North America’s leading manufacturer of coloured filament yarns and staple fibre.

The agreement comes after Drake’s successful production of continuous fibres using a compound including PureFive. The resin was produced at PureCycle’s plant in Ironton, Ohio, from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) feedstock and then developed into a compound by its research and development team in Durham, North Carolina.

“We’ve been looking for a partner who can repeatedly deliver a post-consumer recycled PP that can be turned into a sustainable fibre for our customers,” said Drake CEO John Parkinson. “We’ve tested PureCycle’s material under various operating conditions and produced multiple types of fibre and the product significantly surpassed our expectations. These fibre packages are now with many of our customers to gauge their interest, but we see this as a strong growth opportunity for our company.”

Approximately 20% of the global virgin PP supply is used for fibres and yarns and until now, there has not been a reliable recycling alternative to replace virgin PP due to the complexity of the fibre manufacturing process. PP fibre is preferred for its light weight, durability, moisture and chemical resistance.

“This achievement is a testament to our technology, the quality of our product and the talent of our team,” said PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson. “We’ve worked diligently to create a compound that runs like the virgin material that Drake uses for various applications. This is a transformative moment for the industry and has the ability to change the way fibre producers think about recycled PP.

“We needed a partner like Drake to realise this breakthrough. Drake’s industry knowledge and manufacturing capacity is expected to help bring our recycled PP solution to a much larger customer-base.”

Drake and PureCycle worked through multiple trials to produce continuous filaments of varying thicknesses in order to expand the end-use applications. The thicker fibre is ideal for outdoor upholstery, while the thinner material is intended for the apparel market. The fibre was also successfully textured, which softens the material.

PureCycle’s R&D team plans to continue testing various compounds to increase the amount of recycled content that can be successfully introduced for fibre applications. Work is also being done to create a compound for staple fibres which could open the door to opportunities within the carpet, automotive and other industries.

www.drakeextrusion.com

www.purecycle.com