Celanese and Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials to Collaborate on Recycled POM Product Offering

POM ECO-R would help customers meet material environmental, sustainability goals

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, and Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials (MCAM), a leading global manufacturer of high-performance thermoplastic materials in the form of semi-finished products and finished parts, today announced a joint collaboration to further develop mechanical recycling solutions for both post-industrial and post-consumer sources of polyoxymethylene (POM), also known as acetal copolymer, to meet the requests from customers seeking recycled content options and carbon dioxide reductions while still maintaining product consistency, quality and performance.

Celanese and MCAM plan to work together to assess options to convert waste streams into marketable, end-product formulations so that Celanese can offer its customers sustainable options for scrap or end-of-life waste with assurances of closed loop material reuse.

In November 2020, Celanese introduced a sustainable polyacetal product offering known as POM ECO-B, a mass-balance, bio-based option which allows customers to realize reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in their end-use products and advance toward their renewable content goals. While POM ECO-B is commercially available now, not all customers or industries are ready to adopt bio-mass balance that comes with its carbon dioxide footprint reduction benefit.

Today’s joint announcement with MCAM builds upon Celanese’s sustainable product offerings by initiating development of a recycled content option of the Celanese Hostaform® / Celcon® POM product that will be marketed as POM ECO-R, a recycled content offering to be jointly developed with MCAM. MCAM would conduct the recycled feedstock collection, separation, and processing, while Celanese would provide the formulation, product technology and production capability. Celanese expects to offer to existing and new customers its POM ECO-R solution with a recycled content offering of up to 30 percent.

POM ECO-B, where the polymer itself is identical to its fossil-based twin but where the carbon feedstock is replaced with bio-based feedstock in a mass-balance approach, is different from POM ECO-R in that POM ECO-R would be derived from both post-industrial and post-consumer sources of POM to offer a recycled content solution.

“Celanese is a leading, global producer of acetal copolymer, and our industrial scale manufacturing capabilities for POM are ideally suited for helping customers in a range of industries – such as medical, automotive and consumer goods – to meet their strategic environmental goals,” said Tom Kelly, Celanese Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials. “Offering both bio-based POM content, which can be uniquely produced from waste products via bio-methane or from CO₂ emissions, and recycled POM through a collaboration with MCAM, elevates the broad usability of POM as an ideal engineered material that can help our customers meet and achieve their sustainability goals.”

“MCAM has invested significantly in enabling closed loop opportunities for post-industrial and post-consumer POM waste streams. In partnership with raw material supplier Celanese and its extensive capacities, we can now offer a wide range of new opportunities to our customers to achieve their own sustainability goals, support CO₂ reduction and work towards a climate-neutral economy,” said Markus Wehinger, Business Manager, MCAM Recycling Solutions.

For additional information about Celanese’s sustainability efforts and products, visit https://www.celanese.com/Sustainability.

For more information about Celanese acetal copolymer, visit https://www.celanese.com/engineered-materials/products/Hostaform-POM--Celcon-POM.

Editor’s note: POM ECO-B is certified International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC+).

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees, shareholders and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2020 net sales of $5.7 billion. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its product offerings, visit www.celanese.com.

About Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials

Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance thermoplastic materials in the form of semi-finished products and finished parts. The company has 46 locations in 19 countries and more than 3,000 employees. Its specialty engineering thermoplastics, high quality recycled polymer materials, as well as carbon fiber and thermoset composite solutions, are superior in performance to metals and other materials and are used in a wide range of applications, primarily in the capital goods industry. MCAM helps move global engineering projects from prototype into production, addressing the high productivity and cost-effective needs of many key markets.

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