• Breakthrough
  technology of melting waste polyurethane and reusing it a polyurethane raw
  material.

  Acquired
  the New Technology certificate from the government.

• Resource
  circulation system from recovery to recycling, supply, and manufacturing.

  Supplementing
  the eco-friendly business such as bio-PU.

   

MCNS, SKC’s business investment
company, is commercializing the eco-friendly re-polyol technology that recovers
polyol from discarded PU. It
is Korea’s first technology in recycling waste PU into polyol, and MCNS
received the New Excellent Technology (NET) certificate from the government
last month.

MCNS plans to commercialize the
re-polyol technology with a major domestic furniture manufacturer this month.
Waste PU from the furniture manufacturing process is recovered as PU raw
materials by the re-polyol technology and supplied to the furniture
manufacturer to be used as PU for furniture. MCNS plans to expand the waste PU
resource recycling system in conjunction with other client companies.

PU has been widely used in furniture,
automobile interior, refrigerator, and insulation for LNG and LPG ships.
However, most of the waste is discarded because of the poor economic factor in
collection and handling due to its high volume to weight ratio and the
difficulty of recycling due to the material’s characteristics. PU waste,
generating over 40,000 tons annually in Korea, has been landfilled after undergoing
special incineration treatment. An increase in GHG emissions was inevitable as
a byproduct of the process.

The re-polyol technology that MCNS
is commercializing after three years of R&D is a groundbreaking technology
that melts waste PU to recover it for use as polyol raw material. Unlike
similar technologies that some European countries are developing, it mixes with
existing polyol very well, making it easy to handle and feature excellent
physical properties when applied to PU.

MCNS received the NET certification
from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy for the re-polyol technology. The NET certification is a government program spearheading
the use of innovative technologies by guaranteeing its excellence. MCNS
was highly accredited for its ability to significantly reduce waste as it can
produce recycled polyol of the same quality as original PU.

MCNS is also focusing on the bio-PU
raw material business that uses a wide range of vegetable raw materials like
castor oil rather than petroleum-_ base_d raw materials. In September, SKC and
Mitsui Chemicals of Japan agreed to terminate their MCNS joint venture, allowing
MCNS to excel as a stand-alone entity. Accordingly, MCNS has announced that it
will pursue in earnest eco-friendly businesses. MCNS core business model for stand-alone
growth is eco-friendly businesses, including the re-polyol business and bio-PU
raw material business.

An MCNS official stated, “As a technology
leader in the polyol area, MCNS will grow the re-polyol business in alignment
with our client companies through our strong ESG management. We will remain at
the forefront of eco-friendly businesses in Korea along with SKC, which has
been an industrial leader in eco-friendly biodegradable materials and waste
plastic resources.” [End]

[MCNS
officials examine waste PU fragments in a glass bottle, re-polyol (brown
liquid), and new PU form made of re-polyol. MCNS is the first company in Korea
to commercialize the eco-friendly re-polyol technology that reuses waste PU for
polyol raw material.]