SK Chemicals Develops 'EcoRecord', a Circular Recycled PET with Sonopress

Record Disc: LP record (long-playing record) album made of PVC material, called a vinyl album. Photo by SK Chemical

SK Chemicals supplies circular recycled materials to the global record market.

On the 19th, SK Chemicals announced that it has jointly developed the record (LP) "EcoRecord" made from 100% recycled materials with Sonopress, a global record manufacturer.

Sonopress is a subsidiary of Germany's largest media group Bertelsmann and specializes in manufacturing CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays, with production plants worldwide.

The EcoRecord was developed through close collaboration between the two companies. They replaced polyvinyl chloride (PVC), traditionally used in record production, with circular recycled PET (CR PET) and innovated the production process by eliminating the use of natural gas and steam, reducing energy consumption by about 85%. This is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the record production process, drawing attention from the global record industry.

Circular recycling is SK Chemicals' unique chemical recycling technology that breaks down discarded plastics through chemical reactions into raw material units, which are then used to produce recycled plastics. Compared to conventional recycling methods that wash and reuse waste plastics or cut them into flakes for simple recycling, this method allows infinite recycling while maintaining high-quality physical properties and safety.

To develop the EcoRecord, Sonopress has researched materials and production methods that can replace PVC over the past two years. The new EcoRecord product is produced using an injection molding machine with a maximum contact pressure of up to 300 tons, and Sonopress plans to build an EcoRecord production line.

Additionally, SK Chemicals is considering signing a business agreement with local distributors and Sonopress to ensure a stable supply of circular recycled materials.

Sven Deichmann, CEO of Sonopress, said, "Through cooperation with SK Chemicals, we were able to decide on the development of 12-inch records and investment in the production line," adding, "We plan to expand production in line with global record market demand."

Kim Eungsu, Head of SK Chemicals' Green Materials Business Division, stated, "Through the acquisition of the Schue factory, we have secured a stable supply chain of 50,000 tons of circular recycled PET," and added, "Based on this, SK Chemicals plans to expand its range of recyclable products into various industrial materials."