Chemistry professor Philip Jessop's discovery underlies new plastics recylcing plant's technology

 A “green” research discovery by Queen’s University chemistry professor Philip Jessop underlies the new technology to be used at a plastics recycling company launched today in Mississauga, Ontario.

Unlike conventional systems, the green solvent technology developed by Dr. Jessop, Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry, does not require energy-intensive distillation. The new plant will be able to recycle approximately two million kilograms per year of used plastic materials, including foam cushion packaging and soiled food containers.

“We are both excited and delighted by this transformation of Dr. Jessop’s discovery,” says Vice-Principal (Research) Steven Liss. “It is a striking example of the innovative power of the green chemistry research being done at Queen’s.”

“This is a truly disruptive technology,” says John Molloy, President and CEO of Queen’s University’s PARTEQ Innovations, which protected the technology and licensed it to GreenCentre Canada, its national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research. “Dr. Jessop’s solvent system offers a wide range of applications, giving many industry sectors a clean and economical alternative to their chemical processes.”

The recycling plant has been built by Switchable Solutions Inc, a Kingston spinoff company formed to bring the Queen’s-based technology to market. While the company’s focus now is on plastics recycling, another target is oil sands processing, as a result of the new technology’s potential to increase recovery and enhance productivity in an environmentally friendly way.