Recycling Paper Machine Clothing in Industrial Production

UPM and ANDRITZ have established a cooperation to recycle end-of-life paper machine clothing (PMC) from paper production. The program introduces material recycling of synthetic press felts and forming fabrics, replacing incineration with polymer recovery for industrial reuse.

Industrial Context and Cooperation Structure
UPM-Kymmene Corporation operates multiple paper mills in Europe and generates significant volumes of used PMC during routine maintenance cycles. PMC, supplied by manufacturers including ANDRITZ AG, consists primarily of engineered synthetic polymers such as polyamide (PA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), designed for mechanical strength, permeability, and chemical resistance in continuous paper production.

At end of life, these materials have typically been directed to energy recovery or landfill. Across Europe, approximately 7,000 tonnes of PMC are discarded annually, with most volumes incinerated.

The cooperation addresses the technical and logistical challenge of recovering polymer-based industrial textiles that contain mixed materials and production residues. ANDRITZ contributes product design expertise and material knowledge, while UPM provides mill-level collection and material streams. Recycling operations are coordinated by HolyPoly GmbH, which manages sorting, processing, and regulatory compliance.

Technical Recycling Approach
Used press felts (mainly PA) and forming fabrics (PA and PET composites) are collected at participating UPM mills in Finland and Germany. After pre-sorting and logistics coordination, the material is mechanically processed into polymer granulate.

The recycling process focuses on polymer separation, cleaning, shredding, and regranulation to produce injection-molding-grade recyclate. Compliance with relevant European waste and chemical regulations is ensured during processing.

Each tonne of PMC diverted from incineration avoids approximately three tonnes of CO₂ emissions, based on avoided thermal disposal and substitution of virgin fossil-based polymers.

Deployment and Industrial Use Cases
The program was launched at industrial scale in January 2025. Several UPM mills are integrated into the collection system, demonstrating operational feasibility within existing maintenance and waste-handling workflows.

The recovered granulate is currently used in injection-molded components for the automotive and furniture industries, where defined mechanical and thermal properties are required. Substitution of virgin PA and PET reduces demand for fossil-based raw materials in these sectors.

In parallel, ANDRITZ is working to refine granulate specifications to meet the performance requirements for manufacturing new PMC products. This involves improving material purity, consistency, and mechanical characteristics to approach closed-loop recycling within industrial automation-driven paper production environments.

Strategic and Regulatory Context
The initiative aligns with anticipated extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements under European Union waste legislation. By establishing collection and material recovery pathways, ANDRITZ moves PMC waste management higher in the waste hierarchy—from energy recovery to material recycling.

The cooperation demonstrates how coordinated logistics, polymer processing expertise, and manufacturer involvement can enable circular use of technical textiles in industrial production systems.

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