BASF SE BASFY recently collaborated with Endress+Hauser and TechnoCompound, as well as the universities of Bayreuth and Jena, to explore how mechanical recycling of plastics may be enhanced. 

The SpecReK project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims to reliably and precisely identify the composition of plastic waste throughout the recycling process, hence improving the quality of recycled plastics. This will be attained by integrating cutting-edge measurement techniques with Artificial Intelligence (AI). The total project volume is €2.2 million (roughly $2.29 million), with two-thirds funded by BMBF and one-third financed by the project partners.

The researchers are utilizing spectroscopic methods to determine the chemical structure of recycled plastics by interpreting how the material reacts with light. The project partners intend to use this information to determine in real-time which plastic grades, additives and contaminants are present in the material. In the following step, an AI algorithm will identify patterns in the measurement data and indicate whether additional components should be added or how the recycling process should be modified to increase the quality of the recycled plastic output, BASF noted.

At present, there are no appropriate analytical techniques to detect which components are present in mechanically recycled plastics during processing. This information, however, is required to assess and enhance the quality of waste plastics. This will allow the use of more mechanically recovered plastics to make high-quality products while also making recycling procedures more efficient and sustainable.

Given the rising demand for high-quality recycled materials and the current legal framework, it is critical to properly understand the material properties and composition of mechanically recycled plastic waste and to optimize the process. This will strengthen the circular economy for plastics.

Shares of BASFY have lost 17.1% over the past year compared with its industry’s 12.7% decline.

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BASFY’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

BASFY currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, New Gold Inc. NGD and CF Industries Inc. CF. 

Carpenter Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. The company's shares have soared 138.9% in the past year. 

New Gold, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), beat the consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing once. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 37.5%, on average. NGD’s shares have rallied 65.8% over the past year. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF’s current-year earnings is pegged at $6.35 per share. CF, which currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1, beat the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise being 10.3%. CF has gained around 7.8% in the past year.

 

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