Pilot and certification
Sumitomo Chemical identifies the Ehime Works pilot facility and ISCC PLUS certification for chemically recycled MMA monomer.
Evidence-bound company brief · as of September 18, 2026
Sumitomo Chemical TSE: 4005
Chemicals, circular polymers, PMMA and carbon-cycle technologies
SC
Public materials brief.
Public materials brief.
Sumitomo Chemical has moved chemically recycled MMA beyond a general circularity claim. The Ehime Works route has ISCC PLUS certification, commercial availability, and a 2026 licensing step intended to take PMMA chemical recycling to commercial scale. The remaining question is whether a named waste stream can meet a demanding PMMA grade and customer specification.
Sumitomo Chemical states that its Ehime Works chemical-recycling pilot facility received ISCC PLUS certification for chemically recycled MMA monomer in December 2024, following certification for acrylonitrile at the same site. In February 2026, Lummus and Sumitomo Chemical announced commercial availability of PMMA chemical-recycling technology. The company describes SUMIPEX Meguri recycled PMMA as suitable for high-quality automotive and display applications. Public sources do not establish pilot throughput, a specific waste supplier, production allocation or customer offtake.
Ehime WorksNamed chemical-recycling pilot facility
ISCC PLUSMMA monomer certification, 2024
2026PMMA-CR commercial availability announcement
OpenCapacity, grade and buyer evidence
Material inputs to resolve
- Used and process-scrap PMMA
- Pyrolysis or depolymerization inputs and energy
- ISCC PLUS chain-of-custody records
Outputs and residuals to resolve
- MMA monomer and recycled PMMA molding material
- Automotive and display-grade PMMA applications
- Nonconforming PMMA and process residuals
First decision: Start with one PMMA waste stream and a demanding end use. Prove composition, additives, collection or process-scrap source, monomer recovery, certification scope, molding properties and buyer validation.
Product bridge
SUMIPEX Meguri recycled PMMA is described for high-quality uses such as automobiles and displays.
Commercialization signal
Lummus and Sumitomo Chemical announced commercial availability of PMMA chemical-recycling technology in February 2026.
Evidence boundary
Public sources do not disclose operating capacity, waste-source contract, batch data, commercial allocation or a named buyer.
Decision boundary
This is a rare case where a chemical-recycling brief can begin with a named facility and certified monomer. The discipline is still the same: a pilot and a product announcement do not prove the available grade, volume or customer.
Material flow map
| Material or stream | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed |
| Waste PMMA | Polymer identity, additives, contamination and traceability | Chemical recycling at or from Ehime route | Source, yield, operating allocation and mass balance |
| MMA monomer | Purity and ISCC PLUS chain of custody | Polymerization | Certificate scope, COA and batch quality |
| Recycled PMMA | Optical, mechanical and processing performance | Automotive or display molding | TDS, trial result, application approval and buyer |
This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity.
Three defensible entry lanes
Build a PMMA feedstock contract map
Chemical recycling is only as stable as its sorted PMMA input.
Next evidence: Source type, volumes, composition, collection or scrap handling and commercial rights.
Company-specific lanePublic evidence gap visible
Qualify SUMIPEX Meguri at application level
High-quality use must be proven against an actual molding and performance requirement.
Next evidence: TDS, COA, color and optical properties, part test and approval.
Company-specific lanePublic evidence gap visible
Keep pilot and commercial status separate
Commercially available technology is not the same as contracted commercial production.
Next evidence: Facility status, capacity, project owner, launch criteria and product allocation.
Company-specific lanePublic evidence gap visible
Evidence register
- ISCC PLUS Certification for Recycled MMASumitomo Chemical, December 2024https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/news/detail/20241216e.html
- PMMA chemical recycling commercial availabilitySumitomo Chemical, February 2026https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/sustainability/news/detail/?key=9680
- Sustainability Report 2025Sumitomo Chemicalhttps://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/sustainability/information/library/files/docs/sustainability_report_2025e.pdf
- Commercial-scale PMMA chemical-recycling licenseSumitomo Chemical, February 2026https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/news/detail/20260205.html
Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit.
Artifact metadata
Public briefArtifact ID: mt-sumitomo-chemical-20260917As of: 2026-09-18Public-facing metadata only
Machine-readable source manifest
{
"artifact_id": "mt-sumitomo-chemical-20260917",
"company": "Sumitomo Chemical",
"as_of_date": "2026-09-18",
"sources": [
{
"title": "ISCC PLUS Certification for Recycled MMA",
"publisher": "Sumitomo Chemical, December 2024",
"url": "https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/news/detail/20241216e.html"
},
{
"title": "PMMA chemical recycling commercial availability",
"publisher": "Sumitomo Chemical, February 2026",
"url": "https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/sustainability/news/detail/?key=9680"
},
{
"title": "Sustainability Report 2025",
"publisher": "Sumitomo Chemical",
"url": "https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/sustainability/information/library/files/docs/sustainability_report_2025e.pdf"
}
]
}