Ahead of the Compounding World Expo, we interviewed Hugh Rathbone, Chief Commercial Officer at Aqdot, to discuss their innovative odour and VOC elimination technology. Hugh shared valuable insights into industry trends and the exciting advancements Aqdot will be presenting at the expo.

Can you provide a brief overview of your company and the products/services you'll be showcasing at the event?

Aqdot is a UK chemtech company with a patented odour & VOC elimination technology called AqFresh™. When added to recycled plastics, this unique technology has been proven to significantly reduce VOCs. As a result, the PCR content of compounds can be increased, whilst minimising odours and toxic pollutants.

AqFresh™ is a versatile non-toxic technology that can be incorporated into plastics by compounding or masterbatch. It can be incorporated into a wide range of materials including rigid plastics & flexible films, nonwovens and fibres.

What recent trends or developments in the industry are you most excited about, and how do your products/services align with them?

Everyone in the industry is seeking to increase the PCR content of compounds, but the odour of recycled plastics is limiting their use​.

Our revolutionary technology will help manufacturers in industries including automotive and consumer packaging to increase the PCR content of the compounds, whilst reducing the smell.

In this way, AqFresh™ technology is helping key industries achieve more sustainable production and meet regulatory requirements for increased PCR content in their materials. AqFresh™ is also helping them improve human health & wellbeing by meeting consumer, industry & regulatory requirements for reduced emissions of odours and toxic VOCs.

Could you share a success story or case study demonstrating how your products/services have benefited a customer?

As you would expect, our product development work is confidential and bespoke to different customers, but I can share some information about some proof of concept work that we have done.  We have collaborated with a plastics compounder and 3 different PCR suppliers to create plastic samples for evaluation.  In sensory tests significant reductions were seen in all samples reducing the smell rating to below industry thresholds, even with 100% PCR inclusion.

Analytical testing was focused on one of the samples with the well-known pain of Acetaldehyde emissions with AqFresh™ reducing it 88%, well below the standard threshold. 

Will you be conducting any demonstrations or interactive activities at the event? If so, what can attendees expect?

At this year’s Compounding World Expo, we’ll be presenting a wide range of samples of materials produced containing AqFresh™. Our aim is to allow customers to compare the sensory experience of materials with vs without AqFresh™ so they can smell the difference for themselves.

We have a great deal of experience of odour & VOC testing and will be sharing with customers our analytical and sensory test data for a range of materials.

We’ll be meeting existing customers to discuss our latest collaborative projects and look forward to introducing our company and our technology to potential new customers and learn about their specific PCR odour reduction needs.

What are your company's goals for the future, and how do you see yourselves contributing to the evolving industry landscape?

The packaging and automotive industries account for nearly 50% of global plastic consumption and yet use just 2.9% and 6.6% PCR respectively. That must change and new regulations such as the EU’s PPWR are helping to drive this change.

At Aqdot, our strategy is to focus initially on helping these two key industries increase PCR content to at least 30%, by removing odour - one of the key barriers.

Our goal is to save 31.6 million tonnes of plastic becoming waste and preventing 20 million tonnes of CO₂ being emitted into the atmosphere. Uniquely able to effectively capture the broad spectrum of malodour & VOC molecules found in PCR plastic, our technology is helping this goal become reality.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s show?

At Aqdot, we are delighted to be sponsors of this year’s Compounding World Expo and look forward to contributing to the success of this event.

We are really looking forward to meetings with existing and potential new customers and bringing our collective expertise & energy to bear on tackling these fundamental global challenges.

We have made tremendous technical and commercial progress recently and we have some really exciting new AqFresh™ developments & data to share with our customers to help them bring revolutionary innovation to market at speed.

Aqdot will be exhibiting at the Compounding World Expo. Visit them at stand C1034.