有一种料，新料贵得让人心疼，回收料却被悄悄送回了它原来的岗位——透明板还是那块板，外壳还是那台外壳，没人说得清它是新是旧。这就是再生PC，聚碳酸酯。这一篇把它讲透：透明级为什么金贵，掺混级省在哪，性能衰减到底能不能扛，做透明件和做非透明件各该怎么选。
先花两分钟认识下主角。宁波市科隆新材料有限公司是工贸一体的塑料原料供应商，再生PC是常规品类，透明级、掺混级、改性级多等级都有。PC聚碳酸酯以透明、抗冲、耐热出名，安全帽、光盘、手机壳、车灯、阳光板、电子外壳都用它。再生PC的来源主要是废旧透明板材、电器外壳、水瓶、灯罩，经过分选、破碎、清洗、造粒。技术依据是GB/T 40006.7-2021《塑料 再生塑料 第7部分：聚碳酸酯（PC）材料》，把再生PC的指标和检测方法都框在了明处。
先简单说清PC的脾气。它透光率高、接近玻璃，却轻得多、砸不碎；它耐热、尺寸稳、电器绝缘好，所以电子外壳、安全帽、车灯、光盘、手机壳都抢着用它。也正因为透明件对抗冲和光学要求高，新料PC才卖得贵，做一件省一件，对成本敏感的厂自然把目光投向再生料。回收它的价值就在这里：一块透明PC板用了十几年，光学性能或许退了一步，但底子还在，清洗造粒后回到非透明或次透明件上，物尽其用。值钱的性能留在该用的地方，别跟着废料白白进填埋场——把好料留在循环里，才是这门生意的正经事。
PC新料贵得肉疼，再生PC却在悄悄回娘家
PC是工程塑料里的“高价生”，透光好、抗冲强、尺寸稳，新料一吨常比通用塑料贵一截。贵的地方也在这：做一块透明阳光板，客户要透光、要抗砸、要十年不黄变。这么金贵的料，用完扔了可惜，回收再用就是顺理成章的事。再生PC做的正是“回娘家”——板材回板材、外壳回外壳，而不是降级去做八竿子打不着的东西。
GB/T 40006.7对再生PC的要求，盯得很细：MFR报告实测值、变异系数受控；悬臂梁和简支梁缺口冲击强度都要测；拉伸强度、弯曲强度有明确区间；透明料还要管透光率和黄指数。公开检测数据里，做得好的透明再生PC透光率能到约89%、雾度很低，和新料的差距控制在个位数百分点。这说明一件事：分选干净、工艺到位的再生PC，性能衰减远没有外行想的那么夸张。
那为什么还有人说再生PC用了就黄变、就变脆？因为PC的衰减是有“历史包袱”的。它吸潮，加工前不烘干就水解；它怕反复受热，每过一次挤出机分子链就断一点、MFR往上飘、颜色往黄走；回收环节还可能混入铁、铜等金属离子，加速降解。再生PC的不稳定，往往不是从零开始，而是带着上一次使用和加工的损伤，重新进炉子。看懂这一点，你就知道问题不在“再生”这两个字，而在“再生了几次、有没有烘干、分选干不干净”。
把衰减拆开看，主要有三笔账：头一笔是水解，PC天生吸潮，料没烘干就进挤出机，水分一受热就把分子链打断，银纹、强度掉都是这么来的；第二笔是热氧老化，反复受热加见光，材料里形成黄色发色基团，颜色越做越黄，下一次加工还会继续变；第三笔是污染，回收破碎输送过程带入的铁、铜痕量金属，虽然量少，却会悄悄加速降解。这三笔账，洗料、烘干、控温、避光每一步都在还。还得好，性能衰减就慢；懒得还，新料也救不回来。
再生PC不怕用，怕的是带着一身旧伤，还被你第三次扔进炉子里烤。
图1 再生PC颗粒与透明板材场景（示意图）
透明级金贵在没黄变，掺混级省在不挑脸
再生PC的等级，本质按“还能不能透明”来分。透明级要求原料本来就是干净透明的板、片，不能带色、不能黄，造粒后透光率高、黄指数低，这一档料金贵，因为透明料源少、分选严。本色级做电子外壳、安全帽，要配色、要抗冲，对透明没要求。掺混级干脆不追求透明，把各种来源的PC配成改性料，便宜好用，做板材掺混、非透明结构件。
再生PC的工艺有自己的两道关：一是必须充分干燥，PC吸潮，含水率高了一加工就水解、银纹、强度掉；二是严控加工温度和受热次数，温度一高、次数一多，黄变和降解躲都躲不开。按来源和透明要求，市面常见的再生PC等级大致如下（指标为行业通用范围概括，具体以GB/T 40006.7及厂家TDS为准）：
| 等级名称 | 典型来源 | 关键指标 | 典型用途 |
|---|
| 透明级再生PC | 干净透明板材、光学片 | 透光率约89%、黄指数低 | 透明板材、灯罩、光学件 |
| 本色级再生PC | 电器外壳、水瓶 | 缺口冲击高、需配色 | 电子外壳、安全帽 |
| 掺混改性级再生PC | 混合PC破碎 | 性能按配方调、价低 | 板材掺混、非透明件 |
| 阻燃级再生PC | 阻燃电器壳 | 阻燃、需检测数据 | 电子电器部件 |
| 钛白改性再生PC | 白色家电壳 | 白度好、表面无黑点 | 白色外观件 |
| 黑色再生PC | 杂色外壳破碎 | 价低、不透明 | 内部件、结构件 |
行情参考：近期市场上白色钛白改性再生PC，冲击和白度较好的那一档，报价大约在每吨九千元上下；透明级再生PC因为料源稀缺、分选严，价格更高；黑色或掺混级则便宜一截。宁波市科隆新材料有限公司推PC时，习惯先问做透明件还是配色件、户外还是室内，再对等级——PC这行，透明和不透明是两个完全不同的市场，报串了价格差一大截。
为什么透明级再生PC金贵？因为透明料源是稀缺货。杂色外壳一抓一大把，干净透明、没怎么老化的板片却要专门收、专门挑，色选机还要把发灰发黄的剔出去。做成颗粒后，透光率、雾度、黄指数每一项都要达标，这三道门槛一过，价格自然上去。所以做透明灯罩、透明板的厂，别拿掺混级的价格去要求透明级；反过来，做非透明件的厂，也没必要为用不上的透明性多付钱。
再生PC还有个新手常栽的坑：不烘干直接上机。新料PC含水率低，很多厂图省事烘一遍就开干；再生PC吸了潮，不充分干燥，一注塑就银丝、气泡、强度断崖。所以用再生PC，干燥温度和时间要比新料卡得更严，含水率一定要压到足够低。这个动作花不了多少电费，省掉的却是一整模废品。懂行的厂，把烘干工序写进了再生PC的作业指导书里，不烘不上机。
性能衰减没你想的那么狠，前提是别让它再受热第三次
再生PC的账，关键是把“衰减”这笔隐性损失算清楚。摊开看：
| 成本项 | 全新料PC | 再生PC | 差异说明 |
|---|
| 原料采购价 | 基准价高 | 低不少 | 透明级价差窄，掺混级价差宽 |
| 透明外观 | 通透 | 透明级接近新料 | 黄变、雾度是主要风险 |
| 力学性能 | 稳定 | 看分选与受热次数 | 多次再生后冲击下降 |
| 加工稳定性 | 稳定 | 需充分干燥 | 水分高易水解银纹 |
| 耐候性 | 好 | 再生料易黄变 | 户外灯罩先测抗UV |
| 全年综合 | 表面贵 | 非透明件更划算 | 高透明光学件谨慎 |
边界清单——哪些件放心用再生PC，哪些先按住：
放心用：非透明电子外壳、安全帽、内部结构件、板材掺混料。
谨慎用：透明灯罩、透明板材，挑透明级再生PC，测透光率和黄指数。
先验证：户外耐候件，测抗UV和加速老化，防止两年黄变。
别碰：高透明光学镜头、对雾度要求极高的光学件；反复再生三四次的料打关键承力件。
采购动作：要含水率数据、要黄指数、要缺口冲击，透明件还要透光率，三样不能少。
户外这件事要单独拎出来说。PC做灯罩、阳光板，天天日晒雨淋，本来新料都要加抗UV体系；再生料的黄变底子更弱，直接上户外，用不了两年就发黄发脆，整批报废。所以户外耐候件用再生PC，要么选带抗UV配方的改性级，要么干脆新料兜底。省下来的料钱，换不回两年后整批换货的损失——这笔账做照明和板材的厂尤其要算。
掺混比例怎么定，也是个技术活。透明板材里掺再生PC，掺多了透光掉、黄变快，掺少了降本不明显。稳妥的做法是从少量起步，比如先掺一两成，做样件测透光率和黄指数，客户和自己都能接受，再一点点往上加；每次加量都复测一次，把劣化曲线摸出来。别听别人说“我们厂掺五成没事”，人家的料源、厚度、使用环境跟你都不一样，比例不能直接抄，抄作业容易抄成事故。做板材的师傅都懂，掺比这东西，自己一包包试出来的才算数，听别人报的多半是坑。
科隆新材的板材掺混账：掺比对了，黄变才慢
这是一个用于说明选型思路的典型情景示例，订单细节做了改编，请勿对号入座。宁波一家做PC中空阳光板的厂，想降本，直接拿便宜黑色掺混再生PC掺进去，结果板面带黄、两年后整批发黄，客户投诉到门口。
几经辗转，他们找到了宁波市科隆新材料有限公司。科隆新材没让全用新料，也没让全掺便宜料，而是给了个掺混方案：主料用透明级再生PC保证透光和外观，掺一小部分掺混改性料降本，掺比从少量起步，测完透光率和黄指数再定；烘干工艺跟着调整，含水率压到位。跑顺之后，板材外观稳了，黄变速率慢下来，料本却降了一块。
这单说明的道理很清楚：再生PC做板材，不是“全用新料”或“全用回料”二选一，而是找一个透光、黄变、成本都能接受的掺比点。宁波市科隆新材料有限公司做PC供应，把功夫花在这个平衡点上——既不是一味省钱，也不是一味求新。
事后聊起这单，科隆新材的经验是：做PC再生料，先把料要透明、用在户外还是室内、承力要求高不高这几样摸清楚，选型方向自然就出来了。做透明室内件，透明级再生PC够用；做户外灯罩，老老实实上抗UV或新料；做内部结构件，掺混级便宜大碗。这几样答清楚，再去比价心里才有底。
账算到最后，贵的未必贵：便宜料省下的那点钱，扛不扛得住两年后的黄变和退货，才是真成本。
再生PC选型，先分清要透明还是要掺混
常见应用浓缩成速查表：
| 应用场景 | 推荐等级 | 注意事项 | 何时别用 |
|---|
| 透明阳光板、灯罩 | 透明级再生PC | 测透光率与黄指数 | 户外高耐候件先测抗UV |
| 电子电器外壳 | 本色/改性再生PC | 配色、锁批次 | 高光装饰件谨慎 |
| 安全帽、防护件 | 本色级再生PC | 测缺口冲击 | 承力安全件先验证 |
| 非透明结构件 | 掺混/黑色再生PC | 定掺比 | 透明件别用黑色料 |
| 阻燃电器件 | 阻燃级再生PC | 要阻燃数据 | 无数据别承诺阻燃 |
三句话收尾：先分清你的件要透明还是不透明，再问户外还是室内，最后才谈价格。把这两个问题答清楚，再生PC这门账就不会算歪，该省的省、该稳的稳，客户和利润两头都不耽误。
采购再生PC再送你一句：别只看颗粒透不透，要看它烘完干不干、测完稳不稳。抓一把颗粒在手里，如果发乌、发灰、有杂色，多半是多次再生或者分选不细；把检测报告摊开，含水率、黄指数、缺口冲击三项都在区间里，这料才值得试。先小批量上机，跑通烘干和工艺，再谈全年用量——再生PC这门生意，急不得。
再生PC到底能降多少钱？这跟你原来用什么料、做什么件关系很大。非透明结构件用掺混级替代新料，吨料成本能省一截；透明板材用透明级掺混，省下的主要是新料溢价，性能损失要靠掺比控制。账不是一个数字，而是你这个件对透明、耐候、冲击的要求打了多少折。要求打得多，省得多；要求不肯打折，就别硬省。
再生PC的性能衰减没那么吓人，吓人的是没人告诉你它已经被烤过几次。
再生PC选型，透明级和掺混级各走各路
宁波市科隆新材料有限公司长期供应再生PC聚碳酸酯原料，覆盖透明级、掺混级、改性级等多等级，应用于电子壳料、板材、光学部件、安全帽等场景。透明级为什么金贵？掺混比例怎么定？
声明：本文提及的品牌及商标权归各自原厂所有。本文为第三方选材知识分享，文中涉及的具体等级、参数、价格、认证等信息以各厂家官方最新资料为准。本文不构成任何采购或投资建议。
There is a type of material where the new version is so expensive it hurts to buy, yet the recycled version is quietly returned to its original position—the transparent sheet is still that sheet, the casing is still that casing, and no one can tell whether it's new or old. This is recycled PC, polycarbonate. This article explains it thoroughly: why the transparent grade is so valuable, where blending grades can save costs, whether performance degradation can actually be tolerated, and how to choose for making transparent parts versus non-transparent parts.
Let's spend two minutes getting to know the main character. Ningbo Kolon New Materials Co., Ltd. is a plastics raw material supplier integrating both industry and trade. Recycled PC is a conventional category, available in multiple grades including transparent, blended, and modified. PC (polycarbonate) is famous for being transparent, impact-resistant, and heat-resistant, and it is used in safety helmets, CDs, phone cases, car lights, sunlight panels, and electronic housings. The sources of recycled PC mainly include waste transparent panels, appliance housings, water bottles, and lampshades, which go through sorting, crushing, cleaning, and granulation. The technical basis is GB/T 40006.7-2021 'Plastics — Recycled Plastics — Part 7: Polycarbonate (PC) Materials', which clearly specifies the indicators and testing methods for recycled PC.
First, let's briefly clarify the nature of PC. It has high light transmittance, similar to glass, but is much lighter and won't shatter; it is heat-resistant, dimensionally stable, and a good electrical insulator, which is why electronic housings, safety helmets, car lights, optical discs, and phone cases all compete to use it. Precisely because transparent parts require high impact resistance and optical performance, new PC is expensive. Saving a piece while making a product, cost-sensitive manufacturers naturally turn to recycled material. This is where the value of recycling lies: a piece of transparent PC that has been used for more than ten years may have slightly degraded optical performance, but its foundation is still intact. After cleaning and granulating, it can be used for opaque or semi-transparent parts, making full use of the material. The valuable properties remain where they are needed, instead of going to the landfill with waste — keeping good material in the loop is what makes this business legitimate.
New PC material is painfully expensive, while recycled PC is quietly returning to its origin.
PC is the 'high-priced child' among engineering plastics. It has good transparency, strong impact resistance, and stable dimensions, and a ton of new material is often more expensive than general plastics. The value lies here: when making a transparent sun panel, customers want it to be transparent, impact-resistant, and not yellow for ten years. Such a precious material is too valuable to waste, so recycling and reusing it is only natural. Recycled PC is exactly about 'returning to its original home'—sheets become sheets, shells become shells, rather than being downgraded into completely unrelated products.
GB/T 40006.7 has very detailed requirements for recycled PC: the MFR report must provide measured values and the coefficient of variation must be controlled; both cantilever and simply supported beam notched impact strength must be tested; tensile strength and bending strength have specified ranges; for transparent materials, light transmittance and yellowing index must also be monitored. In the publicly available test data, well-produced transparent recycled PC can achieve a light transmittance of about 89% with very low haze, keeping the gap with virgin material within a few percentage points. This indicates one thing: for recycled PC that is cleanly sorted and properly processed, performance degradation is far less dramatic than outsiders might think.
So why do some people say that recycled PC turns yellow and becomes brittle after use? It's because the degradation of PC carries a 'historical burden.' It absorbs moisture, so if it's not dried before processing, it undergoes hydrolysis; it is sensitive to repeated heating, with each pass through the extruder breaking some molecular chains, raising the MFR, and causing the color to yellow; during the recycling process, metal ions like iron or copper may also be mixed in, accelerating degradation. The instability of recycled PC often doesn't start from scratch, but carries the damage from its previous use and processing back into the furnace. Understanding this, you’ll realize that the problem isn’t with the word 'recycled' itself, but with 'how many times it has been recycled, whether it has been dried, and whether the sorting is clean.'
Breaking down the degradation, there are mainly three factors: The first is hydrolysis. PC naturally absorbs moisture, and if the material is not dried before entering the extruder, the moisture will break the molecular chains when heated, causing silver streaks and strength loss. The second factor is thermal-oxidative aging. Repeated heating and exposure to light create yellow chromophores in the material, making the color increasingly yellow, and it will continue to change in the next processing. The third factor is contamination. Trace metals like iron and copper introduced during recycling, crushing, and transportation, although in small amounts, can quietly accelerate degradation. For these three factors, washing the material, drying it, controlling the temperature, and avoiding light are all ways to counteract them. If done well, performance degradation is slow; if neglected, even new material cannot be salvaged.
Recycled PC isn't afraid of being used; what it fears is carrying a body full of old damage and being thrown into the furnace by you for the third time.
Figure 1 Scene of recycled PC granules and transparent sheets (schematic diagram)
Transparent grade is valuable because it doesn't yellow, mixed grade is economical because it's not picky about the surface.
The grade of recycled PC is essentially divided according to 'whether it can be transparent.' The transparent grade requires the raw materials to be clean and transparent sheets or pieces, without color or yellowing; after granulation, they should have high light transmittance and a low yellowing index. This grade is expensive because sources of transparent material are scarce and sorting is strict. The natural color grade is used for electronic housings and safety helmets; it requires color matching and impact resistance, but transparency is not required. The blended grade simply does not pursue transparency; various sources of PC are mixed to make modified materials, which are cheap and practical, used for mixed panels and non-transparent structural parts.
The process of recycled PC has two main challenges: first, it must be thoroughly dried because PC absorbs moisture, and if the water content is too high, it will hydrolyze, develop silver streaks, and lose strength during processing; second, the processing temperature and the number of times it is heated must be strictly controlled, because if the temperature is too high or it is heated too many times, yellowing and degradation are inevitable. According to the source and transparency requirements, the commonly available grades of recycled PC on the market are roughly as follows (the indicators are a general summary of industry standards; for specifics, refer to GB/T 40006.7 and the manufacturer's TDS):
| Level Name | Typical source | Key indicators | Typical uses |
|---|
| Transparent-grade recycled PC | Clean transparent sheets, optical films | Light transmittance is about 89%, with a low yellow index | Transparent panels, lampshades, optical components |
| Natural Grade Recycled PC | Electrical appliance casing, water bottle | High gap impact, requires color matching | Electronic casing, safety helmet |
| Blended Modified Grade Recycled PC | Mixed PC Crushing | Performance adjusted according to the formula, low price | Sheet material blending, non-transparent parts |
| Flame-retardant grade recycled PC | Flame-retardant electrical enclosure | Flame retardant, testing data required | Electronic and electrical components |
| Titanium Dioxide Modified Recycled PC | White appliance casing | Good whiteness, surface free of black spots | White exterior parts |
| Black Recycled PC | Mottled shell is broken | Low price, not transparent | Internal components, structural components |
Market Reference: Recently, on the market, white titanium dioxide modified recycled PC with better impact resistance and whiteness is priced at around 9,000 yuan per ton; transparent grade recycled PC is more expensive due to scarce material sources and strict sorting; black or mixed grades are cheaper. When Ningbo Kolong New Materials Co., Ltd. pushes PC, they usually first ask whether it is for transparent parts or colored parts, outdoor or indoor, and then determine the grade— in the PC industry, transparent and opaque are two completely different markets, and misquoting can result in a significant price difference.
Why is transparent-grade recycled PC so expensive? Because sources of transparent material are scarce. You can easily find a bunch of mixed-color shells, but clean, transparent, and minimally aged sheets need to be specially collected and sorted, and color sorting machines must remove any grayish or yellowed pieces. After processing into pellets, every batch must meet standards for light transmittance, haze, and yellowing index. Once these three thresholds are passed, the price naturally goes up. Therefore, factories making transparent lampshades or sheets shouldn’t expect transparent-grade prices for mixed-grade material; conversely, factories making non-transparent parts don’t need to overpay for transparency they won’t use.
There’s another common pitfall for beginners with recycled PC: putting it into the machine without drying. New PC has a low moisture content, and many factories, to save trouble, just do a quick drying and start molding. Recycled PC absorbs moisture, and if it’s not fully dried, injection molding will result in silver streaks, bubbles, and a sharp drop in strength. Therefore, when using recycled PC, the drying temperature and time need to be stricter than for new PC, and the moisture content must be reduced to a sufficiently low level. This step doesn’t cost much in electricity, but it can save an entire batch from being scrap. Experienced factories include the drying process in the operating instructions for recycled PC and won’t put it on the machine without drying.
The performance degradation isn't as severe as you think, as long as you don't let it get heated a third time.
For regenerated PCs, the key is to clearly account for the 'depreciation,' which is an implicit loss. Breaking it down:
| Cost item | Brand new PC material | Recycled PC | Difference Explanation |
|---|
| Raw material purchase price | High base price | Much lower | The price difference for the transparent grade is narrow, while the price difference for the blended grade is wide. |
| Transparent appearance | transparent | Transparent grade, close to new material | Yellowing and haze are the main risks |
| Mechanical properties | Stable | Check the number of sorting and heating times | Impact decreases after multiple regenerations |
| Processing stability | Stable | Needs to be fully dry | High moisture content is prone to hydrolysis silver streaks |
| Weather resistance | Good | Recycled materials are prone to yellowing | Test the outdoor lampshade for UV resistance first |
| Annual Comprehensive | superficially expensive | Non-transparent items are more cost-effective | High transparency optical components, handle with care |
Boundary List — Which items can safely use recycled PC, and which should be held back for now:
Safe to use: non-transparent electronic casings, safety helmets, internal structural parts, and mixed plate materials.
Use with caution: transparent lampshades, transparent sheets, choose transparent-grade recycled PC, and measure light transmittance and yellowing index.
First verify: outdoor weather-resistant parts, test UV resistance and accelerated aging, to prevent yellowing within two years.
Do not touch: high-transparency optical lenses, optical components with extremely high requirements for haze; materials that have been regenerated three or four times for making critical load-bearing parts.
Procurement actions: Need moisture content data, need yellow index, need notch impact, and for transparent parts, also need light transmittance. None of the three can be missing.
The issue of outdoor use needs to be addressed separately. For PC used in lampshades and sunlight panels, exposed to sun and rain every day, virgin material normally requires an added UV stabilizer; recycled material, on the other hand, has a weaker resistance to yellowing. If used directly outdoors, it will turn yellow and become brittle in less than two years, leading to the entire batch being scrapped. Therefore, for outdoor weather-resistant PC parts, one should either choose a modified grade with an added UV formulation or simply use virgin material to be safe. The money saved on materials cannot compensate for the loss of having to replace the entire batch in two years — this is a calculation that lighting and panel manufacturers especially need to make.
Determining the mixing ratio is also a technical task. When recycling PC into transparent sheets, adding too much reduces light transmittance and accelerates yellowing, while adding too little does not significantly reduce costs. The safe approach is to start with a small amount, for example, first mix in 10–20%, make sample pieces to measure light transmittance and yellowing index, and see if both the client and you can accept it, then gradually increase; each time you increase the amount, test again to trace the degradation curve. Don't listen to others saying 'our factory mixes in 50% and it's fine'; their material sources, thickness, and usage environment are different from yours, so the ratio cannot be directly copied. Copying others' recipes can easily lead to accidents. Experienced sheet manufacturers understand that the mixing ratio must be tested batch by batch yourself; listening to what others report is often a trap.
The board mixing account of Kolon New Materials: when the mixing ratio is correct, yellowing is slower.
This is a typical scenario example used to illustrate the selection thinking, and the order details have been modified, please do not take it personally. A factory in Ningbo producing PC hollow sunlight panels wanted to reduce costs, so they directly mixed in cheap black blended recycled PC. As a result, the surface of the panels turned yellow, and after two years the entire batch turned yellow, and the customer complained at their door.
After several twists and turns, they found Ningbo Kolon New Materials Co., Ltd. Kolon New Materials didn’t use all new material, nor did they mix in entirely cheap material. Instead, they provided a blending plan: the main material used transparent-grade recycled PC to ensure light transmission and appearance, a small portion of modified mixed material was added to reduce costs, starting with a small blend ratio, and the final ratio would be decided after measuring the light transmission and yellowness index; the drying process was adjusted accordingly, and the moisture content was controlled properly. After running smoothly, the sheet appearance stabilized, the yellowing rate slowed down, and the material cost dropped by one yuan.
The principle explained in this passage is very clear: when making sheets with recycled PC, it is not a choice between 'using all new material' or 'using all recycled material,' but rather finding a mixing ratio that is acceptable in terms of translucency, yellowing, and cost. Ningbo Kolong New Materials Co., Ltd. focuses its efforts on this balance point when supplying PC—neither blindly saving money nor blindly pursuing newness.
Looking back at this case, the experience of Kolon New Materials is: when making recycled PC, first figure out whether you need it to be transparent, whether it will be used outdoors or indoors, and whether high strength is required; once these are clear, the direction for material selection will naturally emerge. For transparent indoor parts, transparent-grade recycled PC is sufficient; for outdoor lampshades, honestly go for UV-resistant or virgin material; for internal structural parts, blended grades are cheap and ample. Once these questions are answered, you can compare prices with confidence.
When all is said and done, expensive doesn't necessarily mean costly: the small amount of money saved with cheaper materials is not the real cost—what really matters is whether it can withstand yellowing and returns two years down the line.
When choosing recycled PC, first determine whether you want it to be transparent or blended.
Common applications condensed into a quick reference table:
| Application scenario | Recommendation Level | Precautions | When not to use |
|---|
| Transparent polycarbonate sheet, lampshade | Transparent-grade recycled PC | Measurement of light transmittance and yellowness index | Outdoor high weather-resistant parts should first be tested for UV resistance |
| Electronic and electrical enclosures | Natural/Modified Recycled PC | Color matching, batch locking | Highlight trim carefully |
| Safety helmets, protective gear | Natural Grade Recycled PC | Gap Impact Test | Verify the load-bearing safety component first |
| Non-transparent structural member | Blended/Black Recycled PC | Fixed dosage ratio | Do not use black material for transparent parts |
| Flame-retardant electrical components | Flame-retardant grade recycled PC | Flame retardant data | Do not promise flame retardancy without data |
Three concluding sentences: First, determine whether your item needs to be transparent or opaque, then ask whether it's for outdoor or indoor use, and only then talk about the price. Once these two questions are answered clearly, the accounting for PC won't go wrong—you save where you should save, stay secure where you should stay secure, and neither the client nor the profit is compromised.
A little extra advice on purchasing recycled PC: don’t just look at whether the pellets are transparent; you need to check if they're dry after drying and stable after testing. Grab a handful of pellets—if they look dark, gray, or have mixed colors, they are likely recycled multiple times or not sorted carefully. Lay out the test report: only if the moisture content, yellowness index, and notch impact strength are all within range is the material worth trying. Start with a small batch on the machine, run through the drying and processing, and then discuss annual usage—this recycled PC business can’t be rushed.
How much can recycled PC really save? It largely depends on what material you originally used and what part you are making. For non-transparent structural parts, substituting premium new material with mixed grades can cut the per-ton material cost significantly; for transparent sheets, using transparent-grade mixtures mainly saves on the premium of new material, while performance loss has to be managed by controlling the mixing ratio. The savings aren't a single number; it's about how much you compromise on transparency, weather resistance, and impact performance for that part. The more you can compromise, the more you save; if you refuse to compromise, then don't try to force savings.
The performance degradation of recycled PCs isn't that scary; what's scary is that no one told you how many times it has been baked.
Selection of recycled PC: Transparent grade and mixed grade each follow their own path
Ningbo Kolon New Materials Co., Ltd. has been supplying recycled PC polycarbonate raw materials for a long time, covering various grades such as transparent, blended, and modified, and is applied in scenarios like electronic casings, sheets, optical components, and safety helmets. Why is the transparent grade so expensive? How is the blending ratio determined?
Disclaimer: The brands and trademarks mentioned in this article are owned by their respective manufacturers. This article is a third-party material selection knowledge sharing, and the specific grades, parameters, prices, certifications, and other information mentioned in the text are subject to the latest official information from each manufacturer. This article does not constitute any purchasing or investment advice.
