Circular Economy Chemical Recycling is the Need of the Hour

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Chemical recycling has been in the news for quite some time but what is this technology all about? And how does this technology help to solve the plastic problem as well as boost the circular economy concept? Read on to gain an insight into the technology and its benefits for the world at large.

Plastic is a global menace yet it is produced in millions of tons every year across the globe. Some of it is incinerated while the majority is disposed of in landfills which pollutes the environment. This scenario is deeply concerning and various policies such as ‘Reach’ (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) in the EU and ‘EPA’ (Environmental Protection Agency) in the USA are now holding plastic producers to account in the face of the climate change crisis.

In this background, plastic producers are now turning to advanced technologies such as chemical recycling in addition to conventional or mechanical recycling to reduce CO2 emissions, establish a circular economy and also to recycle mixed plastics. But what is chemical recycling? In simple words, chemical recycling or advanced recycling is the process of converting waste plastic or used plastic into raw materials which can then be used to produce new virgin plastic products.

Technologies Used for Chemical Recycling

Microwave Technology – Recently, the Japanese chemical companies Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical joined hands for a demonstration project wherein the microwave technology was used for the chemical recycling process of polyamide 66. In this process, microwaves depolymerized PA66 with low energy and directly obtained high yield monomers hexamethylenediamine (HMD) and adipic acid (ADA) which can then be used to manufacture new PA66, shares the company press release. With this project, the partners aim to reduce GHG emissions as compared to the traditional manufacturing process and also commercialize the manufacturing process for PA66. The global demand for polyamide 66, which is used in the production of plastic parts for automotive and electronic products, is expected to grow in the near future.

The Canada-based firm Pyrowave is a pioneer in the electrification of chemical processes based on low carbon footprint microwaves. It is also a leader in the plastic’s circular economy and chemical recycling to regenerate post-consumer and post-industrial plastics into new plastics, reclaiming these resources’ full value. Virginie Bussières, Vice-President, Communications, Marketing and Government Relations, Pyrowave says, “Its patented high-powered microwave catalytic depolymerization technology platform is the most advanced in the world and is now at the forefront of the next generation of plastics. The technology is low carbon, fully electric, brings the highest yield in the industry and produces 100 % traceable recycled resins.”

Pyrolysis – New Hope Technologies, a US-firm dedicated to develop innovative solutions to tackle the plastic waste problem, has collaborated with one of the leading process technology developers Lummus Technology to scale-up and improve its pyrolysis technology. Based on thermal pyrolysis, the technology enables to transform end-of-life plastics into pyrolysis oil which is an alternative to petroleum. In 2021, the UK company Phigenesis known for offering ISCC+ certified renewable chemical feedstock to petrochemical plants in order to produce virgin grade plastics selected this pyrolysis technology for its new chemical recycling facility in Europe. With the help of this technology, the facility aims to replace oil-derived feedstocks with recycled content and also significantly reduce carbon emissions as compared to the incineration of plastics waste and production of virgin polymers.

Hydrothermal Upgrading Technology – London-based firm Mura Technology has introduced its Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution (Hydroprs) which is based on the hydrothermal upgrading technology. It makes use of water and heat to convert waste plastics back into its original oils and chemicals from which it was developed to create new, virgin-equivalent plastic products. Last year, Mura collaborated with the American multinational corporation Dow to develop Europe’s largest advanced recycling plant for plastics in Germany. With an advanced recycling capacity of approximately 120 KTA, the facility is scheduled to be operational by 2025. Mura’s technology is expected to save approximately 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of plastic recycled, compared to incineration and reducing reliance on fossil-based feedstocks, mentions a press release by Dow.

“Feedstock treatment is becoming a key part of the efficiency of the recycling process as removing as much impurities as possible upstream increases the yields,” mentions Bussières. “Contaminants and additives found in some products, such as lead in PVC, flame retardants or white inorganic pigment (titanium dioxide) have been an issue for the industry, where mechanical recycling alone can’t remove them from the recycled plastic. To fully close the loop and have a true circular economy of plastic, the removal of these additives and contaminants is essential.” She continues that the firm now has the ability to efficiently treat contaminants that, historically, have been problematic for the industry. This opens up new application paths for recycling and reclaiming value for plastics that have been a challenge for the industry.

Challenges and Limitations of Chemical Recycling

Every new technology faces numerous challenges and chemical recycling is no different. “Accessibility to quality feedstock remains one of the biggest challenges faced by chemical recycling of plastic waste,” shares Bussières. “Current infrastructures are not sufficient to sort and supply low-cost, quality feedstock to meet demand in chemical recycling. What is needed is investment in infrastructure, more efficient organization of the collection and sorting system, and eco-design to facilitate the sorting of plastic waste. Perceptions of chemical recycling also need to evolve as the higher the feedstock quality, the higher the yield and the least environmental impact.”

She further adds that feedstock preparation is no longer a technological issue – the technology is available and ready. It’s a change management issue to bring manufacturing from linear to circular. Governments also play a lead role as norms will be key drivers of this change.

In Conclusion …

The chemical recycling technology cannot be ignored due to its many benefits and as Dr. Klaus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro mentioned at an Achema Pulse session, “Chemical recycling has to be seen at the same level as mechanical recycling. We still need to convince people that chemical recycling is an essential element to make the fully circular world work.” This holds true and we agree that chemical recycling is truly the need of the hour.

Interview with Annick Meerschman, Innovation Director, Cefic, Brussels

In your opinion, how important is chemical recycling for plastic waste in today’s world? Is it the answer to the world’s plastic problem?

We need chemical recycling technologies to achieve a circular economy. This will also play an important role in addressing the global plastic waste challenge we face today. At the same time, chemical recycling should be seen as part of the solution rather than the only one.

This is confirmed by a new study by several researchers from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and the Universities of Gent and Maastricht. To move to a circular economy and meet ambitious recycling targets, we need a combination of recycling technologies, including mechanical, dissolution, and chemical recycling.

In Europe alone about 30 million tonnes of plastic waste is collected every year, 84 % of which is incinerated, exported or sent to landfill. Our chemical industry has developed chemical recycling technologies as complementary solutions to existing mechanical recycling to treat mixed or contaminated plastic waste.

With these technologies, we can break down plastics and transform them into valuable secondary raw materials to produce new chemicals and plastics with the same quality as those made from fossil resources.

What are the measures that are being undertaken to scale up this technology?

Together with value chain partners, our chemical industry has already successfully developed and commercialized consumer products like food packaging, refrigerator parts, mattresses, carpets, and dashboards in cars. However, scaling up these technologies requires a clear and enabling legislative framework in Europe which incentivizes investments and recognizes that chemically-recycled content counts towards Europe’s overall recycling targets.

In Europe, Cefic is working closely with the EU institutions to provide information on chemical recycling processes, and we are advocating for clarity on rules for calculating the contribution of chemical recycling to the recycled content targets. This is urgently needed to encourage investments in this technology, and the only way to do this is through a ‘mass balance chain of custody’.

Mass balance is a ‘chain of custody’ model, as defined in ISO standard 22095, that gives a high level of confidence that what is put in the process does come out at the end. It is already being successfully deployed in other sectors, including biofuels, and fairtrade cocoa and coffee.

Now we want to see policy frameworks that incentivize investments on a global scale. The UN global agreement on plastic pollution is an opportunity to accelerate investments in chemical recycling by providing the appropriate policy frameworks and fostering partnerships between the public and private sector to scale up chemical recycling.

Interview by Ahlam Rais

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