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| Chemical recycling innovations and investments | |||
| Date | Company | Technology | Description |
| 2027 | Indaver | Depolymerisation | Indaver plans to bring its 65,000 t/a molecular recycling facility onstream. |
| 2026 | Eastman | Depolymerisation | Eastman's new chemical recycling plant will be operational in Normandy, France. It will ultimately process 200k tonnes of plastic waste annually. |
| 2026 | OMV | Pyrolysis | OMV's ReOil process will be a commercially viable technology on industrial scale. The facility will process up to 200 kt/a of plastic waste. |
| 27.09.23 | SynPet, Kolmar | Pyrolysis | Synpet announces plans to construct its first commercial recycling plant in Antwerp, Belgium, in a €100 million investment. Kolmar has the exclusive right to the output of the new plant, under a supply agreement signed in October 2022. The plant will have an initial capacity of 180,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste per year, with a potential expansion to 1,000,000 tonnes by 2030. |
| 21.09.23 | Pyrowave | Pyrolysis | Pyrowave introduces a new nanopurification technology, a pretreatment to obtain purer pyrolysis oil. The technology capitalises on the large difference in size and solubility to separate additives from polymers using nanofiltration membranes. |
| 13.09.2023 | Evonik, Remondis | Depolymerisation | Remondis to supply end-of-life mattress foams to Evonik, which will support Evonik’s ambition to scale its hydrolysis technology up to the next level. The process is currently being tested in a pilot plant in Hanau, Germany, and in a next step, will be tested in a larger demonstration plant. |
| 12.09.2023 | Braskem, Vitol | Pyrolysis | Braskem, Vitol announce an agreement which will see Vitol supply Braskem Netherlands with an undisclosed amount of pyrolysis oil for an undisclosed period of time. The oil is produced in the chemical recycling facilities of Waste Plastic Upcycling (WPU) in Denmark. |
| 30.08.2023 | Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | PE commissions a new chemical recycling pilot plant in its research & development labs in Loughborough University Science & Enterprise Park (LUSEP). |
| 25.08.2023 | Amcor, Mondelēz International | Pyrolysis | Amcor, MI announced their investment in Licella which will further help the hydrothermal liquefaction technology pioneer move ahead with the construction of what will be its first advanced recycling facility in Australia. |
| 16.08.2023 | Covestro | Depolymerisation | Covestro develops lab-scale chemolysis process to recycle polycarbonates; announces plans for building a pilot plant in Leverkusen, Germany. |
| 2023 | Waste Plastic Upcycling | Pyrolysis | WPU starts producing pyrolysis oil at its Fårevejle facility in Denmark, with a capacity of approximately 30,000 tones of oil a year. It announces two more chemical recycling facilities will become fully operational in 2025 and 2026, in Nakskov and Esbjerg, Denmark. Vitol has the right to offtake all WPU products for 10 years. |
| 2023 | Neste | Pyrolysis | Neste invests €111 million to see the construction of upgrading facilities for liquefied plastic waste at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The investment is part of a broader project called Pulse (Pretreatment and Upgrading of Liquefied waste plastic to Scale up circular Economy). |
| 2023 | PreZero, Shell | TBA | PreZero and Shell sign a cooperation agreement to develop an 'innovative chemical solution for the recycling of plastic'. |
| 2023 | Carbios, Indorama Ventures | Depolymerisation | Carbios and Indorama sign a non-binding MOU to form a joint venture for the construction of the world's first PET biorecycling plant in France, based on the enzymatic depolymerisation process developed by Carbios. |
| 2023 | gr3n, Intecsa Industrial | Depolymerisation | gr3n and Intecsa sign a binding MOU to set up a joint venture to build the world's first industrial-scale Microwave Assisted Depolymerisation PET recycling plant. With an annual production capacity of 40,000 tons of virgin PET, the plant aims to be operational in 2027. |
| 2023 | Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. | Pyrolysis | ACT announces plans to establish a subsidiary in Geleen, the Netherlands, to advance its patented hydrochemolytic technology in the European market with the construction of a demonstration unit. |
| 2023 | Greenback Recycling Technologies | Pyrolysis | GRT opens first advanced recycling plant in Cuautla, Mexico together with Nestle Mexico, based on microwave-induced technology developed by Enval. This first module can process around 2,800 tonnes of waste and a second unit is being constructed to increase capacity up to 6,000 tonnes. |
| 2023 | Nova Chemicals Corporation, Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | NCC and PE agree to explore the feasibility of a chemical recycling facility in Sarnia, Ontario region, to be based on PE's proprietary pyrolysis technology; the facility would be the largest of its kind in Canada with a potential initial capacity of 66 kt/a. |
| 2023 | Eastman | Depolymerisation | Eastman's Kingsport, US new chemical recycling plant will become operational processing 110k tonnes of mixed plastic waste annually. |
| 2023 | Arcus Greencycling Technologies | Pyrolysis | Germany-based Argus commissions an industrial plant for chemical recycling with an annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes and and output of 2,500 tonnes. Its proprietary technology can produce a pyrolysis oil from strongly mixed plastic waste that also contains polymers such as PVC, PET, ABS, amongst others. |
| 2023 | Quantafuel | Pyrolysis | Quantafuel obtains planning permission for first UK plastics recycling plant. Construction to get underway in 2023, with the plant opening in 2025. |
| 2023 | LyondellBasell, KIRBI | Solvent-based recycling | LyondellBasell and KIRBI acquire minority stakes in APK; plans are announced to build additional newcycling plants to increase production capacity. |
| 2023 | PureCycle | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle announces plans to build its first PP recycling facility with a capacity of 59,000 t/a in Antwerp. Construction to start in 2024. |
| 2023 | Samsara Eco | Depolymerisation | SE announces plans for a commercial scale, 20,000 t/a capacity facility near Melbourne in Victoria, scheduled to be operational from 2024. |
| 2023 | Agilyx ASA, INEOS Styrolution America LLC | Pyrolysis | AASA, INEOS start to develop a 100-ton-per-day TruStyrenyx chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois. |
| 2023 | Braskem, Nexus Circular | Pyrolysis | Braskem, Nexus Circular sign a 10-year definitive commercial agreement for the supply of circular feedstocks. A new chemical recycling facility will be built with an initial capacity to convert over 30,000 metric tons annually. The aim is to expand this capacity in the short term to over 120,000 metric tons a year. Braskem will have exclusive rights to the production output from the new facility, which will be used for the production of its certified circular PP resins. |
| 2023 | Borealis | Pyrolysis | Borealis acquires a majority shareholding in Renasci (Belgium). |
| 2022 | KBR, GS Caltex | Hydro-cracking | KBR wins a contact from South Korea-based GS Caltex for a 50,000 t/y liquid product plant using hydro-PRT technology. |
| 2022 | Futerro | Depolymerisation, solvent-based recycling | Futerro announces plans to establish Europe's first vertically integrated biorefinery for the production and recycling of polylactic acid (PLA) in Normandy, France, by 2026. The facility will deploy Futerro's proprietary chemical recycling technology, called Loopla. |
| 2022 | Itero Technologies | Pyrolysis | IT receives funding for pyrolysis demonstration plant at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus Geleen, the Netherlands. Capacity: 27,000 t/a; operational in 2023. |
| 2022 | Michelin Group, Pyrowave | Depolymerisation | Pyrowave technology successfully passes MG's quality tests with the first 99.8% pure recycled styrene monomer produced from polystyrene waste. |
| 2022 | Vitol, Waste Plastic Upcycling | Pyrolysis | Swiss-based energy trading company Vitol invests in Danish chemical recycler WPU, acquiring around 9.4% of its shares. |
| 2022 | Encina | Pyrolysis | Encina announces plans to invest $1.1 billion to build a new chemical recycling facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The unit is expected to process 450,000 tons of post-consumer plastic waste, with construction set to begin in fall 2022, and operations to begin in fall 2024. |
| 2022 | Braskem, Nexus Circular | Pyrolysis | Brazil-based Braskem makes a stategic investment in Nexus Circular. The Atlanta-based chemical recycler converts certain plastics — high and low density polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene — through pyrolysis to feedstock that can be used to then create new plastics and fuel. |
| 2022 | Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | PE plans a second chemical recycling plant in Seville, Spain, with an annual capacity to process and convert 33,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic. The output will be converted by TotalEnergies into virgin-quality polymers. The plant is expected to become operational in 2025. |
| 2022 | Carbios, Indorama Ventures | Depolymerisation | Carbios and Indorama explore collaboration to build and operate in France the world's first industrial-scale enzymatic PET bio-recycling plant, with an annual processing capacity of 50,000 t/a of post-consumer PET waste. |
| 2022 | LG Chem | Hydro-cracking | LG Chem purchases a licence from and invests in Mura Technology. |
| 2022 | Dow, Mura Technology | Pyrolysis | Dow and MT partner to build an advanced recycling facility in Böhlen, Germany. Projected to be operational by 2025, it will deliver about 120,000 t/a of advanced recycling capacity at full run rate. |
| 2022 | Plastic Energy, SKGC | Pyrolysis | PE and SKGC sign a third-party licence agreement for a recycling plant in Ulsan, South Korea, with a processing capacity of 66,000 t/a. A second plant is being considered in Gyeonggi province. |
| 2022 | Honeywell, Avangard | Pyrolysis | Honeywell and Avangard form a joint venture to build a 30,000 t/a plant in Texas. Avangard will be the first to operate a plant using Honeywell's UpCycle Process technology in the US. Honeywell also signs MOU with Environ Adapt in Egypt, to explore the deployment of its technology in the region. |
| 2022 | ExxonMobil, PT Indomobil Prima Energi, Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | ExxonMobil, IPE, and PE sign a MOU to assess the potential for large-scale implementation - 100,000 t/a - of advanced plastic recycling technology in Indonesia, with the first phase starting in 2025. |
| 2022 | LyondellBasell | Pyrolysis | LyondellBasell decides to move forward with engineering for an advanced recycling plant based on its MoReTec technology at its Wesseling, Germany, site. The final investment decision is targeted for the end of 2023. |
| 2022 | Clariter, BioBTX, Bollegraaf, N+P | Pyrolysis | Companies announce plans for 350,000 t/a sorting and chemical recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The project is expected to come online by 2025. |
| 2022 | INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe, Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | Companies sign MOU for the construction of a new plant for the production of 100,000 t/a of TACOIL from plastic waste. |
| 2022 | Samsara Eco | Depolymerisation | SE builds its precommercial facility in Victoria, Australia, based on its proprietary enzymatic recycling technology. |
| 2022 | ExxonMobil | Pyrolysis | ExxonMobil starts up its Baytown, Texas facility, capable of processing 40,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. Announces plans for up to 50,000 tonnes per year of chemical recycling capacity to be added by year-end 2026 across multiple sites globally, including in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Canada, the Netherlands, and Singapore. |
| 2022 | SynCycle | Pyrolysis | SynCycle starts construction of its first industrial plant in Austria, with an output of 7,000 t/a. |
| 2022 | APK, Clariant | Solvent-based recycling | APK acquires Clariant's multi-purpose pilot plant in Frankfurt, expands R&D capacity. |
| 2022 | Indaver | Depolymerisation | Indaver starts construction on industrial scale Plastics2Chemicals facility in Antwerp that will ultimately recycling around 65,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastics. Start-up is early 2024 with an initial capacity of 26,000 tonnes. The plant will run at full capacity from 2027 onwards. |
| 2022 | Eastman | Depolymerisation | Eastman announces plans to build world's largest molecular recycling plant in Normandy, France. The plant will process 160,000 t/a of polyester waste. |
| 2021 | PureCycle, SK Chemicals, Mitsui & Co | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle signs MOU with SK Chemicals to explore construction of a PP recycling plant in South Korea; in August, one month later, signs MOU with Mitsui & Co to jointly develop a recycled PP resin production project in Japan. |
| 2021 | Six Pines Investments | Hydro-cracking | SPI acquires a stake in Mura Technologies and Nexus Circular. |
| 2021 | Plastic Energy, TotalEnergies | Pyrolysis | PE and TE enter into a partnership for a recycling plant in Texas, with a capacity of 33,000 t/a. The output will be converted by TE in its Texas-based production units. |
| 2021 | Dow, Fuenix Ecogy Group | Pyrolysis | Dow, FEG agree to scale circular plastics production with the construction of a second plant in Weert, the Netherlands, with a capacity of 20,000 t/a. |
| 2021 | Borealis | Pyrolysis | Borealis enters into a partnership with Renasci N.V. It also launches a feasibility study for building a chemical recycling unit in Stenungsund, Sweden. Operations are projected to begin in 2024. |
| 2021 | Dow, Mura Technology | Hydro-cracking | Dow and MT announce partnership. |
| 2021 | BASF, Quantafuel, REMONDIS | Pyrolysis | Companies sign MOU to evaluate a joint investment into a pyrolysis plant for plastic waste. |
| 2021 | Nestle, Ravago | Pyrolysis | Nestle and Ravago announce plans to build a 55,000 t/a plant in North Sea Port in Vissingen, the Netherlands; Alterra Energy will provide the technology. |
| 2021 | GreenMantra | Depolymerisation | GreenMantra receive a C$300,000 ($242,000) grant from the Canadian government to develop a system to recycle personal protective equipment and reduce waste from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will use its proprietary chemical recycling technology to heat the material in the presence of a catalyst to produce waxes and speciality polymers. |
| 2021 | Greenback Recycling Technologies | Pyrolysis | GRT announces a project partnership with Nestle Mexico to build the first recycling plant in the country based on Enval's microwave-induced pyrolysis technology. |
| 2021 | Itero Technologies | Pyrolysis | IT, which operates a pilot plant with 5,500 t/a capacity decides to build a single-module 27,000 t/a demonstration facility at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands. It is expected to come online in 2024. |
| 2021 | OMV | Pyrolysis | OMV makes final investment decision to build a prototype of a ReOil demonstration plant with a processing capacity of up to 2,000 kg/h and 16 kt/a. The ISCC+ plant will be fully operational in 2023. |
| 2021 | BDI-BioEnergy International, Next Generation Grouip | Pyrolysis | Companies found SynCycle. |
| 2021 | Honeywell | Pyrolysis | Honeywell introduces its Upcycle Process Technology based on pyrolysis. The first to deploy the process is Spain's Sacyr. A joint venture by the two companies will establish and operate a plastic waste recycling plant in Andalucia, based on the UpCycle process technology, with capacity to convert 30,000 t/a of mixed waste plastics. Production is expected to begin in 2023. |
| 2021 | PureCycle | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle to build its first U.S. cluster facility, boasting three lines, each with a capacity of 59,000 t/a in Augusta. |
| 2021 | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation | Hydro-cracking | MCC signs licencing agreement with Mura Technology and KBR; announces plans to develop its first HydroPRS project in Japan. |
| 2021 | TotalEnergies Corblon | Depolymerisation | TEC announces the commercial availability of the world's first chemically recycled PLA, produced at its plant in Thailand. |
| 2021 | KBR | Hydro-cracking | KBR enters into an alliance to become Mura Technology's exclusive licensing partner for the hydrothermal liquefaction technology (hydro-PRT). Mura builds, owns, and will operate its own plants with the technology but any third part can lincense the technology via KBR. |
| 2021 | Agilyx | Pyrolysis | Agilyx launches Cyclyx International, a joint venture with ExxonMobil, as an innovative consortium-based plastic feedstock management company. |
| 2020 | Jeplan, IFPEN, Axens | Depolymerisation | The companies sign a joint development and commercialisation agreement in order to develop, demonstrate and commercialise a glycolysis-based PET monomer recycling process called Rewind PET for all types of waste PET-based materials, including bottles, films, trays or textile (polyester). The partners plan to start their technology licence business by the end of 2022. |
| 2020 | LyondellBasell | Pyrolysis | LyondellBasell successfully commissions its MoReTec molecular recycling facility in Ferrara, Italy. Capacity: 5-10 kg/h household plastic waste. |
| 2020 | PureCycle | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle commences construction of first 47,000 t/a flagship plant in Ironton, Ohio. |
| 2020 | INEOS, Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | INEOS and PE announce plans to build new facility. |
| 2020 | Michelin Group, Pyrowave | Depolymerisation | MG and Pyrowave join forces to accelerate time-to-market for Pyrowave's innovative plastic waste recycling technology. |
| 2020 | TotalEnergies, Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | TE and PE to build a plastic waste conversion facility with a capacity of 15,000 t/a at the TotalEnergies Grandpuilts zero-crude platform in France. Projected date for operation: 2024. |
| 2020 | Samsara Eco | Depolymerisation | Founding of Samsara Eco. |
| 2020 | Carbios, Technipfmc | Depolymerisation | Carbios and Technipfmc announce that constructions of a demonstration plant based on Carbio's enzymatic depolymerisation technology will commence this year. |
| 2020 | BASF | Pyrolysis | BASF FE invests €16 million into Pyrum Innovations AG, signs pyrolysis oil offtake agreement, in support of ChemCycling project. |
| 2019 | SABIC | Pyrolysis | SABIC'S ISCC+ certified circular polymers, made from Plastic Energy's TACOIL from post-consumer plastic waste, were launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos. |
| 2019 | Fuenix Ecogy | Pyrolysis | FE enters agreement with Dow to supply pyrolysis oil for polymer production in Terneuzen. |
| 2019 | Eastman | Depolymerisation | Eastman commercialises at scale and across industries materials made out of its chemical recycling technologies. |
| 2019 | PureCycle | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle successfully produces the first batch of ultra-pure recycled PP from waste carpet from their Feedstock Evaluation Unit. |
| 2019 | BASF | Pyrolysis | BASF invests €20 million into Quantafuel and has the right to first refusal to all pyrolysis oil and hydrocarbons produced at the Skive plant for a minimum of four years after the start up of that plant. |
| 2019 | Chemical Recycling Europe | CRE is established, creating an industrial platform for developing promising innovative chemical recycling technologies for polymer waste across Europe. | |
| 2018 | Jeplan | Depolymerisation | Jeplan starts a 2,000 t/a demonstration plant called Kitakyushu Hibikinada Plant (KHP) in Japan for textile-to-textile recycling. The KHP process uses polyester textile feedstock collected by their own textile collection, sorting and separation programme, BRING. |
| 2018 | Clariter | Pyrolysis | Clariter builds demo plant in South Africa, capable of producing 1,000 t/a. |
| 2018 | Greenback Recycling Technologies | Pyrolysis | GRT aims to establish a decentralised network of collection and recycling plants near sources of post-consumer plastic waste worldwide. The modular 2.5 kt/a pyrolysis units will be scalable and quick to commission. |
| 2018 | Plastic Energy, SABIC | Pyrolysis | PE and SABIC sign MOU for the supply of feedstock to support SABIC's petrochemical operations in Europe. The companies will build a first commercial plant in the Netherlands based on PE's patented process to refine and upgrade the TACOIL produced via the technology. The project will be realised as a 50/50 joint venture. |
| 2018 | APK, MOL | Solvent-based recycling | APK signs agreement with MOL, takes newcycling line into operation that recycles multilayer PE/PA6 packaging into its Mersalen PE pellets and PA recyclate (Mersamid). |
| 2018 | Jeplan | Depolymerisation | Japan-based Jeplan acquires Pet Refine Technology, a PET bottle depolymerisation technology business and one of the first PET chemical recycling facilities in the world operating on a commercial scale. |
| 2018 | LyondellBasell | Pyrolysis | LyondellBasell collaborates with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on molecular recycling technology; proves efficiency of the MoReTec technology at laboratory scale. |
| 2018 | Quantafuel | Pyrolysis | Quantafuel announces plans for a pyrolysis and purification plant with a nameplate capacity of 16,000 t/a in Skive, Denmark that is targeted to go into operation in Q4 2019. |
| 2018 | OMV | Pyrolysis | OMV starts next-level test facility. This ISCC+ certified ReOil 100 pilot plant commences fully refinery-integrated operation with a processing capacity of up to 100 kg per hour and a production capacity of up to 100 l of synthetic crude/h. |
| 2018 | Agilyx | Pyrolysis | Agilyx forms Regenyx, a 50-50 joint venture with AmSty and the first commercial-scale close-loop chemical recycling process for polystyrene in the world, recycling up to 10 tons per day. |
| 2017 | Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | Plastic Energy takes its second plant into operation in Seville, Spain. |
| 2017 | Indaver | Depolymerisation | Indaver tests its molecular recycling technology in a pilot unit in collaboration with the University of Ghent. |
| 2016 | Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | Plastic Energy's first commercial recycling plant in Almeria, Spain begins operations. |
| 2016 | Mura Technology | Hydro-cracking | MT is established. Acquires exclusive technology licence rights for Licella's Cat-HTR technology outside of Australia and New Zealnad; a hydrothermal treatment that combines high heat and dissolution of heat, melt and then dissolve in steam the mixed plastic feedstocks under supercritical conditions. |
| 2016 | Quantafuel | Pyrolysis | Quantafuel opens pilot plant. |
| 2015 | Pyrum | Pyrolysis | Pyrum builds industrial scale plant to recycle tyres. |
| 2015 | Repsol | Pyrolysis | Repsol becomes the first company to reintroduce oil derived from the chemical recycling of plastic waste not suited for conventional mechanical recycling on an industrial scale at its Puertollano industrial complex. |
| 2015 | PureCycle | Solvent-based recycling | PureCycle is founded. |
| 2014 | Pyrowave | Depolymerisation | Pyrowave is founded. It has developed and patented an innovative technology for depolymerising polystyrene using microwaves that is powered by electricity. |
| 2014 | Alterra Energy | Pyrolysis | Alterra Energy builds its first commercial unit. |
| 2013 | OMV | Pyrolysis | OMV starts up the first test facility at the Schwechat refinery, with a capacity of 5 kg waste plastics/h. |
| 2013 | Fuenix Ecogy | Pyrolysis | FE founded in Weert, the Netherlands. |
| 2011 | OMV | Pyrolysis | OMV starts exploring the potential of used plastics. |
| 2011 | Carbios | Depolymerisation | Carbios formed by Truffle Capital. |
| 2011 | Plastic Energy | Pyrolysis | PE founded by Carlos Monreal. |
| 2011 | APK | Solvent-based recycling | APK starts mechanical-physical processing of waste. |
| 2010 | Itero Technologies | Pyrolysis | IT establishes feedstock and product testing R&D facility near Heathrow, London. |
| 2009 | Alterra Energy | Pyrolysis | AE develops a continuous liquefaction technology; builds a pilot plant and achieves proof of concept. |
| 2008 | APK | Solvent-based recycling | APK is founded; builds a pilot plant in Merseburg, Germany. |
| 2008 | Pyrum Innovations | Pyrolysis | PI is founded; initial focus is on rubber and tyre recycling. Commences construction pilot plant. |
| 2007 | Licella Technology Development | Pyrolysis | LTD commissions its first-generation Cat-HTR small pilot plant. |
| 2006 | Clariter | Pyrolysis | Clariter establishes R&D pilot plant in Gliwice, Poland. |
| 2004 | Agilyx | Pyrolysis | Agilyx founded as Plas2Fuel. |
| 2003 | Clariter | Pyrolysis | Ran Sharon founds Clariter, becomes one of the first to understand the value of plastic waste. |
| 1950s | Pyrolysis | Waste recycling based on pyrolysis technology first emerged midway through the twentieth century and was mainly seen in Japan, some European countries, and North America. At that time, the technology was used to produce liquid pyrolysis fuel. Today it is one of the main plastic waste-to-chemicals recycling technologies being invested in. | |
Chemical Recycling is defined as any reprocessing technology that directly affects either the formulation of the polymeric waste or the polymer itself and converts them into chemical substances and/or products whether for the original or other purposes, excluding energy recovery. There are different chemical recycling technologies, e.g. pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-cracking, and depolymerisation.
Plastic waste used in chemical recycling are those streams that are currently not recycled mechanically – for technical or economic reasons – and which would otherwise end up in waste-to-energy, incineration, or landfills, or worse still as plastic pollution in the environment. In this sense, chemical recycling is complementing mechanical recycling efforts by increasing the recycling rates. Each chemical recycling technology can treat specific feedstock and therefore offer a complementary model to support a circular economy for all plastics.
· Deploymerisation mostly focuses on monostreams independently sorted by plastic types: PET (including fibers), PA, PU, PMMA and PLA.
· Pyrolysis and hydrothermal upgrading mostly focus on mixed polymers (including multilayers, multi-materials within controlled limits): LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS.
· Gasification mostly focuses on mixed polymers.
Source: Chemical Recycling Europe