Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have created a system to allow circular plastics use. This team tested chemical recovery by steam cracking plastic. It presented an economical method of turning recycled plastic back to its original quality. This process can be used in existing petrochemical facilities. Henrik Thunman is Professor of Energy Technology, and the co-first author. He said that plastic can be a wonderful material that allows us to create products we couldn’t imagine. It is so cheap to make new plastics from fossil fuels and oil than it was from recycling plastic waste. A system which connects all carbon-based materials, both biogenic and fossil. They were able turn 200 kilograms of plastic waste per hour into useful gas that could be used in the manufacture of new plastics. We were able to show the method on a scale that can turn 200 kilograms of plastic waste per hour by using the correct temperature, heating rate, and residence time. Henrik Thunman said that this can be used to make new virgin plastic materials at the molecular levels. Henrik Thunman, Head of the Division of Energy Technology in the Department of Space, Earth and Environment. Plastic is suitable for circular use because it does not break down. The current recycling model of plastic is based on a waste hierarchy. This means that the material gets degraded repeatedly before being used for energy recovery. Instead of focusing on this, we focused our efforts on extracting carbon atoms of collected plastic, and then using these to make new plastic of originality – that’s, to go back to the top waste hierarchy creating true circularity. The team is now working to improve their understanding. We are moving beyond the initial trials that demonstrated the feasibility of this process to more in-depth understanding. These insights are necessary to increase the production of the plastic from just a handful of tonnes per day to hundreds of thousands. Thunman said that this is the moment it becomes economically interesting. Journal Citation “Circular use of plastics-transformation of existing petrochemical clusters into thermochemical recycling plants with 100% plastics recovery” Henrik Thunman, Teresa Berdugo Vilches, Martin Seemann, Jelena Maric, Isabel Canete Vela, Sebastien Pissot and Huong N.T. Nguyen 26 July 2019 Sustainable Materials and Technologies DOI: 10.1016/j.susmat. 2019.e00124
