INNOVATION | CHEMICAL RECYCLING
Right: Covestro says it invests in chemical recycling
technology as a promising way of using waste to recover raw materials for production
we have significantly increased our investment in this site to optimise and expand its capabilities. These enhancements are vital, as Skive serves both as a model for future projects and as a crucial testbed for refining the technologies that will drive our scaling efforts across the industry.” According to Hodder, the right legislation is key
if chemical recycling is to advance further. “Policy creates and drives this market; both in terms of material supply and material demand. To increase recycling, both new and existing technologies must be advanced. Supportive policy frameworks underpin this effort. Clear regulations and stable policy signals are essential to unlock research and investment, as well as to underpin the necessary infrastructure. To achieve the best outcomes, we need investors, industry experts, and NGOs to engage constructively in policy design. Building a truly circular economy, after decades of a wasteful one, will take time and require continuous support and collaboration. Through these partnerships, we [can] transform waste management practices, enhance recycling capabilities, minimise environ- mental impacts, and build a sustainable model that benefits all stakeholders. Together, we are not just managing waste; we are transforming it into a resource.” Film manufacturer Suedpack has acquired a majority stake in German company Carboliq, developer of a process that combines thermal, catalytic, and mechanical-chemical mechanisms. The films company says projects it has undertaken have already succeeded in converting multilayer films and contaminated material not suitable for mechanical recycling into oil which was then used in the production of new plastics. “Our pilot plant has been in continuous
operation for years and meets a degree of maturity that complies with Technology
Above: Maelenn Ravard, Regulatory and Sustainability Manager at TotalEnergies Corbion, which has developed a PLA recycling process
Readiness Level 8,” said Christian Haupts, founder of Carboliq. “Based on the results of test campaigns, we are adapting the process and developing solutions for integration into our customers’ value chains.” He said Carboliq also offers a way of closing the loop in other sectors where products generally consist of mixed or non-recyclable plastics, for example in the automotive industry.
PLA and PET
In a development which could pave the way for others to follow, in January, TotalEnergies Corbion published the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for recycled Luminy PLA which concluded that the chemical recycling of PLA as a production process
28 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2024
has a lower environmental impact compared to production from virgin feedstock. Maelenn Ravard, Regulatory and Sustainability Manager at TotalEn- ergies Corbion, said: “Depolymerising PLA via hydrolysis is an energy-efficient process allowing us to close the loop and increase circularity for a bio-based material. The LCA results only confirm this statement.” Last October, Indian PET bottle recycler Reva-
lyu, which claims to have recycled over 6bn bottles in its home country, broke ground on its first facility in the US in Statesboro, Georgia, where it is planning to invest over $200m. The plant is capable of recycling 90,000 tonnes/yr of post-con- sumer PET using a process based on glycolysis which uses less water and energy. Construction is expected to be completed in Q3 2025. Vivek Tandon, Founder of Revalyu, said: “Used PET plastic can now be efficiently, profitably, and easily recycled again and again without degradation of quality. In the years to come, less and less PET will be manufactured from oil as it is replaced by high quality recycled material.” In June,Covestro announced it had become a
shareholder in Groningen-based technology developer BioBTX with a multi-million euro invest- ment. Covestro has been co-operating with BioBTX for more than four years, working on the recycling of rigid polyurethane foam using pyrolysis in the EU-funded Circular Foam project. With its new investment, Covestro will help facilitate the construc- tion of a demonstration facility for BioBTX ICCP- Technology at the PETRA Circular Chemicals Plant in Delfzijl, Netherlands. The technology in question makes it possible to produce chemicals such as benzene, toluene, and xylene from organic sources and mixed plastic waste. These aromatic products are essential building blocks for the chemical industry and are widely used in plastics production.
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www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
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