Advanced Recycling

Advanced recycling, also known as advanced chemical recycling, refers to techniques that transform post-consumer plastics into raw materials suitable for creating new plastics. This broad term includes various technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, and solvolysis. Unlike traditional mechanical recycling—where plastics like polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are physically converted into products ranging from fibers to park benches—advanced recycling changes the chemical structure of the plastic, enabling it to be utilized in new chemicals or fuels.

Pyrolysis, derived from the Greek word 'pyro' meaning heat, is a method that deconstructs organic materials, such as plastics, without the presence of oxygen. Through advanced plastic recycling, waste plastics can be converted into substances resembling gasoline or heating oil, which the petrochemical industry can further refine into virgin plastic building blocks, chiefly ethylene and propylene, or mix into fuels.

The benefits of advanced chemical recycling through pyrolysis are significant, particularly in reducing the volume of plastics that end up in landfills or other environmental sites. However, challenges such as high energy costs exist. Since not all plastics are amenable to mechanical recycling, advanced chemical recycling offers a viable alternative for the disposal of many types of plastics.