chemical recycling of plastics - nontox...
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Chemicalrecycling of plasticsMuhammad Saad QureshiAnja Oasmaa
22.04.2020
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Questions I expect to answer from thispresentation Q1. From the packaging point of view, how chemical recycling will change
the recycling of plastic in the future? Q2. Is it more eco friendly than the recycling of plastics at the moment?
How? Q3. What advantages this new method has? Q4. How does this chemical recycled end material differ from the
“traditionally” recycled plastics? Q5. How does the end material (granulates?) differ from each other
between these two methods?
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Plastic waste management has many fronts…
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• At VTT we are aware of the challengesinvolved in this problem.
• We believe that for true circular economy,the whole plastic recycling value chain needs active research and innovative solutions
Wastestatistics
Design for recyclabilityEOL
Pre-treatment
Complexity of waste
Recyclingtechnology
Upgrading StandardisationProducts
Legis-lations Markets
Contents About VTT Current state of plastic packaging recycling Definitions Technologies in perspective Kinds of plastic waste – what goes where Chemical recycling techniques Plastic recycling main bottlenecks What makes chemical recycling attractive? Is chemical recycling eco-friendly? Some VTT example projects
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Global flows of plastic packaging material - 2013
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017
7Pohjakallio, Vuorinen, VTT 2018
Collection and possible pretreatment
Mechanical recycling
RECYCLED PLASTIC
Monomers, chemicals, fuels
Biological & bio-tech recycling
CO2, H2O, CH4; variety of small molecules
Composting,(anaerobic)
fermentation
High-techbio-
technology
Chemical recycling
Thermochemical recycling
LiquefactionGasification
MonomersPolymers
Other chemicalrecycling
De-polymerization
Leaching
Syngas Pyrolysis oil
Litter from natureIndustrial wasteMunicipal waste
Granulation
Valorization, compounding
Compounding, granulation
VTT plastic recycling platforms
Definition
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Chemical, or feedstock, recycling is a general term used to describe innovative technologies where post-consumer plastic waste is converted into valuable chemicals, to be used as feedstock by the chemical industry. These technologies include pyrolysis, gasification, chemical depolymerization, catalytic cracking & reforming, and hydrogenation. With chemical recycling plastic waste is converted into feedstock, i.e. monomers, oligomers and higher hydrocarbons that can be used to produce virgin-like polymers to create new plastic articles –Plastic recyclers Europe
Chemical recycling means chemically or thermochemically processing waste plastic into raw material for the chemical industry. Chemical recycling can complement mechanical recycling by utilizing waste plastic streams that currently have no or low value in recycling. - NESTE
Chemical recycling can be divided into three different categories depending on the level of decomposition that the plastic waste will be subject to
1. Solvent based purification = plastics to plastics2. Chemical depolymerization = plastics to monomers via chemical reaction3. Thermal depolymerization = plastics to monomers via thermal degradation – Zero Waste Europe
Putting technologies in perspective
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El dorado of chemical recycling – Zero Waste Europe 2019
Know your plastic waste!
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ChemicalRecyclingTechniques
Solvent based purification Based on the solubility of the polymer in
the certain type of solvent The solvent dissolves the polymer and
the impurities are removed Near virgin quality polymers recovered
as precipitates Strict upstream sorting system Only homogenous plastics are possible Relatively high technical requirements Economic and environmental viability
unclear
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Pilot examples
• CreaSolv (DE)• APK – Newcycling (AUT)• Polystyvert (CAN)• Ineos (DE)• PureCycle (USA)
Chemical depolymerization
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Examples
• IONIQA (NL) - glycolysis• GARBO (IT) - glycolysis• LOOP (USA)– methanolysis• Sopraloop R&D (FR) – MC+CH• GR3N (SZ) – hydrolysis• IFPEN Axens (FR) – glycolysis• RAMPF Eco – glycolysis of PU
Described as the exact reverse of polymerization Polymers are converted back to monomers,
oligomers with the help of solvent and heat Solvent breaks the bond
• Hydrolysis = water as solvent• Alcoholysis = alcohol as solvent• Aminolysis = amines as solvent
Suitable for condensation polymers for example PET, PA, PU, PLA, PHA, PC
Strict upstream sorting system Only homogenous plastics are possible Environmental LCA unclear Economic viability unclear
Bis-HydroxyEthyl-Terephthalate (BHET)
Ethylene Glycol (EG) and DiMethyl Terephthalate (DMT)
Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Terephthalic Acid (TPA)
Thermochemical conversionPyrolysis Thermal degradation of plastics into liquid fuel
components Suitable to end of life non recyclable plastics Valuable hydrocarbons recovered including
monomers for re-polymerization Heterogeneous plastics treated Selectivity and yield can be optimized with the
use of a suitable catalyst Mild pretreatment needed Energy intensive process – process gas recycled Moderately large CAPEX Post treatment might be needed depending
on the contaminants29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 14
Pilot examples
• Agilyx (USA)• Plastic energy (SP)• Recycling technologies (UK)• ResPolyflow (USA)• PHJK (FI)• Nexus (USA)
Thermochemical conversionGasification
Plastic waste is gasified into synthesis gas (CO and H2 – building blocks for chemicals) in the presence of steam or air.
CO and H2 can provide a variety of valuable chemicals
Pretreatment is not needed Heterogeneous waste possible Energy intensive process Gas cleaning necessary High CAPEX required Large infrastructures needed to be profitable
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Pilot examples
• Enerkem (CAN) - MSW• Lahti gasifier• Texaco • Corenso-StoraEnso
Plastic recycling bottlenecks
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Heterogeneous plastic waste
Hazardous substances might be present
Legislations and environmental impacts unclear
Recycled plastic quality low and price uncompetitive to virgin
Unavailability or discrete presence of plastic waste feedstock
Chemical recycling options - summary
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What makes chemical recycling attractive?
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Range of products
Provides source of energy
Eco-friendly fuel
Nearly all plastic waste can be recycled
Environmentally favourable
Chemicals from waste resource
Food good material Easy integrations to existing infra
Optimising collection and sorting Improve the efficiency of
collection, monitoring, sorting
Optimising conversion and post-treatment Improve conversion technologies - effect of
reactor type, modelling/up-scaling Product design
Optimising mechanical recycling Plastic waste not suitable
for mechanical recycling to be processed by pyrolysis
Waste Pretreatment Chemical recycling Upgrading Products
Pretreatment
Products
REJECTS
Mechanical recycling
Chemical recycling is complimentary
Is chemical recycling eco-friendly? Sustainability is context specific, and results are always sensitive to
applied assumptions and data. Using waste plastic as raw material reduces the carbon footprint of
end products and decreases dependency on crude oil. Chemical recycling processes for plastics recycling are still quite new
and existing analysis are led by the industries themselves. A thorough ISO compliant LCA is needed for big capacity chemical
recycling plants. While a lot of research is done for health and safety impacts, a
thorough health and safety impacts assessment is needed for an operational big capacity plants.
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Some exampleprojects at VTT
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EU NONTOX 2019-22 - Removing hazardous compounds from WEEE, ELV and C&D plastics
• Smart sorting• Combination of
intelligent recycling technologies
• Enhanced properties of recycled plastics
Contact: [email protected]
BF BioFlex 2020-23 - Production of sustainable storable liquid fuels for flexiblepower generation and marine transport
29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 23Contact: [email protected]
BF Co-Creation Urban Mill - New urban recycling concept for plastic and fiber waste
29.4.2020 Contact: [email protected]
VTT – beyond the obvious
Plastics in rivers Composites
FuelCatalytic pyrolysis (plastics)
Debris mapping with sensors mounted on
drones
Dedicated sorting
Novel debris collection
method from rivers
Mechanical recycling for
organic fraction
Buisness models
BF – Kelmuvex – New solutions for dischargedplastic waste
Contact: [email protected]
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MoPo – Multitechnological recycling of polystyrene
Contact: [email protected]
Selected publications• Saad Qureshi, M., Oasmaa, A., Pihkola, H., Deviatkin, I., Mannila, J., Tenhunen, A., Minkkinen, H.,
Pohjakallio, M., Laine-Ylijoki, J. Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste: Opportunities and Challenges. JAAP 2020• Lantto, R., Järnefelt, V., Tähtinen, M., Jääskeläinen, A. S., Laine-Ylijoki, J., Oasmaa, A., Sundqvist-Andberg,
H. & Sözer, N., 2019, Going Beyond a Circular Economy: A Vision of a Sustainable Economy in WhichMaterial, Value and Information Are Integrated and Circulate Together. In: Industrial Biotechnology. 15, 1, p. 12-19 8 p.
• Bacher, J., Pihkola, H., Kujanpää, L. & Mroueh, U-M., 2018. Advancing the circular economy through groupdecision-making and stakeholder involvement. In: Detritus: Multidisciplinary Journal for Waste Resources & Residues. 4, p. 22-35
• Oasmaa, A., Laine-Ylijoki, J. & Punkkinen, H., 2016, From organic and plastic waste to products, In: VTT Visions. 2, https://www.vttresearch.com/Impulse/Pages/From-organic-and-plastic-waste-to-products.aspx
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