Plastics recycling is experiencing a change of direction: science is illuminating ways to treat mixed unseparated plastic waste, and the industry is beginning to prepare for larger-scale deployment. Far from traditional approaches, these proposals seek to valorize complex fractions with less energy and higher yields.
In parallel, projects that connect the laboratory with the factory and the public policiesAmong them, a nickel catalyst capable of unraveling polyolefins, a one-step method that generates gasoline-type hydrocarbons and a technology of hydrogen plasma Ultra-fast; meanwhile, in Spain, a recovery plant is advancing in Puertollano, and in Chile, the sector's figures are growing strongly.
Technologies that convert waste into raw materials
Researchers at Northwestern (USA) have presented a system based on nickel abundant and inexpensive which breaks down polyolefins (PE and PP) into oils and waxes of value for lubricants, fuels or candles, according to a publication in Nature Chemistry. It operates at lower temperatures and pressures than other processes and, unusually, tolerates PVC contamination: in tests with mixtures with up to 25% PVC, the catalyst was not deactivated and even accelerated its activity. The team notes that it reaches up to ten times more activity than other nickels using ten times less material, and can be regenerated for successive cycles.
In addition, a US-China consortium described in Science a one-step process in which plastics are dissolved with a mixture of ionic liquids and light isoalkanes. room temperature, about 95% becomes C6–C12 hydrocarbons with properties comparable to gasoline, integrable into refining streams. By raising the temperature to 80 °C, the conversion increases to approximately 96%. residual chlorine present in many mixtures is released as usable hydrochloric acid, and the operation avoids intensive cleaning and separations, with a contained energy expenditure.
From South Korea, the KIMM has developed a route through hydrogen plasma capable of reaching 1.000–2.000 °C and breaking down plastics into less than 0,01 seconds. Unlike conventional pyolysis, the system produces high purity ethanol and benzene with reported selectivities of 70% to 90%, and exceeds 80% conversion into hard-to-recycle waxy waste. Feed with 100% hydrogen avoids carbon deposits and improves efficiency, with the option of electrifying with renewables. Although today the chemical recycling represents less than 1% in the country, this route promises to multiply that share and is transferable to other markets.
These lines of work do not replace mechanical recycling, but broaden the range to manage complex flows: multi-layer packaging, dirty fractions or heterogeneous mixtures that today end up underutilized. The industry, for its part, is advancing in closed circuits and solutions for Food grade PET, with developments in molten phase decontamination and high rPET content film.
Industry and regulation: from pilots to implementation
In Spain, the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha has issued a favorable environmental impact statement for polymer recycling and chemical recovery plant that Piroplast Energy is planning in the La Nava industrial estate (Puertollano). The complex will occupy 34.771m² and will combine mechanical recycling and pylolysis to produce recycled fat/pellet, pyrolytic oil and black carbonThe raw material will include non-hazardous agricultural waste (e.g., PE from mulch and greenhouses) and PP from pipes and pipelines, as well as refinery rejects and ABS.
The maximum treatment capacity will be 72 tons daily (approximately 23.760 t/year). The promotion, declared a priority, contemplates an investment of 18,55 millones de euros and the creation and maintenance of 63 jobsAmong the milestones are the first industrial-scale washing and recycling of agricultural mulch in Spain and the pylolysis of plastic waste from the local refinery. The process scheme feeds unsorted waste into a reactor. low-temperature pylolysis, followed by filtering, condensation and distillation to obtain usable fractions with emission control.
At the regional level, Chile shows an expanding market. The latest ASIPLA study estimates a 19% growth in recycling and recovery between 2022 and 2024, until 127.177 tonnes The total recycling rate reached 10,3 %, and of Containers and packaging stood at 13%. By materials, the polyethylene concentrated 62%, polypropylene 20% and PET 14%, with a drop in PET in absolute tonnes of around 33 % compared to 2022.
Installed recycling capacity (pellets and flakes) increased by 30 %, up to 201.547 t/year, driven by new machines and companies attracted by the REP Law and the regulations of single-use plastics. 88% of the recycled material came from sources industrial and commercial, compared to 12% for homes, which fell by 22% to around 14.675 tAmong the destinations for recycled resins are: home (29%), agriculture and fishing (28%) y manufacturing (21%). Barriers such as accessibility to recycling points, trust in the chain and dispersed logistics explain the lower contribution of households, while regulation has boosted demand for recycled resin and, in particular, bottles.
This mosaic of technological advances, industrial projects and regulatory changes paints a clear path: treat complex mixtures with better efficiency, generating circular raw materials, and scaling up with appropriate investments and rules of the game. There are still pending issues, from increasing home recovery to stabilizing the recycled PET market, but the path has been set and the window of opportunity is clear.
