Plastics are widely used in various fields of the national economy due to their light weight, low manufacturing costs, and strong plasticity. According to statistics, from 2015 to 2023, global plastic production increased from 320 million tons to 430 million tons, and it is expected to triple by 2050, at which point the annual per capita plastic consumption worldwide will reach 84.37 kg.
According to the data released by Plastics Europe in “Plastics – the Fast Facts 2023,” the total global plastic production in 2022 was 400 million tons, with a recycling rate of only 9%. At present, a large amount of low-value plastic waste, such as plastic shopping bags, courier bags, takeout food containers, mulch films, pesticide bottles, fertilizer bags, and various product plastic packaging, is mixed with household waste and either incinerated or landfilled, leading to severe resource wastage and becoming the biggest challenge and pain point in plastic pollution control.
Chemical recycling technology offers a possibility for dealing with complex plastics that are difficult to physically recycle, especially those mixed and heavily contaminated plastic polymers. With the gradual liberalization of policies and continuous technological advancement, chemical recycling shows great potential. Chemical recycling not only provides a solution for low-value waste plastics that are difficult to physically recycle but also produces high-quality chemical raw materials. This offers a new way for the high-value utilization of waste plastics. With continuous technological progress and the advancement of commercialization, chemical recycling is expected to become an important part of the plastic circular economy.
Pyrolysis is the most commonly used method for the chemical recycling of waste plastics. Under certain temperature conditions and in an anoxic or anaerobic environment, the process uses pyrolysis equipment to convert the polymers in plastics into smaller molecules, producing resourceful products. China’s Niutech Environment Technology Corporation has developed, produced, and sold continuous pyrolysis technology and equipment, which have been promoted and applied globally, achieving harmless treatment and resourceful recycling of waste plastics.
The pyrolysis products of waste plastics generally include pyrolysis oil, non-condensable gas, and solid fuel.
I. Application of Pyrolysis Oil
1, Directly Used as Fuel Oil: Because of its high calorific value (≈45MJ), it can be directly used as fuel to provide heat energy.
2, Making Paraffin Products: Due to the high saturated content of pyrolysis oil, it can be used to make paraffin products.
3, Used as Raw Material Oil for Refinery: Through the oil deep processing system, the plastic pyrolysis oil can obtain high value-added gasoline fraction and diesel fraction after catalytic condensation reduction and fractionation, which can be used as new energy to replace crude oil.
4, Used as Raw Material for Plastics: Pyrolysis oil is mainly composed of hydrocarbons, and after processing, it produces naphtha, which is used to produce synthetic resins and re-make plastic products, realizing chemical recycling.
II. Uses of Solid Products
Solid products contain a certain calorific value and can be used as low-grade fuels or as building materials used as filler, infrastructure, etc;
III. Applications of Non-condensable Gas
Depending on the pyrolysis temperature, the production of non-condensable gas can be controlled; these gases can be directly used as fuel for pyrolysis equipment or collected for use as industrial fuels.
Niutech’s technology and equipment have been commercially applied in dozens of countries and regions, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, Estonia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Iraq. Not only have they processed a large amount of waste plastics and addressed pollution issues, but the pyrolysis products have also been applied in high-value ways, creating significant economic value.