The recycled plastics industry is entering a new era of change

Recently, the recycling plastic industry has been very active and a transformation is taking place. With so much waste plastic generated globally each year, less than 15% of it is actually recycled.

There are mainly two approaches: physical recycling and chemical recycling. Physical recycling involves breaking down and reshaping plastic. This is still the main method, but its drawback is obvious: each time it is recycled, the plastic's performance deteriorates, and high purity of raw materials is required. Many complex waste plastics cannot be processed.

Chemical recycling involves breaking down plastic back to its original form, decomposing it into basic chemical raw materials, and then synthesizing new plastic that is comparable to the original material.

This year, the Japanese Toray Corporation developed a new decomposer that can decompose carbon fiber reinforced plastic at low temperatures. The recycled carbon fiber has a tensile strength of over 95% of the original material, and the carbon emissions during the manufacturing process can be reduced by more than half. The team at East China Normal University in China used visible light catalytic technology to degrade waste polysulfone plastic into high-value chemicals, with a recovery rate of up to 85%.

There is also the project in Jieyang, China, run by Huicheng Environmental Protection, which uses technology to directly convert mixed waste plastics that cannot be processed by traditional methods into basic chemical raw materials such as ethylene and propylene.

Chemical recycling has high barriers, requiring complete technical, human resources, and financial preparations. But precisely because it is difficult, the profit potential is considerable. In the next few years, chemical recycled PET can unlock a market of tens of millions of tons with each ton yielding a profit of 3,500-4,000.

Nowadays, China is vigorously promoting green, low-carbon and circular development. Chemical recycling, as a key direction, has received comprehensive support. In the end, physical recycling serves as the foundation, while chemical recycling opens up the future. One addresses the existing issues, and the other explores new growth opportunities. As technology becomes more mature and costs decrease, the path of chemical recycling will only become wider and wider.