Beyond Mechanical Recycling: Giving New Life to Plastic Waste.

ABSTRACT: Increasing the stream of recycled plastic necessitates an approach beyond the traditional recycling via melting and re-extrusion. Various chemical recycling processes have great potential to enhance recycling rates. In this Review, a summary of the various chemical recycling routes and assessment via life-cycle analysis is complemented by an extensive list of processes developed by companies active in chemical recycling. We show that each of the currently available processes is applicable for specific plastic waste streams. Thus, only a combination of different technologies can address the plastic waste problem. Research should focus on more realistic, more contaminated and mixed waste streams, while collection and sorting infrastructure will need to be improved, that is, by stricter regul

SUBMITTER: Vollmer I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7497176 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature