Spain – Life Ecomethylal Project, coordinated by Alimplas, has resulted in the building of a chemical recycling plant that converts one kilo of non-recyclable waste into half a kilo of methylal.
Methylal is a substance that can be used as a solvent and as a raw material to produce new plastics.
Chemical recycling is a collection of thermal, chemical, and biological processes that work in tandem with mechanical recycling to achieve the circular economy’s lofty goal of zero waste. The catalytic hydro-gasification plasma (CHGP) process is one type of thermal cracking used in chemical recycling. It can be used to recover a form of plastic waste that was previously destined for landfills and is now being used as solvents and raw materials in the manufacture of new polymers. Waste from the automotive, electrical and electronic, and packaging industries is particularly well-suited to the procedure.
Multiple companies collaboration
The Autonomous Community of Valencia firms BPP, ACTECO, and AIRESA, as well as the Croatian company MI-PLAST, were involved in the project. At the pilot plant level, BPP was in charge of establishing chemical recycling utilizing the CHGP method. The project’s outcome is a small modular pilot plant that has been operational in three locations since late 2019: Castelló and Ibi in Spain, and Rijeka in Croatia.
The new pilot plant’s benefits include being transportable and modular, being easy to move and build, and being adaptable to various types of waste. During the project’s development, these traits were proven, as was the fact that processing of waste with mechanical recycling helped create the best outcomes.
