Turning plastic waste into new chemical products
Plastics do have proven benefits during their use phase – for example preservation of food loss in packaging applications, lightweight construction of vehicles, and building insulation. Plastic waste, however, has become a major global challenge. Consequently, there is increasing regulatory pressure regarding recycling targets and recyclability on the one hand and strong commitments of our customers towards increasing the share of recycled material in their offerings on the other hand. Solving these challenges requires innovation and joint efforts globally across the value chain. BASF will contribute to tackling this by developing innovative technologies that promote the recycling of plastics.
A key pillar in this regard is our ChemCycling™ project. In this project on chemical recycling, we are working with partners to further develop the pyrolysis technology which turns plastic waste into a secondary raw material called pyrolysis oil. The oil is fed this into BASF’s Verbund production at the beginning of the value chain, thereby saving fossil resources. Based on the mass balance approach, the share of recycled material is allocated to the product by a third-party audited methodology. The result: Certified products which have the same properties as those manufactured from fossil feedstock. Customers can therefore further process them in the same way as conventionally manufactured products and use them in demanding applications.
As the project focuses on plastic waste for which no high-value recycling processes are established yet, ChemCycling™ is complementary to mechanical recycling. Examples of waste plastics which are difficult to recycle mechanically include mixed plastic waste, plastics with residues or multi-layer food packaging.