Compared to traditional plastic recycling methods, plastic pyrolysis recycling offers significant advantages.
Traditional mechanical recycling primarily relies on physical methods such as crushing, washing, and melting. Plastic recycling plants then reprocess the plastic into plastic products. However, this method has high requirements for the type and purity of plastics, making it difficult to process mixed plastics. Furthermore, the recycling process can degrade the plastic’s properties, limiting the quality and uses of recycled plastic products.
Pyrolysis recycling is unaffected by plastic type and impurities. It can process a variety of difficult-to-recycle mixed plastics, composite materials, and contaminated plastics, broadening the scope of plastic recycling. Furthermore, pyrolysis recycling can convert plastics into basic chemical raw materials, returning them to the raw material source of plastic production. Plastic pyrolysis recycling truly achieves resource recycling, rather than simply changing the physical form of plastics as in traditional recycling. This is crucial for alleviating resource shortages and reducing dependence on virgin plastics.
Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Technology for Chemical Recycling
Plastic pyrolysis technology involves breaking down plastics into small molecular compounds at high temperatures in an oxygen-free or low-oxygen environment. Under high temperatures, the plastic’s molecular chains break down, triggering a series of complex thermochemical reactions, such as cracking, dehydrogenation, cyclization, and condensation. Ultimately, the waste plastic is converted into gaseous, liquid, and solid products.
These plastic pyrolysis products have a wide range of applications. Gaseous products primarily include combustible gases such as hydrogen, methane, ethylene, and propylene, which can be used as fuels or chemical feedstocks. Liquid products are typically pyrolysis oil, rich in aromatics. After refining in pyrolysis oil distillation plant, pyrolysis oil can be used as a high-quality fuel. Solid products, primarily carbon black, can be used in the rubber industry, ink manufacturing, and other fields.
Plastic Pyrolysis Recycling Plant
In recent years, with the growing problem of plastic pollution, global attention to plastic pyrolysis technology has continued to grow, and the number of plastic pyrolysis recycling plants has also been gradually increasing. Hundreds of plastic pyrolysis recycling plants have been built or are under construction worldwide, and the number is showing a steady growth.
As a major industrial power in Europe, Germany has long been a leader in plastic pyrolysis technology. A pyrolysis recycling plant in Germany uses advanced catalytic pyrolysis technology and has an annual processing capacity of tens of thousands of tons of plastic waste.
In the Netherlands, the government actively promotes sustainable development and strongly supports the plastic pyrolysis recycling industry. Many pyrolysis recycling plants use advanced plasma plastic pyrolysis technology, which improves pyrolysis efficiency and product quality while reducing environmental impact.
In the United States, plastic pyrolysis plants achieve efficient recovery and utilization of pyrolysis products through large-scale industrial production. The pyrolysis oil produced by pyrolysis is further refined and used as fuel in the energy sector. Carbon black is processed and used in the production of rubber products, improving their performance and quality.
China pyrolysis recycling plants utilize independently developed new pyrolysis reactors and processes to efficiently process plastic waste.
In South America, countries like Brazil are beginning to address the issue of plastic pollution. They are gradually building plastic pyrolysis recycling plants to address the growing challenge of plastic waste.
In Africa, some economically developed countries, such as South Africa, are also experimenting with introducing plastic pyrolysis technology to promote the development of the local plastic recycling industry.
