Chemical Recycling Key to Plastics Circularity but Confronts Complex Challenges

November 1, 2024 | By Scott Jenkins, Chemical Engineering Magazine

Chemical recycling has become essential in the pursuit of plastics circularity, helping to address the escalating plastic waste crisis. Unlike mechanical recycling, which grinds and remelts plastics but suffers limitations due to contamination and degradation, chemical recycling breaks down plastics at the molecular level, restoring them to base materials that are nearly identical to petroleum-derived inputs. However, this technology still faces substantial challenges, from high costs to complex feedstock needs and regulatory uncertainties, which complicate its widespread adoption.

Chemical recycling is expected to work alongside mechanical recycling, with each approach suited to different types of plastic waste. While mechanical recycling remains a cost-effective solution for pure, uncontaminated streams, it cannot be applied indefinitely, due to structural weakening after multiple cycles. In contrast, chemical recycling can process a broader range of materials, including those that are mixed or degraded, and produce outputs fit for repeated use in various applications. 

According to IDTechEx analyst James Kennedy, despite the obstacles, the chemical recycling industry is likely to see significant growth over the next decade, although it will require strategic investments and regulatory support to reach its full potential.

The Economic Viability of Chemical Recycling

The key barrier for chemical recycling lies in economic feasibility. Technologies fall into four primary types—pyrolysis, solvolysis, thermochemical processing, and dissolution—each of which presents unique opportunities and financial challenges. High operational costs remain a major hurdle.

Marcian Lee, an analyst at Lux Research, states, “The key issue right now is the cost of the technology. Chemical recycling companies need to ensure a return on investment.”

Lee highlights that consumers often claim they’re willing to pay a “green premium” for products made with recycled materials, but this enthusiasm often doesn’t translate into actual purchases. Currently, chemically recycled PET is estimated to cost two to three times more than virgin, petroleum-based plastic. Mechanical recycling typically demands a 30% premium, which is closer to what most companies are willing to pay.

Lee also notes, “Achieving a circular economy for plastics through recycling alone is challenging in a free-market scenario. Regulatory mandates for the use of recycled materials may be essential to drive industry adoption.” Chemical manufacturers are hopeful that clear legislative guidance will soon emerge, as regulatory policy will significantly impact the future of chemical recycling.

The Role of Pyrolysis in Scaling Chemical Recycling

Pyrolysis, which heats plastics in an oxygen-free environment to yield naphtha-like oil, represents the most widely adopted chemical recycling technology by major oil companies like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. Pyrolysis oil can integrate directly into existing petrochemical processing facilities, offering a path for recycling plastics into fuel and new materials. Investments from the oil-and-gas sector reflect pyrolysis’s potential for large-scale waste processing, though efficiency and cost optimization remain crucial for broader deployment.

As the industry advances, chemical recycling is set to play an integral role in a sustainable plastics economy, with regulations, cost reductions, and technological innovations acting as critical enablers for its success.