Chemical of

Muhammad Saad Qureshi Anja Oasmaa

22.04.2020

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 1 Interdisciplinary Industrial solutions thought developed by leadership 100 teams since 1942

1000+ of research and World class innovation projects research labs incl. Fortune 500 and facilities partners VTT is a visionary research, development and innovation partner. We drive sustainable growth and tackle the Doctoral level biggest global challenges of our time and turn Cutting-edge teams, 80% of them into growth opportunities. We go beyond technologies from employees with the obvious to help the society and companies space to university to grow through technological innovations. VTT microbiology degrees is at the sweet spot where innovation and under one roof business come together. www.vttresearch.com

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 2 Questions I expect to answer from this presentation . Q1. From the packaging point of view, how chemical recycling will change the recycling of in the future? . Q2. Is it more eco friendly than the recycling of plastics at the moment? How? . Q3. What advantages this new method has? . Q4. How does this chemical recycled end material differ from the “traditionally” recycled plastics? . Q5. How does the end material (granulates?) differ from each other between these two methods?

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 3 Plastic waste management has many fronts…

• At VTT we are aware of the challenges Waste Design for EOL statistics recyclability involved in this problem.

• We believe that for true circular economy, Complexity of Pre- Recycling waste treatment technology the whole value chain needs active research and innovative solutions

Products Upgrading Standardisation

Legis- Markets lations

29.4.2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 4 Contents . About VTT . Current state of plastic packaging recycling . Definitions . Technologies in perspective . Kinds of plastic waste – what goes where . Chemical recycling techniques . Plastic recycling main bottlenecks . What makes chemical recycling attractive? . Is chemical recycling eco-friendly? . Some VTT example projects

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 5 Global flows of plastic packaging material - 2013

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017 6 VTT plastic recycling platforms Municipal waste Industrial waste Litter from nature

Collection and possible pretreatment

Mechanical recycling Chemical recycling Biological & bio- tech recycling Valorization, compounding Leaching Thermochemical recycling Composting, High-tech Granulation Other chemical (anaerobic) bio- Gasification Liquefaction fermentation technology recycling

RECYCLED PLASTIC De- Pyrolysis Syngas oil

Compounding, granulation CO2, H2O, CH4; variety of small molecules Monomers, chemicals, fuels Pohjakallio, Vuorinen, VTT 2018 7 Definition Chemical, or feedstock, recycling is a general term used to describe innovative technologies where post-consumer plastic waste is converted into valuable chemicals, to be used as feedstock by the chemical industry. These technologies include pyrolysis, gasification, chemical depolymerization, catalytic cracking & reforming, and hydrogenation. With chemical recycling plastic waste is converted into feedstock, i.e. monomers, oligomers and higher hydrocarbons that can be used to produce virgin-like polymers to create new plastic articles – Plastic recyclers Europe

Chemical recycling means chemically or thermochemically processing waste plastic into raw material for the chemical industry. Chemical recycling can complement mechanical recycling by utilizing waste plastic streams that currently have no or low value in recycling. - NESTE

Chemical recycling can be divided into three different categories depending on the level of decomposition that the plastic waste will be subject to

1. S olvent based purification = plastics to plastics 2. Chemical depolymerization = plastics to monomers via chemicalreac tion 3. = plastics to monomers via thermal degradation – Zero Waste Europe

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 8 Putting technologies in perspective

El dorado of chemical recycling – Zero Waste Europe 2019

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 9 Know your plastic waste!

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.07.044 10 Chemical Recycling Techniques Solvent based purification Pilot examples

. Based on the solubility of the in • CreaSolv (DE) the certain type of solvent • APK – Newcycling (AUT) • Polystyvert (CAN) . The solvent dissolves the polymer and • Ineos (DE) the impurities are removed • PureCycle (USA) . Near virgin quality polymers recovered as precipitates . Strict upstream sorting system . Only homogenous plastics are possible . Relatively high technical requirements . Economic and environmental viability unclear

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 12 Chemical depolymerization Examples

. Described as the exact reverse of polymerization • IONIQA (NL) - glycolysis . Polymers are converted back to monomers, • GARBO (IT) - glycolysis oligomers with the help of solvent and heat • LOOP (USA)– methanolysis . Solvent breaks the bond • Sopraloop R&D (FR) – MC+CH • GR3N (SZ) – hydrolysis • Hydrolysis = water as solvent • IFPEN Axens (FR) – glycolysis • Alcoholysis = alcohol as solvent • RAMPF Eco – glycolysis of PU • Aminolysis = amines as solvent . Suitable for condensation polymers for example PET, PA, PU, PLA, PHA, PC . Strict upstream sorting system Bis-HydroxyEthyl-Terephthalate (BHET) . Only homogenous plastics are possible . Environmental LCA unclear Glycol (EG) and DiMethyl Terephthalate (DMT) . Economic viability unclear

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Terephthalic Acid (TPA) 13 Thermochemical conversion Pyrolysis Pilot examples

. Thermal degradation of plastics into liquid fuel • Agilyx (USA) components • Plastic energy (SP) . Suitable to end of life non recyclable plastics • Recycling technologies (UK) • ResPolyflow (USA) . Valuable hydrocarbons recovered including • PHJK (FI) monomers for re-polymerization • Nexus (USA) . Heterogeneous plastics treated . Selectivity and yield can be optimized with the use of a suitable catalyst . Mild pretreatment needed . Energy intensive process – process gas recycled . Moderately large CAPEX . Post treatment might be needed depending on the contaminants

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 14 Thermochemical conversion Gasification Pilot examples

• Enerkem (CAN) - MSW . Plastic waste is gasified into synthesis gas • Lahti gasifier (CO and H2 – building blocks for chemicals) in • Texaco the presence of steam or air. • Corenso-StoraEnso

. CO and H2 can provide a variety of valuable chemicals . Pretreatment is not needed . Heterogeneous waste possible . Energy intensive process . Gas cleaning necessary . High CAPEX required . Large infrastructures needed to be profitable

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 15 Plastic recycling bottlenecks

Unavailability or discrete presence of plastic waste feedstock

Heterogeneous plastic waste

Hazardous substances might be present

Legislations and environmental impacts unclear

Recycled plastic quality low and price uncompetitive to virgin

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 16 Chemical recycling options - summary

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 17 What makes chemical recycling attractive?

Provides source of energy Nearly all plastic waste can be recycled

Eco-friendly fuel Chemicals from waste resource

Range of products Environmentally favourable

Food good material Easy integrations to existing infra

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 18 Chemical recycling is complimentary

. Optimising collection and sorting . Optimising conversion and post-treatment . Improve the efficiency of . Improve conversion technologies - effect of collection, monitoring, reactor type, modelling/up-scaling sorting . Product design

Chemical Waste Pretreatment Upgrading Products recycling

Pretreatment REJECTS

Mechanical . Optimising mechanical recycling recycling . Plastic waste not suitable for mechanical recycling to Products be processed by pyrolysis Is chemical recycling eco-friendly? . Sustainability is context specific, and results are always sensitive to applied assumptions and data. . Using waste plastic as raw material reduces the carbon footprint of end products and decreases dependency on crude oil. . Chemical recycling processes for plastics recycling are still quite new and existing analysis are led by the industries themselves. . A thorough ISO compliant LCA is needed for big capacity chemical recycling plants. . While a lot of research is done for health and safety impacts, a thorough health and safety impacts assessment is needed for an operational big capacity plants.

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 20 Some example projects at VTT

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 21 EU NONTOX 2019-22 - Removing hazardous compounds from WEEE, ELV and C&D plastics

• Smart sorting • Combination of intelligent recycling technologies • Enhanced properties of recycled plastics

Contact: [email protected] BF BioFlex 2020-23 - Production of sustainable storable liquid fuels for flexible power generation and marine transport

29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious Contact: [email protected] 23 BF Co-Creation Urban Mill - New urban recycling concept for plastic and fiber waste

29.4.2020 Contact: [email protected] BF – Kelmuvex – New solutions for discharged plastic waste Debris mapping Novel debris with sensors collection mounted on method from drones rivers

Dedicated sorting

Mechanical Plastics in rivers recycling for Composites organic fraction

Buisness models Catalytic pyrolysis Fuel (plastics)

Contact: [email protected] VTT – beyond the obvious MoPo – Multitechnological recycling of

Contact: [email protected] 29/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 26 Selected publications

• Saad Qureshi, M., Oasmaa, A., Pihkola, H., Deviatkin, I., Mannila, J., Tenhunen, A., Minkkinen, H., Pohjakallio, M., Laine-Ylijoki, J. Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste: Opportunities and Challenges. JAAP 2020 • Lantto, R., Järnefelt, V., Tähtinen, M., Jääskeläinen, A. S., Laine-Ylijoki, J., Oasmaa, A., Sundqvist-Andberg, H. & Sözer, N., 2019, Going Beyond a Circular Economy: A Vision of a Sustainable Economy in Which Material, Value and Information Are Integrated and Circulate Together. In: Industrial Biotechnology. 15, 1, p. 12-19 8 p. • Bacher, J., Pihkola, H., Kujanpää, L. & Mroueh, U-M., 2018. Advancing the circular economy through group decision-making and stakeholder involvement. In: Detritus: Multidisciplinary Journal for Waste Resources & Residues. 4, p. 22-35 • Oasmaa, A., Laine-Ylijoki, J. & Punkkinen, H., 2016, From organic and plastic waste to products, In: VTT Visions. 2, https://www.vttresearch.com/Impulse/Pages/From-organic-and-plastic-waste-to-products.aspx

29.4.2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 27 Muhammad Saad Qureshi [email protected] +358401841163 Vtt.fi

VTT – beyond the obvious