Raw material recycling involves thermal decomposition of waste, which can yield liquid hydrocarbons or gases that are components for the production of new raw materials. It is used to process some plastics (e.g. PET, polyethylene, polypropylene). This type of recycling is more energy-intensive and more expensive than material recycling , but it allows for the return to circulation of waste that is heavily contaminated or heterogeneous (and therefore unsuitable for material recycling).

According to experts, chemical recycling should be a complement to mechanical recycling, which is currently used to process approximately 80% of plastics. Managing Director of the Plastics Europe Polska Foundation, Dr. Anna Kozera-Szałkowska, sees it as an opportunity to recycle raw materials that can be used for contact with food or in medical applications [i] .

[i] Zero recycling point in Poland , https://portalkomunalny.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raport-punkt-zero-recyklingu-w-polsce.pdf

In the chemical recycling process, two basic reactions are used: breaking and creating new chemical bonds. This means that a plastic particle (polymer) is broken into smaller particles (including monomers), from which new polymers can be produced in the next stage . In this way, materials with identical properties to primary materials obtained from crude oil are obtained.

The most important technologies used during the chemical recycling process are:

• pyrolysis – thermal decomposition occurring without access to oxygen. As a result, pyrolysis oil is produced, from which, after purification and specialist processing, ethylene and propylene can be obtained, i.e. monomers that are the basic raw materials for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene,
• gasification – thermal decomposition occurring in the presence of oxygen. Almost all plastics can be processed in this process,
• solvolysis – an exchange reaction between polymer and solvent molecules. It is mainly used for processing PET.

Pyrolysis and gasification, however, do not fall within the statutory definition of recycling – the materials obtained in these processes are sometimes used as fuel. Therefore, energy is “only” recovered, which cannot be considered recycling. Nevertheless, pyrolysis is a promising method that can produce polymers with properties identical to those of the original polymers.

Chemical recycling is not currently used on a large scale . The Plastics Europe publication [i] indicates that in 2023, only 0.12 million tons of plastics will be produced in Europe in this process. However, many experts believe that this method should, and even must, be popularized , especially in the context of the constant pursuit of increasing plastic recycling levels. As emphasized by Dr. Eng. Anna Kozera-Szałkowska, the sanctioning of chemical recycling technology is also necessary due to the upcoming legal regulations regarding the increase in the content of recyclates in consumer packaging [ii].

At Interzero, we understand these needs perfectly and have long been taking action to increase the scale of chemical recycling and at the same time reduce the mass of raw materials going to thermal recycling, i.e. waste incinerators. For this purpose, we have developed a special process for sorting mixed plastics, which until now were sent to incineration. In our method, waste is not sorted into monomaterials, but into streams precisely adapted to the requirements of chemical recycling.

In 2023, together with OMV, we started building the largest plastic waste sorting plant , which will then be sent to chemical recycling. The new Interzero and OMV investment, which will be put into operation as early as 2026, will have a processing capacity of up to 260,000 mixed plastics per year.

Discover all Interzero’s chemical recycling initiatives.

[i] Plastics Europe, Plastics – Facts 2024 in a nutshell , https://plasticseurope.org/pl/knowledge-hub/tworzywa-fakty-w-pigulce-2024/

[ii] Zero recycling point in Poland , https://portalkomunalny.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raport-punkt-zero-recyklingu-w-polsce.pdf