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Recent advances in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling
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"This review examines conventional and emerging recycling technologies for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), including mechanical, thermal, chemical, plasma-assisted, and solvent-based methods, with particular attention to the European regulatory context shaped by the Circular Economy Action Plan. Researchers identify persistent challenges such as low recycling yields and high energy consumption while highlighting the significant greenhouse gas savings and economic benefits that effective PVC recycling can deliver."
Abstract Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling is crucial for mitigating the environmental impact of PVC wastes, which take decades to decompose in landfills. This review examines the current state of PVC recycling processes, focusing on challenges and future research opportunities. It explores the types and sources of PVC wastes, including post‐consumer, industrial, and construction wastes. Conventional recycling methods such as mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling are discussed, highlighting their advantages, limitations, and successful applications. Furthermore, recent advances in PVC recycling, including biological, plasma‐assisted, and solvent‐based recycling, are explored, considering their potential benefits and challenges. The review emphasizes the European context of PVC recycling, as the region has implemented regulatory initiatives and collaborations. It points out the Circular Economy Action Plan and directives targeting PVC waste management, which have promoted recycling and established a supportive framework. Challenges of current PVC recycling methods and technologies, such as low yield and high energy consumption, are identified. The review calls for the development of efficient and cost‐effective recycling technologies, along with improvements in recycling infrastructure and consumer awareness. Assessing the environmental and economic impacts, PVC recycling significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves resources compared to virgin PVC production. The economic benefits include job creation and reduced raw material costs.
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This review explores the many chemical reactions that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can undergo, viewed through the lens of chemical recycling potential. Researchers found that PVC's well-documented reactivity in modification chemistry could inspire new methods for converting PVC waste into useful products. The study suggests that building on existing knowledge of PVC chemistry may help overcome the major challenge of recycling one of the world's most widely used yet least recycled plastics.
Beyond the Landfill: A critical review of techniques for End-of-Life Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) valorization
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PVC (the plastic used in pipes, medical devices, and cables) is hard to recycle because of its chemical makeup, and when it mixes with other plastics in waste streams, it can mess up the recycling process for everything else. This review pulls together existing research on ways to reuse or safely dispose of PVC waste, concluding that better collection and sorting systems, paired with the right recycling technology, are needed to keep it out of landfills and incinerators. Getting this right matters for reducing the toxic byproducts and plastic pollution that can end up in our environment, water, and eventually our bodies.
Critical advances and assessment on chemo-biological conversions of waste polyvinyl chloride
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Researchers reviewed chemical and biological strategies for recycling polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste — including microbial degradation, thermolysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis — and found thermolysis to be the most practically scalable method, while noting that microbial approaches remain limited by the absence of efficient enzymes and metabolic pathways for PVC breakdown.
Recent Studies and Technologies in the Separation of Polyvinyl Chloride for Resources Recycling: A Systematic Review
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This systematic review summarizes research on technologies for separating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from other plastics for recycling. Better PVC recycling is important for reducing microplastic pollution because PVC is one of the most common and problematic plastics, and when it breaks down it can release harmful chemical additives into the environment and our bodies.
Plastic recycling: Challenges and opportunities
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This review surveys mechanical, chemical, and energy recovery methods for plastic waste recycling, examining challenges such as polymer degradation across cycles, the role of fillers, and advanced chemical techniques like pyrolysis and gasification. It provides practical guidance on the current state and future directions of plastic recycling across major polymer types including PET, HDPE, PP, and PS.
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