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Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges
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This review examined the full life cycle of plastics and evaluated options for managing plastic waste, with a focus on chemical recycling technologies. The study suggests that overcoming barriers to industrial chemical recycling could open new opportunities for reducing plastic pollution.
This paper reviewed the entire life cycle of plastics and options for the management of plastic waste to address barriers to industrial chemical recycling and further provide perceptions on possible opportunities with such materials.
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This review examines current advances and remaining challenges in chemical recycling of polymeric materials as an alternative to mechanical recycling, which degrades material properties with repeated cycling. The authors discuss the high efficiency and simpler preprocessing requirements of chemical recycling methods against a backdrop of approximately 150 million metric tonnes of annual global plastic waste generation.
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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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A comprehensive review cataloged advanced chemical recycling and upcycling pathways—including pyrolysis, gasification, hydrocracking, and solvolysis—capable of transforming mixed plastic waste streams into circular high-value chemicals, fuels, and energy carriers. These technologies are directly relevant to microplastic pollution research because scaling chemical recycling reduces the volume of plastic that degrades into environmental microplastics, addressing the problem at the source.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.