Demonstration of OPtimized REcycling of SOlid Plastic wastes (OPRESO Plast)

The commodity plastics based on the petroleum process are non-biodegradable, which accumulate of near-permanent plastic waste and present a long-term challenge. About 150 million tons of plastic wastes is produced globally per year, thereby causing a visible environmental pollutant both on the land and in the oceans. The European Commission has released a Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy provides a great impetus for the plastics industry to increase the circularity of a material that offers extraordinary benefits for society. Pyrolysis, as a chemical recycling method, has become the most promising and environmentally attractive technology for large-scale recycling of plastic wastes. With chemical recycling, plastic waste streams can be converted back into pyrolysis naphtha (secondary raw material) to replace primary raw materials as feedstock for the chemical industry. The proposed OPRESO Plast project will develop a cost and energy-efficient alternative to recycle and valorise non-recycled plastic waste (ca. 70% of European plastic waste) that, due to their characteristics or their contamination, are currently disposed into landfills (27%) or underexploited through energy recovery (42%).