A UK-based startup has developed a method to break down waste plastics at the atomic level, which it said could support global efforts in advancing chemical recycling.
Repolywise, founded by Oxford University researchers, secured £375,000 in grants from government agency Innovate UK to build and refine the technology, dubbed atomic scissors.
“Our atomic scissors technology represents a crucial breakthrough in tackling the global plastic waste crisis,” said Bryan Ng, founder and CEO of Repolywise.
“By transforming hard-to-recycle plastics into valuable raw materials, we’re not just reducing waste — we’re enabling a circular economy that redefines how we produce and reuse plastics for a sustainable future.”
The technology is designed to process polyolefin plastics, which are often hard to recycle and account for some 50% of the plastics produced globally each year.
Repolywise’s atomic scissors convert plastic waste into propane, which can then be sold to the petrochemical industry, and dehydrogenated or cracked into olefins before being used to produce polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, according to the company.
SCALING THE TECHNOLOGY
While the newly devised method paves the way for advancements in plastic recycling, scaling it remains a challenge, as the current process can handle only two grams of material, which will be increased to two kilograms in the next development phase.
“Following further funding, Repolywise plans to achieve a commercial-scale capacity of two tonnes in a semi-flow process, marking a substantial step towards industrial application,” said the company.
According to the UN Environment Programme, plastic production has doubled since 2000 to nearly 400 million metric tonnes per year, with an estimated 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated between 1950 and 2015.
A global treaty to address plastic production and pollution is being negotiated at the UN level, with the final text expected to be finalised by the end of the year at the fifth round of talks, scheduled to be held over Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea.
The treaty is set to have large implications for how the world will deal with the plastic pollution crisis and its impact on nature, as well as for the emerging plastic credit market.
Plastic credits could be included in the agreement as a financing mechanism to help plug the funding gap on waste collection and recycling, poised to reach an estimated $40 bln by 2040.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
*** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter ***
