Page 40 - Plastics News Issue November - 2024
P. 40
FEATURE NEWS
Take-up of mechanically recycled
polymers to be limited, chemical recycling could bridge gap
recycle mechanically,” he said,
speaking at the EPCA annual
conference in Berlin.
The projected 2050 rates are
a minor uptick compared to
2023 mechanically recycled
polyethylene market pen-
etration rates of 12% in North
American and Europe and 4%
in northeast Asia.
In Europe the 2023 rates rep-
resent a decline in comparison
to 2022, Dementev added.
“2023 showed that macroeco-
echanically recycled polymers' share of nomics still matter, and many
the total market is set to increase in the companies especially those less exposed to
Mcoming decades but penetration, de- consumer pressure switched to virgin material,”
fined as domestic recycling production versus he said.
total polymer demand, is likely to remain limited
through to 2050. In future, chemical recycling could fill in some of
the gaps left by mechanical recycling. “Chemical
Mechanical recycling domestic production is recycling could be a complementary solution,”
likely to represent 17% of total polyethylene con- Dementev said. “Without chemical recycling, we
sumption in Europe, and 19% of polypropylene are probably not going to leapfrog”
by 2050, based on analysis of ICIS supply and
demand data. The chemical recycling and dissolution sector
remains in a state of relative infancy, with around
Rates in northern America and northeast Asia 130 plants operational or at the final investment
are likely to be similarly muted, according to ICIS decision stage of approval, compared to around
analytics EMEA team lead for plastics recycling 2,500 mechanical recycling plants.
Egor Dementev.
Industry installed (plastic waste processing) ca-
Take-up of bottle grade mechanically recycled pacity (pyrolysis-based technologies, chemical
polyethylene terephthalate is likely to be strong- depolymerisation and dissolution) in Europe in
er, at 49% in northern America and Europe, but 2024 stood at 150,000 tonnes/year, or 510,000
technological issues limit the odds of greater tonnes/year if including facilities in the construc-
market dominance for other polymers. tion and commissioning phase, but the current
pre-FID project pipeline could add 3 million
“The penetration rates still stay quite limited, tonnes by 2029.
as lots of plastics applications such as polymer Source - Recycling magazine
flexibles and textiles are intrinsically difficult to
40 PLASTICS NEWS November 2024
