Page 70 - Plastics News October 2024
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TECHNOLOGY NEWS
the Atomic Scissors process converts plastic in a semi-flow process, working towards indus-
waste into propane in a one-step process. This trial application.
propane is then sold to the petrochemical indus-
The company is also working towards obtaining
try where it is dehydrogenated or cracked into
olefins before being used in the production of ISCC certification to validate its mass balance
approach and ensure the sustainability of its
new polyolefins, such as polyethylene (PE) and
polypropylene (PP). processes.
This approach hopes to help reduce plastic In related news, Kalpana Systems received a
waste and support the circular economy by €3.5 million investment from SIG InnoVentures,
creating valuable raw materials for new plastic Fairtree Elevant Ventures and the Energy Tran-
products. Repolywise states that polyolefin plas- sition Fund Rotterdam in July to help bring its
tics account for approximately 50% of the 330 spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (sALD) technol-
billion kilograms of plastics produced globally ogy to the market. The technology can be used
each year. to apply ultra-thin layers for applications such as
solar panels, batteries and packaging.
It adds that these types of plastics are challeng-
ing to recycle using conventional methods, often Last month, a new chemical process developed
leading to downcycling into lower-quality mate- at the University of California, Berkeley, claimed
rials. The Atomic Scissors solution hopes to of- to ‘essentially vaporize’ polyethylene, polypro-
fer a way to recycle these materials back into pylene, and mixed-plastic waste into building
high-quality polypropylene, ready for reuse in blocks for repolymerization into new plastics.
the production of new plastic products. This catalytic process is set to reduce the fossil
fuels required to make new plastics and unlock
Apparently, the current lab-scale is a 2 gramme circularity for various single-use plastics, includ-
batch process and will be increased to 2 kilo- ing clear PET water bottles.
grammes in the next phase of development.
Source – Packaging Europe
Following further funding, Repolywise plans to
achieve a commercial-scale capacity of 2 tonnes
70 PLASTICS NEWS October 2024
