A scalable solution to recycling mixed and multi-layer plastics

CONTACT:
Jeanan Yasiri Moe
Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
[email protected] | (608) 960-9892

MADISON, Wis. - Synthetic plastic is the world's most common engineered material, found in everything from automobiles and food packaging to medical implants and electronics. As plastic usage accelerates, only a small fraction (less than 10 percent) of plastic waste is recycled. Flexible, multi-layered plastics - such as the bags, pouches, wrappers and films used for food packaging - are especially difficult to recycle with current methods like mechanical recycling.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a scalable recycling process to address this challenge. The process, called solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP™), uses solvents that selectively dissolve and separate each plastic type. From contaminated or colored flexible plastics, STRAP produces plastic material that is nearly indistinguishable from virgin plastic.

Unlike other solvent-based recycling methods, STRAP™ combines patented processes and equipment with a computational system that suggests appropriate solvents and temperatures for recovery based on the target polymer and the other polymer components.

"Plastic films can have five, nine, fifteen layers - they're complex to break down," says Jennifer Gottwald, WARF director of licensing. "Other solvent-based recycling technologies are using just a few solvents, but STRAP™ aims to be able to recycle anything within reason."

In addition to its versatility, STRAP™ also addresses two of the biggest bottlenecks in the field: contaminant removal and scalability. Over the past six years of refining STRAP™, UW-Madison researchers have developed techniques to identify and remove pigments and contamination that degrade the quality of recycled plastic.

The process has already been tested on post-industrial waste samples provided by more than 30 industrial partners through the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) center. A pilot plant at Michigan Technological University is under construction and slated to begin operation in the coming months, producing 25 kilograms of recycled plastic per hour. Here, the technology will be tested and optimized for industrial-scale use.

STRAP™ offers both economic and environmental benefits by enabling companies to meet sustainability and recycled content targets while producing high-quality reusable plastic. With the global recycled plastics market projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030, the technology is poised to offer a sustainable, scalable and economically competitive solution to plastics recycling.

Interested in supporting pilot operations, engineering and commercial development for this novel technology? Contact Jennifer Gottwald at [email protected]