TEXTILES.ORG
A low-temperature chemical recycling process has the potential to return difficult-to-treat plastics such as LDPE, HDPE and PVC back into oils to be remade into plastics or other products.
Developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, the process works at the temperature of 100 C (212 F), which uses less energy compared to others that happen at 500 C–1,200 C (932 F–2,192 F). It turns the materials, including multilayer, mixed and contaminated plastics, into naphtha-range oils and brine solutions. The key to the process of converting PVC is the separation of the chlorine from the compound at the lower temperature; PVC can’t be recycled in high-temperature processes due to emissions and equipment corrosion.
The technology has been spun off into the company Plastic Back, which plans to establish a recycling plant in Ohio in 2026.
“We see the PVC chemical recycling segment as a major opportunity,” says Tal Binder Cohen, CEO of Plastic Back.