Chemical Recycling
Plastic waste is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Sulzer Chemtech provides advanced chemical recycling technologies that transform waste into valuable feedstock, helping you close the loop and meet sustainability goals.
Our solutions cover the two major streams of plastic recycling:
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Polyolefin waste (PE/PP)
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Polystyrene waste
Whether you need individual process steps or a fully licensed technology, Sulzer delivers proven, scalable solutions backed by decades of expertise.
Driving Circularity in the Chemical Industry
Many chemical recycling technologies are proven at the lab or pilot scale, but scaling them up to a commercially viable industrial plant is a major engineering hurdle. Challenges include designing large-scale reactors with effective heat management, ensuring consistent product quality, and seamlessly integrating the new recycling unit into an existing chemical complex (e.g., a refinery or steam cracker).
Key Challenges in Chemical Recycling
Feedstock
Plastic waste for chemical recycling is not a uniform and contains contaminants. It is often a complex mix of different polymer types (PE, PP, PET, PVC), colors, additives, and non-plastic contaminants like paper, food residue, and dirt. These impurities can influence reliability, poison catalysts, cause corrosion, and reduce the quality and yield of the final recycled product
High-purity separation
The output of chemical recycling processes, such as pyrolysis oil ("py-oil") or depolymerized monomers, is rarely pure enough for direct use. Py-oil is a complex, mixture of hydrocarbons, impurities, and other compounds that must be upgraded and purified before it can be fed into a steam cracker. Similarly, recycled monomers must be purified to near-virgin quality to be re-polymerized.
Process Efficiency
Breaking down stable polymer chains into smaller molecules and upgrading the molecules is an energy-intensive process, often requiring high temperatures and/or pressures. Energy consumption, capital or operational costs can impact the economic viability of the recycling process that fits in the legislative framework.
Scale-up and integration
Many chemical recycling technologies are proven at lab or pilot scale, but scaling them up to a commercially viable industrial plant requires expertise. Challenges include designing large-scale equipment , ensuring consistent product quality, and seamlessly integrating the new recycling unit into an existing chemical complex (e.g., a refinery or steam cracker).
Sulzer Chemtech provides critical process technologies to overcome the key challenges of chemical recycling, enabling the successful transformation of plastic waste into valuable, circular raw materials.
At the heart of our offering are advanced separation and purification solutions. We address the core challenge of feedstock contamination and variability by purifying the complex intermediates such as pyrolysis oil or depolymerized monomers into high-purity products. Our industry-leading distillation, extraction and hydrotreatment technologies ensure the final output meets the stringent quality specifications required for re-polymerization or use in steam crackers.
Recognizing that commercial viability depends on efficiency and scale, our solutions are engineered to tackle these challenges. Through efficient process designs and proprietary equipment, we reduce operational costs and improve the overall carbon footprint of the recycling plant. Furthermore, we help our partners overcome the hurdle of technology scale-up by providing robust process engineering, key licensed equipment with performance guarantees, and integration expertise, ensuring technologies can reliably and economically be scaled to industrial production. By offering these end-to-end, flexible solutions from modular units to fully integrated systems we empower the industry to build a truly circular economy for plastics.
Main applications of chemical recycling industry
Quenching and condensation
Upgraded oils
MaxFlux - White paper
EcoStyrene - Brochure
PyroCon - Flyer
PyroCon - Case study
CASE STUDY
Sulzer provides a cutting-edge rapid quenching technology for plastic pyrolysis oil
The PyroCon system, with its compact design and stainless-steel construction, was delivered on time and within budget, meeting the client’s stringent requirements for both low maintenance and anti-fouling performance.
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Joeri Dieltjens
Global licensing director
Contact our expert for more information about MaxFlux.
Explore our solutions for chemical recycling industry
Reliability
Uninterrupted production
Explore some of our success stories for chemical recycling industry
Polymer Recycling
Antwerp, Belgium
Indaver’s Plastics2Chemicals plant recycling 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually
Challenge:
Enable large-scale chemical recycling of polystyrene and post-consumer plastics, which are typically non-recyclable, while ensuring safe depolymerization and purification of chemical feedstock for reuse in manufacturing.
Solution:
Sulzer provided advanced separation technology and proprietary processes, supported by extensive pilot testing at its Allschwil facility. Delivered four specialized units for purification of styrene and oil fractions, ensuring high-quality recovered monomers for packaging applications.
Technology:
Results:
The Plastics2Chemicals plant will reclaim and purify 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year, producing pure chemical feedstock for new products like chocolate foils and yogurt pots. This project sets a benchmark for polymer circularity.
Polymer Recycling
Germany
Sulzer provides a cutting-edge rapid quenching technology for plastic pyrolysis oil
Challenge:
A plastics pyrolysis plant faced severe fouling in its quenching system, causing frequent shutdowns and high maintenance costs, while needing to maintain oil quality and minimize CAPEX.
Solution:
Implemented Sulzer PyroCon™ single-step quenching system with optimized liquid distribution and anti-fouling design, delivered as a compact, stainless-steel unit to upgrade the existing setup.
Technology:
Results:
Eliminated fouling-related downtime, improved pyrolysis oil yield, ensured continuous operation since mid-2021, and enhanced profitability with reliable, low-maintenance performance.
Explore our solutions for chemical recycling industry
150+ Years Experience
Proven track record in chemical process engineering and equipment manufacturing.
Global Presence
Worldwide support network with local expertise and rapid response capabilities.
Quality Assurance
ISO certified processes and rigorous quality control for reliable, safe operations.