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: polyolefin waste (PE/PP) and polystyrene waste. Whether you need individual process steps or a fully licensed technology, Sulzer delivers proven, scalable solutions backed by decades of expertise.

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Main applications of chemical recycling industry

Quenching and condensation

PyroCon™, Reliable condensation

Polished oils

PyroCare™, PPO (plastic pyrolysis oil) with reduced contaminant levels

Upgraded oils

MaxFlux™, PPO (plastic pyrolysis oil) with fossil-like properties

Styrene monomer

EcoStyrene™, From contaminated waste to food-grade styrene monomer

Key challenges in advanced chemical recycling

在当今的化工行业运营意味着要应对多个相互关联的挑战：

Feedstock

Plastic waste for chemical recycling is not 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 plastic pyrolysis oil (PPO) or depolymerized monomers, is rarely pure enough for direct use. PPO 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 within 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 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.

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