Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PLASTICE (New technologies to integrate PLASTIC waste in the Circular Economy)
Période du rapport: 2023-12-01 au 2025-05-31
At month 36, PLASTICE is advancing circularity through the scale-up of innovative recycling technologies targeting unsortable mixed plastic and textile waste. It responds to key EU priorities on sustainability and waste reduction by integrating AI, blockchain traceability, and eco-design into the plastic value chain. The consortium—comprising industry, research, and public actors—aligns technical progress with regulatory and societal needs. Following successful lab-scale trials, pilot plants are being deployed. These efforts on the developments confirm the different viability of the 3 routes of chemical reciclying obtaining a suitable quality of feedstock to be reintroduced in the circular value chain, paving the way for replicable, EU-wide impact across recycling, manufacturing, and policy domains.
Main achievements are:
MWPyr: CIRCE installed and commissioned the TRL6 pilot, now under validation. URB contributed to new scaled up reactor preparation phase and simulation for the TRL7 scale-up.
HTL: Construction of the pilot is ongoing. Design was refined using lab data and CFD simulations. COGERSA prepared the site and stored plastic waste for testing.
Gasification: Procurement of demo components is complete; delivered to CE, and commisioning in the new warehouse is about to start.
EH: TCKT achieved full recycling of project PET textiles into new yarns and fabrics. SUN and KORTEKS validated the results in their industrial premises. AUSTRO plant is desiged with new components but pending assembly.
AI & Traceability: Initial predictive models were built. Blockchain-based traceability system and tools were finalized and deployed.
Sorting: Optical and robotic systems were developed and tested.
MWPyr: CIRCE installed and commissioned the TRL6 pilot, now under validation. URB contributed to new scaled up reactor preparation phase and simulation for the TRL7 scale-up.
HTL: Construction of the pilot is ongoing. Design was refined using lab data and CFD simulations. COGERSA prepared the site and stored plastic waste for testing.
Gasification: Procurement of demo components is complete; delivered to CE, and commisioning in the new warehouse is about to start.
EH: TCKT achieved full recycling of project PET textiles into new yarns and fabrics. SUN and KORTEKS validated the results in their industrial premises. AUSTRO plant is desiged with new components but pending assembly.
AI & Traceability: Initial predictive models were built. Blockchain-based traceability system and tools were finalized and deployed.
Sorting: Optical and robotic systems were developed and tested.
Substituting fossil fuels with plastic waste to generate chemical feedstock (such as synthetic oil and syngas) , building blocks (like olefins, DME) and PET is a key focus of PLASTICE. Alternatively, PLASTICE aims to promote circular chemical recycling routes derived from plastic and textile waste.
Experiments were conducted at the laboratory scale to validate four proposed technologies. This initial phase enables the optimization of processes, encompassing enhancements in energy efficiency and product yields, attainment of an optimal product distribution, comprehension of conversion mechanisms, understanding of main impurities and their effects, as well as identification of bottlenecks and critical control parameters before scaling up.
In parallel efforts were devoted on enhance sorting mechanisms, traceability tools, and AI solutions to play a pivotal role in achieving products of adequate quality for reintroduction into the market. Moreover, they will showcase state-of-the-art digitalization tools within the context of circular value chains involving plastic waste streams. During this initial phase, the specification of various AI solutions has been finalized, and initial experimental trials are currently underway in the early months of the second period.
Continuous experimental advancements are yielding fresh data and insights into the proposed technologies. The emergence of new product distributions and the achievement of precise process control through microwave-assisted pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technologies together with the robustness of gasification in handling solid recovered fuel (SRF) and variations in syngas composition based on feedstock properties, as well as the performance of cascade enzymatic hydrolysis, are focal points currently under examination and enhancement. Additionally, knowledge has been gained in refining sorting processes through the utilization of spectral camera technology and artificial intelligence, with experimental implementation scheduled for the second period.
Furthermore, the design and upscaling efforts of the pilot plants have commenced in each demosite. Consequently, in the subsequent period, a more precise assessment of this impact will be feasible with the availability of results from industrial validation.
Experiments were conducted at the laboratory scale to validate four proposed technologies. This initial phase enables the optimization of processes, encompassing enhancements in energy efficiency and product yields, attainment of an optimal product distribution, comprehension of conversion mechanisms, understanding of main impurities and their effects, as well as identification of bottlenecks and critical control parameters before scaling up.
In parallel efforts were devoted on enhance sorting mechanisms, traceability tools, and AI solutions to play a pivotal role in achieving products of adequate quality for reintroduction into the market. Moreover, they will showcase state-of-the-art digitalization tools within the context of circular value chains involving plastic waste streams. During this initial phase, the specification of various AI solutions has been finalized, and initial experimental trials are currently underway in the early months of the second period.
Continuous experimental advancements are yielding fresh data and insights into the proposed technologies. The emergence of new product distributions and the achievement of precise process control through microwave-assisted pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technologies together with the robustness of gasification in handling solid recovered fuel (SRF) and variations in syngas composition based on feedstock properties, as well as the performance of cascade enzymatic hydrolysis, are focal points currently under examination and enhancement. Additionally, knowledge has been gained in refining sorting processes through the utilization of spectral camera technology and artificial intelligence, with experimental implementation scheduled for the second period.
Furthermore, the design and upscaling efforts of the pilot plants have commenced in each demosite. Consequently, in the subsequent period, a more precise assessment of this impact will be feasible with the availability of results from industrial validation.