Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ISOPREP (Ionic Solvent-based Recycling of Polypropylene Products)
Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2022-09-30
Finite resources and climate change concerns require the transition to carbon-neutral, environmentally sustainable, and where possible, fully circular approaches. The European Union (EU) through the circular economy and green deal package has set ambitious recycling targets. The EU has a binding target to reduce emissions 55% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. To reach these targets, improving recycling techniques with an emphasis on quality of recovered materials is critical as identified in reports issued by Google [1], McKinsey [2] and the Commission [3].
The management of high volumes of plastic waste produced is an ever-growing challenge which challenge requires the improvement of recycling techniques and technologies. Additionally, the enhancement of the properties of the reclaimed/recycled material to achieve market acceptance is a critical enabler. In 2021 over 90.2% of the 390.7 Mt of plastics produced globally was derived from fossil fuels [plastics Europe, the facts 2022]. Plastic demand in Europe has remained approximately stable in the last five years (57.2 Mt in 2022). This demand has shown a consistent dependency on fossil fuels despite the increase in higher rated of recycled plastics used in production with 12.4% of material being circular (10.1% recycled and 2.3 bio-based).
To reach the sustainability targets Europe must increase the rates of recycling and recovery of plastics. Recycling technologies (physical and chemical) as well as inventory management practices need to be improved and further developed. In this respect, the ISOPREP project consortium, funded by the commission under grant agreement number 820787, have successfully developed a recycling technology that combines mechanical and physical recycling processes as well as inventory management procedures. This project focussed on the recovery and recycling of polypropylene from waste carpets whilst ensuring best practice was followed regarding project ethics, environmental and health factors. Two pilot systems (one mechanical one physical) were constructed with the capability of managing one tonne of carpet waste material per day and transforming this into high purity polypropylene. This was achieved via the use of a highly specialised Ionic Liquid and an intricate filtration system. The physical recycling process was undoubtedly the most innovative element of this project since it demonstrated the removal of the plastics’ chemical history allowing the polypropylene to be used in other market applications (upcycling). The physical recycling pilot plant has a full set of sensors and monitoring equipment installed allowing for the safe monitoring and collection of data, which will be essential for the design and build of a large continuous process system.
[1] https://sustainability.google/reports/closing-plastics-gap-full-report/
[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/client_service/Sustainability/PDFs/The%20New%20Plastics%20Economy.ashx
[3] https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC131531.
The management of high volumes of plastic waste produced is an ever-growing challenge which challenge requires the improvement of recycling techniques and technologies. Additionally, the enhancement of the properties of the reclaimed/recycled material to achieve market acceptance is a critical enabler. In 2021 over 90.2% of the 390.7 Mt of plastics produced globally was derived from fossil fuels [plastics Europe, the facts 2022]. Plastic demand in Europe has remained approximately stable in the last five years (57.2 Mt in 2022). This demand has shown a consistent dependency on fossil fuels despite the increase in higher rated of recycled plastics used in production with 12.4% of material being circular (10.1% recycled and 2.3 bio-based).
To reach the sustainability targets Europe must increase the rates of recycling and recovery of plastics. Recycling technologies (physical and chemical) as well as inventory management practices need to be improved and further developed. In this respect, the ISOPREP project consortium, funded by the commission under grant agreement number 820787, have successfully developed a recycling technology that combines mechanical and physical recycling processes as well as inventory management procedures. This project focussed on the recovery and recycling of polypropylene from waste carpets whilst ensuring best practice was followed regarding project ethics, environmental and health factors. Two pilot systems (one mechanical one physical) were constructed with the capability of managing one tonne of carpet waste material per day and transforming this into high purity polypropylene. This was achieved via the use of a highly specialised Ionic Liquid and an intricate filtration system. The physical recycling process was undoubtedly the most innovative element of this project since it demonstrated the removal of the plastics’ chemical history allowing the polypropylene to be used in other market applications (upcycling). The physical recycling pilot plant has a full set of sensors and monitoring equipment installed allowing for the safe monitoring and collection of data, which will be essential for the design and build of a large continuous process system.
[1] https://sustainability.google/reports/closing-plastics-gap-full-report/
[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/client_service/Sustainability/PDFs/The%20New%20Plastics%20Economy.ashx
[3] https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC131531.
The first period of the ISOPREP project finished at the end of March 2020, following 18 months of extensive laboratory-scale studies which have been successfully completed. The results obtained show the viability of the process and an initial LCA has shown its potential environmental benefits process. The consortium is now ready to begin the build of the pilot plant ready to then undertake pilot scale testing of the process.
The key activities in the first period of the project included the large scale carpet sorting trial at a UK based carpet recycler. Analysis of the type of polymers in both the carpet pile and the carpet backing was undertaken on-site using a handheld device. Material from the sorting trial was then granulated and shredded by before more detailed chemical analysis.
The ISOPREP process consists of a number of stages each of which have been examined in detail to ensure the overall approach is effective and efficient. This has allowed the design process to identify and the most appropriate technologies and methodologies to be incorporated during each stage. Experimental validation of these selections has been undertaken where possible as has the identification of the most suitable and cost effective materials, components, control systems and safety features to allow the establishment of the blueprint of final pilot plant design.
Detailed work on the dissolution of the PP and its recovery has been undertaken to ensure the most effective and efficient processing parameters have been identified. This includes the determination of the nature of the large number of additives are present in PP and which need to be extracted during the recycling process. So far 28 different carpet samples and 9 backing materials have been reduced to their individual components and characterized in terms of their chemical structure using a range of analytical techniques including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal properties using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).
This analysis showed varying compositions for different waste carpet samples. In addition to PP, natural fibres such as wool, jute, cotton and synthetic fibres such as polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were identified in the waste carpet samples. PP content of the carpets varied between 0 % and 100%, indicating that care in sourcing the most appropriate feedstock will essential to the success of the approach.
In addition to the technical work, the project has already been promoted in its early stages at a 13 different conferences, workshops and trade fairs. Eight different articles and press releases were published in variety of magazines and webpages among the consortium and externally reaching the audience over 14.000 people.
The key activities in the first period of the project included the large scale carpet sorting trial at a UK based carpet recycler. Analysis of the type of polymers in both the carpet pile and the carpet backing was undertaken on-site using a handheld device. Material from the sorting trial was then granulated and shredded by before more detailed chemical analysis.
The ISOPREP process consists of a number of stages each of which have been examined in detail to ensure the overall approach is effective and efficient. This has allowed the design process to identify and the most appropriate technologies and methodologies to be incorporated during each stage. Experimental validation of these selections has been undertaken where possible as has the identification of the most suitable and cost effective materials, components, control systems and safety features to allow the establishment of the blueprint of final pilot plant design.
Detailed work on the dissolution of the PP and its recovery has been undertaken to ensure the most effective and efficient processing parameters have been identified. This includes the determination of the nature of the large number of additives are present in PP and which need to be extracted during the recycling process. So far 28 different carpet samples and 9 backing materials have been reduced to their individual components and characterized in terms of their chemical structure using a range of analytical techniques including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal properties using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).
This analysis showed varying compositions for different waste carpet samples. In addition to PP, natural fibres such as wool, jute, cotton and synthetic fibres such as polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were identified in the waste carpet samples. PP content of the carpets varied between 0 % and 100%, indicating that care in sourcing the most appropriate feedstock will essential to the success of the approach.
In addition to the technical work, the project has already been promoted in its early stages at a 13 different conferences, workshops and trade fairs. Eight different articles and press releases were published in variety of magazines and webpages among the consortium and externally reaching the audience over 14.000 people.
A highly innovative and unique polypropylene recycling pilot plant that enables and facilitates the solvent based extraction of the polymer to be undertaken has been designed. The carpet market has been selected and a detailed determination of the chemical composition of a wide range of carpet pile and backing has been undertaken to allow the identification of the key chemical constituents. This chemical analysis has allowed detailed consideration of the design requirements for the plant to feed into the blueprint design.
The trials undertaken have allowed the identification of the solvent necessary to effectively solubilise the polypropylene which can then be recovered for re-use. In addition data has been collected for each stage of the recycling process to allow a baseline Life Cycle to be undertaken. The results of the initial LCA indicate that the ISOPREP process has advantages regarding the usage of primary fossil resources compared to the primary PP-production. A preliminary Economic Assessment (EA) has been undertaken to identify the cost drivers and economic hot spots along the ISOPREP value chain. Like the LCA the EA-model is parametric to enable the evaluation of the economic system performance under various boundary conditions, whilst the provisional assessment shows considerable variance dependent on the assumptions, it does indicate that the ISOPREP process could produce PP that has lower embedded costs than conventional PP.
The trials undertaken have allowed the identification of the solvent necessary to effectively solubilise the polypropylene which can then be recovered for re-use. In addition data has been collected for each stage of the recycling process to allow a baseline Life Cycle to be undertaken. The results of the initial LCA indicate that the ISOPREP process has advantages regarding the usage of primary fossil resources compared to the primary PP-production. A preliminary Economic Assessment (EA) has been undertaken to identify the cost drivers and economic hot spots along the ISOPREP value chain. Like the LCA the EA-model is parametric to enable the evaluation of the economic system performance under various boundary conditions, whilst the provisional assessment shows considerable variance dependent on the assumptions, it does indicate that the ISOPREP process could produce PP that has lower embedded costs than conventional PP.