Plastics & Rubber
Closing loops for challenging plastic waste streams
Gasification opens up another path for recycling mixed and contaminated plastic waste. At high temperatures, plastics are converted into synthesis gas in combination with oxygen or steam—a versatile feedstock for petrochemical production.
After careful purification, the synthesis gas can be used directly as a feedstock. This allows even highly mixed and contaminated waste streams to be repurposed in ways that go beyond incineration. Due to the high energy requirements and complex process technology involved, gasification is primarily used in large-scale plants where sufficiently large volumes of waste can be consolidated.
When is gasification the right solution?
Gasification is particularly well-suited for highly heterogeneous and mixed waste streams that can only be recycled to a limited extent through mechanical or chemical means. It enables material recovery even when the composition of the waste varies significantly or when contaminants are present.
The larger and more consistent the available waste volumes are, the more efficiently the gasification process—which is demanding in terms of energy and plant technology—can be implemented.
Contribution to the circular economy
Gasification enables the closure of plastic cycles for highly heterogeneous waste streams by converting plastics into secondary feedstock (synthesis gas). After purification, this synthesis gas can be fed into existing petrochemical production via mass balance.
It enables material recycling even when waste composition varies strongly or contains significant contamination.
Using automotive shredder residue (ASR) as an example, BASF demonstrates how gasification can be applied to complex plastic waste streams:
Turning plastics waste into circular materials with gasification
In a quiet corner of Europe, a transformative pilot project has followed an entirely new pathway in automotive recycling. An automotive manufacturer, together with BASF, BEST Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH, has successfully completed a groundbreaking initiative that could reshape how we think about vehicle waste.