Plastics & Rubber
Thermochemical recycling of mixed plastic waste
One of the most widely scaled chemical recycling technologies is pyrolysis – a thermal decomposition process carried out in the absence of oxygen. It is capable of processing mixed and contaminated plastic waste. This process produces secondary raw materials such as pyrolysis oil, which can be used as a feedstock in the chemical industry.
In BASF’s ChemCycling® project, technology partners convert mixed plastic waste or end‑of‑life tires into a secondary feedstock, with so‑called pyrolysis oil as the main product. This oil is fed into BASF’s production system at the very beginning of the value chain and used to manufacture new plastics. Contaminants in the waste feedstock are removed through thermal decomposition, chemical conversion and purification. The recycled feedstocks are attributed to products manufactured in BASF’s integrated Verbund system using a mass‑balance approach.
When is pyrolysis the right solution?
Pyrolysis is particularly suitable for mixed, heavily contaminated or mechanically non‑recyclable plastic waste, such as household waste or end‑of‑life tires.
The more stable and scalable the availability of waste streams, the more efficiently the pyrolysis process can be integrated into industrial value chains.
Contribution to the Circular Economy
Pyrolysis recovers value from mixed plastic waste and tyres by converting it into secondary raw materials. It processes contaminated plastics not suitable for mechanical recycling and feeds them back into chemical value chains via mass balance.
As a complementary recycling technology, pyrolysis helps divert plastic waste from incineration and landfills and keeps its value in the cycle.
See how BASF puts this into practice with ChemCycling®:
ChemCycling®: Creating a circular plastics economy with chemical recycling
With ChemCycling®, BASF demonstrates how mixed and heavily contaminated plastic waste—which until now has mostly been incinerated—can be transformed into a new source of value. Together with technology partners, such waste is converted into a secondary raw material—known as pyrolysis oil—through pyrolysis. This oil is fed into the BASF integrated system at the beginning of the value chain and used to manufacture new plastics. In this way, even plastics that are difficult to recycle are given a second chance—while maintaining the same product quality and performance.