Enabling the circular economy: Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis of plastic film and flexible packaging

塑料是一种非常有用的材料，最近在Covid-19大流行期间得到了强调。对防护设备的需求，如口罩、超市收银台的丙烯酸屏风、家庭购物送货时的一次性塑料袋等，导致了需求的急剧增长。然而，全世界每年都有数百万吨塑料被浪费。尽管现在有技术可以机械回收被丢弃的大部分“硬”塑料，但“软”材料（如薄膜和软包装）难以处理，因此被送到垃圾填埋场或焚烧，对环境造成破坏性影响。Sylatech Ltd（一家英国精密射频微波工程组件制造商）正在与Enva（一家领先的回收资源解决方案提供商）和The birenewable Development Centre（一家著名的将废物转化为产品的研发中心）一起开发一种新的、增强的回收技术，称为微波辅助热解（MAP），以解决这一问题。使用这种新工艺，高能微波通过在缺氧的情况下加热塑料垃圾，以打破其化学键（即热解），将其转化为有用的分子。由于这种效果，这种方法通常被称为“化学”回收，但由于该过程的高温条件，有时也被称为“热”回收。最终的结果是分子构建块（油）的回收，从中可以制造新的原始级塑料。世界经济论坛（World Economic Forum）的一份报告估计，这个数字高达95% of plastic packaging material value (or $80-120bn annually) is lost to the economy after a short first use \[1\]. This project will help to mitigate this colossal waste of value, keeping plastics in the supply chain where it belongs, and out of the environment where it doesn't.\[1\] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF\_The\_New\_Plastics\_Economy.pdf

Plastic is an incredibly useful material, emphasised recently during the Covid-19 pandemic. The need for protective equipment such as face-masks, acrylic screens at supermarket check-outs, and single-use plastic bags in home shopping deliveries etc., has resulted in a dramatic surge in demand.However, across the world, millions of tonnes of plastic are wasted every year. Despite the fact that technology now exists to mechanically recycle much of the 'hard' plastic that is discarded, 'soft' material (such as film and flexible packaging) is difficult to process and therefore consigned to landfill or incineration where it has a devastating effect on the environment.Together with Enva (a leading provider of recycling resource recovery solutions) and The Biorenewables Development Centre (a renown R&D centre converting waste into products), Sylatech Ltd (a UK manufacturer of precision RF Microwave engineering components) is developing a new, enhanced recycling technology called Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) to address this issue.Using this novel process, high-energy microwaves convert plastic waste into useful molecules by heating it in the absence of oxygen in order to break its chemical bonds (i.e. pyrolysis). This methodology is often termed "chemical" recycling due to this effect, but is sometimes referred to as "thermal" recycling due to the high temperature conditions of the process. The end result is the recovery of molecular building blocks (oil), from which new virgin-grade plastic can be made.A report by the World Economic Forum has estimated that up to 95% of plastic packaging material value (or $80-120bn annually) is lost to the economy after a short first use \[1\]. This project will help to mitigate this colossal waste of value, keeping plastics in the supply chain where it belongs, and out of the environment where it doesn't.\[1\] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF\_The\_New\_Plastics\_Economy.pdf