Depolymerization Recycling

Plastics, structural polymers made from monomers, are ubiquitous in modern life and have unique benefits. At their end of life, they must be reused or recycled in ways not yet implemented today. In many cases, the polymerization process can be efficiently reversed via depolymerization recycling to regain monomers at the original quality level. As such, depolymerization is a key circularity enabler for some classes of polymers, especially when crosslinked or used in composites. This book introduces the energy, CO2 emission and waste stream dimensions for recycling. It reviews the respective polymer science and introduces the processing technologies for industrial scaling. All these concepts are explored in practical examples across polymer classes and different plastics applications. The economics of depolymerization recycling are introduced, together with life cycle analysis and design for recycling. With this compact overview, a reader will understand depolymerization recycling in the necessary context of scale, sustainability and value chain thinking, towards a sustainable value chain transformation.

• See the big picture of depolymerization recycling: Sustainability, polymer science, process technologies, industrial scaling and economics.
• Get to know key concepts to drive circularity: Life cycle analysis, techno[1]economic assessment and design for recycling
• Explore how these principles translate into practice, illustrating both challenges and solutions.

Hannah Mangold studied chemistry at Freiburg University, Germany, and completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz on the topic of organic photovoltaics. She joined BASF R&D in 2014 and has been working in diverse fields such as photophysics of luminescent materials, as well as product development for display materials. She is now a team leader in Process Research and Chemical Engineering, where her focus is on polymer recycling projects in the field of depolymerization and solvent-based recycling. In this field she has contributed to several projects regarding the recycling of polycondensation polymers from small lab scale to pilot scale.

Bernhard von Vacano studied chemistry and physics as an elective subject, in Tübingen (Germany), at the University of Wales in Bangor (UK), the Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching (Germany) and received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Marburg University (Germany). Having joined BASF in 2008 in the company´ s polymer physics department, he has since held various positions in R&D is now a senior research fellow in the area of plastics circularity.