Dow partners with Plastogaz to take carbon-efficient advanced recycling tech global
24 Mar 2022 --- Dow and Plastogaz, a technology start-up and proprietor of advanced recycling technology, are entering a strategic investment, which they say will help simplify the process of converting plastic waste to feedstock and provide another carbon-efficient option to keep plastic waste out of landfills and the natural environment.
The collaboration marks another milestone in Dow’s ongoing mission to protect the climate and close the loop on plastic waste.
Plastogaz says its proprietary catalytic hydrocracking technology solution is unique in that it is more efficient and less energy-intensive than some other current forms of advanced recycling.
Advanced recycling requires highly controlled steps before plastic waste is converted to high-quality hydrocarbons, sufficient to recreate virgin-like plastics. This technology promises to further simplify the process from waste to circular feedstock and then circular polymers.
Ultimately, this aims to increase the carbon yields of advanced recycling (efficiency) and minimize the energy needs for advanced recycling, hence fostering a more circular economy at a lower carbon footprint. The joint aim is to accelerate the commercialization of this process.
Plastogaz tech is more efficient than other forms of advanced recycling, it says.Dow advancing
Dow says it will bring global reach and materials science expertise to further develop technologies with smaller innovative companies, like Plastogaz, who are developing circular feedstock for plastics, which global brands require to eliminate plastic waste from their value chains and address the plastic waste crisis.
Keith Cleason, business vice president of olefins, aromatics and alternatives, comments: “This [collaboration] is an important strategic step for Dow and advances our commitment to creating circular plastics with the lowest possible carbon footprint.”
Advanced recycling is a complementary process to conventional, mechanical recycling (the method currently most used to recycle plastics). However, the bonus for advanced recycling is that it can recycle traditionally hard to recycle plastics such as multi-layer, flexible plastics used in packaging, usually considered “unrecyclable” and which are frequently incinerated or sent to landfills.
Importantly, the recycled products will be suitable for use in food-contact packaging, unlike conventional recycling processes, says Dow. With advanced recycling, there is no limit to the number of times the same material can be recycled, meaning it has the potential to eliminate waste from single-use plastic, creating value, not waste. In addition, advanced recycling processes are expected to save approximately 1.5 metric tons of carbon per metric ton of plastic recycled, compared to incineration.
Regaining lost resources 
Debates over whether advanced recycling are a solution to plastic pollution are ongoing.Felix Bobbink, the founder of Plastogaz, says: “Plastic pollution is a global crisis, and our main goal is to eliminate millions of tons of plastic waste every year and return it into the valuable resource that it is, so it can go on to be used again in a more circular and [environmentally] sustainable way.”
“We want to change the way the world thinks about plastics – not as something to throw away, but as a product that can be used over and over again, sustainably and without damaging our natural environment. If we want to make long-lasting change, we need to work with like-minded and ambitious partners like Dow who have the potential to scale our technology.”
The “lost resource” of plastic waste is a huge economic opportunity – valued at up to US$120 billion per year, according to the World Economic Forum. By deploying technology capable of recycling more plastics and creating the ingredients for a circular plastics economy, this partnership offers the prospect of dramatically cutting global plastic waste and its emissions.
The investment was structured and led by Dow Venture Capital, which focused on pursuing strategic investments in innovative start-up companies that enable and accelerate Dow’s business growth and value.
Advanced recycling under scrutiny
Despite a host of collaborations and investments into advanced recycling technologies, which plastic-producing companies say can eliminate the tide of pollution caused by plastics unsuitable for traditional mechanical waste streams, some critics say these projects are merely marketing ploys that harm the environment and human health.
Recently, the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council released a report saying the majority of advanced or chemical recycling operations in the US should not be classified as recycling and that their impacts cause severe damage to poorer communities around the country.
The report also accuses large corporations of touting these new technologies as an excuse to continue producing plastics – something many NGOs have branded the oil business’ “Plan B” as global leaders search for ways to diminish fossil fuel-based energy and protect the planet from climate change.
The World Wildlife Fund recently announced its position on advanced or chemical recycling, labeling it “an emerging technology with unknown environmental and social outcomes.” The NGO released ten principles to help decision-makers determine if and how chemical recycling should be pursued as a plastic waste mitigation tactic.
By Louis Gore-Langton
