Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste: Recycling Hard-to-Recycle Plastics

Plastic waste, especially hard-to-recycle materials like mixed, contaminated, or multilayer plastics, poses a major environmental challenge. Conventional recycling methods often cannot process these streams effectively. Pyrolysis provides a promising solution by thermally breaking down plastics into fuels, gases, and other valuable products, reducing landfill use and reliance on virgin fossil resources.

This paper outlines the principles of pyrolysis, its advantages over mechanical recycling, current technological advances, and remaining challenges such as energy demand, emissions, and economic feasibility. It highlights pyrolysis as a key pathway toward a more sustainable and circular plastics economy.

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