Chemical recycling: comprehensive overview of methods and technologies

Plastic pollution has emerged as a global environmental crisis, prompting the search for innovative solutions to manage and repurpose plastic waste sustainably. Chemical recycling has garnered attention as a promising strategy to address this challenge by converting discarded plastics into valuable feedstocks and products. Drawing upon statistical data and a thorough review of the literature, this paper examines the diverse methodologies and technologies employed in chemical recycling, highlighting key advancements and their potential environmental and economic impacts. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of various methods of chemical recycling of plastics. In this article, the reader is offered a detailed overview of various chemical processing methods, including hydrolysis, glycolysis, enzymatic degradation, acid hydrolysis, supercritical fluid depolymerisation, catalytic pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, microwave pyrolysis, fluidised bed pyrolysis, plasma gasification, steam gasification, oxidative degradation, hydrothermal liquefaction, biological depolymerisation, and electrochemical processing. The literature cited in the article allows the reader to gain an in-depth understanding of processes at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4 to TRL 9, depending on the chosen technology.