Production of high-quality polyethylene (PE) films from post-consumer shrink wrap with solvent targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP)

The solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP™) process separates polymers from contaminants present in the feedstock. In this work, we demonstrate the recyclability of a post-consumer waste (PCW) shrink wrap that contains inks, adhesives, and paper using STRAP. We produced a clear rPE cast film from the PCW shrink wrap with no visual contamination from paper or inks. STRAP decreased the ash content from 0.96 wt% to 0.24 wt%. A techno-economic analysis (TEA) shows that a STRAP plant processing 50,000 metric tons annually of shrink wrap waste (purchased at $0.25/kg) containing 85 wt% PE can achieve an IRR of 16.2% when selling rPE at $1.30/kg, an IRR of 10.7% with an rPE price of $1.00/kg, or an IRR of 3.79% with an rPE price of $0.70/kg. The life cycle assessment (LCA) shows a 64% reduction in global warming potential (kg CO₂ equivalent) when compared to the production of virgin LDPE. This work shows how feedstocks with insoluble impurities can be recycled using STRAP on a large scale.