Feedstock recycling of polymer-based materials

Why feedstock recycling?

A variety of polymer-based products cannot be recycled mechanically due to their complex structure or high level of contamination. Besides, the polymer streams that are mechanically recycled today are subject to aging and thus cannot be reused or recycled endlessly. Feedstock recycling gives a possibility to close the loop for polymer flows rejected from mechanical recycling by decomposing these polymers and reconstructing again in the form of raw materials that can be used in chemical or petrochemical processes. Feedstock recycling is therefore an essential element enabling circular flows of all polymeric materials, be they fossil or biobased, complex, contaminated or pure.

Our offering

RISE has a wide range of competencies gathered around feedstock recycling of polymeric materials. Thanks to the collective expertise, we can support our customers in:

• developing new technologies and structures;
• linking them to analyses and evaluations of the effects this may have;
• evaluating what is the "right" choice from a sustainability perspective, and
• designing structures and incentives so that sustainable solutions are accepted and implemented.

We work on the development of feedstock recycling in close collaboration with mechanical recycling of polymers where RISE also has a leading competence. Through coordinated efforts we help our customers to identify the cases where feedstock recycling is to be used, select the most efficient technology, evaluate the selected technology from an economic and sustainability perspective, and ensure that the right balance is maintained between resource efficiency in material use and the preservation of the material in the loop, i.e. its circularity.