Solvolysis of plastic packaging contaminated with food residues

In Sweden, every year more than 70,000 tonnes of expired food is discarded together with the packaging from the supermarkets without subsequently undergoing appropriate waste sorting and recycling. Separating plastic packaging from food waste requires great effort, is time consuming and costly. Solvolysis (HTL) is a promising technology that can be applied to heterogeneous waste. This thermal process which uses relatively mild heating can be used for food waste together with the plastic packaging without sorting. HTL breaks down plastics into low molecular weight compounds, which prevents microplastics from spreading to natural environments. The products from HTL are hydrocarbon-rich oil that can be used for the production of secondary raw materials and combustible gas that can contribute energy.