Honeywell unveils 'revolutionary' plastic recycling technology

Honeywell recently announced the commercialization of a "revolutionary process" that will advance the circular economy by expanding the range of recyclable plastics
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It will use recycled materials to produce feedstocks to make recycled plastics with a smaller carbon footprint
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Honeywell said its UpCycle process technology utilizes industry-leading molecular conversion, pyrolysis and pollutant management technologies to reconvert waste plastics into Honeywell recycled polymer feedstocks, which are then used to make new plastics
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UpCycle technology reportedly expands the range of recyclable plastics to include otherwise unrecyclable waste plastics, including colored, flexible, multi-layer packaging and polystyrene
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Honeywell said that when combined with other chemical and mechanical recycling processes, coupled with improvements in collection and sorting, its UpCycle process technology has the potential to increase the amount of recyclable global plastic waste to 90 percent
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According to a research report published by AMI International in September 2020, by 2030, advanced recycling technologies could process an additional 5 million to 15 million tons of plastic waste per year
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According to a life cycle analysis calculated by Honeywell, recycled plastic produced through the UpCycle process technology can reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions by 57% compared to producing the same amount of virgin plastic from fossil feedstocks
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The process also reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 77% compared to traditional waste plastic disposal methods such as incineration and landfilling
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Spain's Sacyr, a global engineering and services company with operations in more than 20 countries, will be the first to deploy Honeywell's proprietary technology
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Honeywell and Sacyr will form a joint venture that will jointly own and operate a facility in Andalusia, Spain, that will convert 30,000 metric tons of mixed plastic waste annually into Honeywell's recycled polymer feedstock
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Production is expected to start in 2023
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Partnering with a company with waste management experience, such as Sacyr, enables Honeywell to help complete the cycle in the plastics supply chain by bringing recycling technology to the site of the collection source, according to the release
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These recycling plants are modular in design and can be deployed and installed out of the box, striking the right balance between economies of scale and the amount of plastic waste produced locally
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“Our partnership with Honeywell will allow Sacyr to bring a sustainable recycling solution to the market,” said Domingo Jiménez, manager of Sacyr Circulation, “The speed with which we can start the plant and the global viability of this solution has the potential to greatly improve Accelerate our impact on the communities we serve, the environment and society at large
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Honeywell's UpCycle process technology was created within Honeywell's Sustainable Technology Solutions Group, part of Honeywell's UOP
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Honeywell recently pledged to make its operations and facilities carbon neutral by 2035
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