While plastics offer undeniable benefits, their exponential growth in production has raised concerns about resource depletion and pollution. Efforts to address the end-of-life challenges of plastics have been hindered by low recycling rates and inadequate waste management systems. Only a fraction of plastic waste is recycled globally, with a significant portion ending up in landfills or polluting natural environments. The persistence of plastic waste, coupled with its widespread contamination of oceans, freshwater systems, and terrestrial habitats, underscores the urgent need for solutions to mitigate its environmental impact. In response to these challenges, emerging circular plastics technologies, particularly chemical recycling, offer promising avenues for transforming plastic waste into valuable resources. Chemical recycling methods, including pyrolysis, depolymerization, and open-loop recycling, present opportunities to break down plastics into fuels, chemicals, and monomers, thus closing the loop on plastic production and consumption.

This book provides an overview of emerging chemical recycling technologies, focusing on advancements in pyrolysis, depolymerization, and open-loop recycling processes. Highlighting notable technological innovations and industry efforts to commercialize these methods, the book serves as a guide to understanding the potential of chemical recycling in addressing the plastic waste crisis.

Katrina Knauer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA.