In order to eliminate the limitations that this complex waste has presented up to now during its recycling process, Aimplas, Technological Institute of Plastic, is working on the project neorec, which is financed by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) and FEDER funds.
Aimplas is developing in this initiative advanced solutions of mechanical and chemical recycling to prevent these complex residues, such as debris from tires, mattresses, or cables, accumulate in landfills, seeking to be used to obtain industrial materials and substances.
Among other chemical recycling processes, the anaerobic degradation, which consists of isolating and selecting microorganisms that are capable of anaerobically biodegrading biopolymers faster than other conventional organisms, which will allow a more efficient recycling process to be established. Work is also being done on partial chain breaking treatments to re-obtain plastics with the same initial requirements.
In the words of eva verdejo, leading researcher of Chemical Recycling at Aimplas, the objective is "to reduce the consumption of resources, reintroducing high value-added materials into the value chain, and generating products or by-products that can be used in the plastic sector, minimizing the environmental impact of its accumulation”.
In this project, Aimplas collaborates with manufacturers of raw materials, processing companies, waste managers and recyclers to widely cover the entire spectrum that the plastics sector presents as Girsa, Acteco, Ube, Omar Coatings, Permarsa, Eslava Plásticos and PET & Cia.