Chemical Recycling of Mixed Plastics

The most difficult problem in plastic recovery is not clean, sorted material — it is everything else. Chemical recycling of mixed plastics addresses the contaminated, multilayer, and commingled fraction that conventional systems send to landfill or incineration.

The Mixed Plastic Problem

Mixed plastic waste is what remains after the easy material has been recovered. It combines different resin types, food residue, labels, pigments, and multilayer films that were engineered for performance rather than recyclability. Mechanical recycling struggles with this fraction because it demands homogeneity and cleanliness.

The result is a persistent gap: a large portion of plastic waste that is technically recoverable but practically stranded. Closing that gap is where chemical recycling earns its place.

How Pyrolysis Handles Mixed Feedstock

Unlike mechanical processes that must preserve polymer identity, plastic pyrolysis breaks polymers down regardless of type. The thermal cracking process is comparatively tolerant of the very characteristics that defeat mechanical recycling — mixed resins, contamination, and degraded material.

This tolerance has limits. Certain contaminants, particularly chlorinated plastics, require management to protect equipment and output quality. But within those boundaries, pyrolysis converts a problematic waste stream into oil, gas, and char.

Dedicated Systems for Difficult Feedstock

Some of the most challenging mixed streams come from industrial sources — including automotive shredder residue (ASR), the commingled plastic, foam, and fiber left after vehicles are dismantled. Klean has developed systems specifically for plastics and ASR, addressing a fraction that has few other recovery options.

Reference installations such as the SPR project in Japan demonstrate the technology’s application to real-world mixed and residual streams.

A Complements Approach

Chemical recycling of mixed plastics does not replace mechanical recycling — it complements it. Clean streams continue to mechanical processing; the residual fraction, previously a cost and a liability, becomes feedstock. Together they expand the total share of plastic that is recovered rather than discarded.

For waste operators and producers, the strategic question is whether their residual stream is substantial and stable enough to justify a dedicated conversion facility. A feasibility study provides the evidence base for that decision.

Characterizing the Feedstock

The first practical step for any mixed-plastic recovery program is characterizing the feedstock itself. Composition, moisture content, and contaminant profile determine both the technical viability of pyrolysis and the quality of the output oil.

Streams dominated by polyolefins convert most readily and yield the best oil; high shares of chlorinated or heavily filled material demand preprocessing or blending. Because no two residual streams are identical, a characterization study is the foundation on which a sound investment decision is built.

Learn More:

• Plastic pyrolysis projects
• Plastics and automotive shredder residue systems
• SPR Japan plastic-to-oil project
• Feasibility studies for recovery projects

Unlock the Value in Your Mixed Plastic Stream

The contaminated, multilayer fraction you currently send to landfill is recoverable feedstock — with the right conversion system.

Ready to find out what your residual stream is worth?

Contact Klean Industries about recovering your mixed plastic waste stream » GO.