Catalyzing the circularity of multilayer plastics

The mission statement of the CSCE (Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering) is to produce knowledge to foster a better understanding of the role of catalysis in the upcoming circular and carbon-smart economy. CSCE research covers the range of fundamental to applied catalysis research, both in chemistry and engineering.
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Multilayer plastics have been widely used for food packaging and will not be quickly replaced in the coming decades. However, recycling multilayer plastics, in particular the tie layers, is still the most challenging task or in some cases even impossible nowadays. This research aims to establish a performant heterogeneous catalytic system in which recycling of tie layer containing multilayer plastic can be realized via multilayer unzipping and selective dissolution, followed by catalytic decarboxylation of the tie layer/polyolefin fraction, with maximum recovery of all polymers that can be again processed towards the same multilayer material.

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