Extrusion International 6-2025

54 Extrusion International 6/2025 RECYCLING Pilot Project on Chemical Recycling Successfully Completed Porsche AG and BASF SE, in collaboration with tech- nology partner BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Tech- nologies GmbH, have successfully completed a pilot project on recycling mixed waste from end-of-life vehi- cles. The pilot project demonstrates the recyclability of high-performance plastics from automotive shredder residues (ASR) together with renewable raw materials. This mixture of plastic, lm, paint, and foam residues is so complex that it can currently only be thermally re- cycled. The pilot project shows that these automotive wastes can be recycled through gasi cation, a special type of chemical recycling, and returned to the auto- motive cycle. This pilot project validates the viability of new sourc- es of plastics and applications for chemical recycling in components. The ultimate goal is to source less prima- ry material in the future and increase the proportion of recycled materials in vehicles. As part of the project, the chemically recycled material was used in the manu- facturing process for steering wheels. Defossilization: First fully non-fossil gasi cation for the production of new plastics In this project, a combined waste stream consisting purely of automotive waste and biomass was recycled in a gasi cation process for the rst time. The result - ing recycled raw material – the so-called synthesis gas and its derivatives – replaced the fossil raw materials in BASF's integrated value chain. Within its production network, BASF then produces the polyurethane for- mulation needed for the steering wheel using a mass balance approach. The recycling innovation uses modern gasi cation technology from BEST GmbH to convert plastic waste and other residues into synthesis gas at high tempera- tures. "In our plant, we have previously converted biomass such as wood or straw into chemical raw materials. In this pilot project together with BASF and Porsche, we have now used this gasi cation technology for the rst time to convert complex plastic waste streams to - gether with biomass into synthetic crude oil, known as syncrude," explains Dr. Matthias Kuba, Area Manager Syngas Platform Technologies at BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH in Vienna. "This form of chemical recycling has great potential for convert- ing complex, mixed waste streams into new, valuable raw materials. It thus represents a sensible alternative to waste incineration." "At BASF, we coordinate our sustainability efforts on our plastics journey which consists of three key steps in the product lifecycle: make, use and recycle. For the latter, we offer a wide range of recycling solutions be- cause we are convinced that many methods need to complement each other to achieve recycling goals. We prioritize mechanical recycling and continuously im- prove its ef ciency. At the same time, the type of waste and the degree of sorting determine which technology is best suited. We are convinced that complementary technologies such as chemical recycling, which includes pyrolysis, depolymerization and gasi cation, are nec - essary to further promote the circular economy and reduce the plastic waste that still ends up in land lls or is incinerated today," explains Dr. Martin Jung, Presi- dent of BASF’s Performance Materials division. "To op- timally utilize the various waste recovery options and further develop all technologies in parallel, the appro- priate regulatory framework is essential." Background: Chemical recycling and mass balance Chemical recycling can process plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled for technical, eco- nomic, or ecological reasons. Gasi cation is a variant of chemical recycling that can convert particularly mixed waste streams into valuable new raw materials, for example: plastic production. When fed into large, complex, and continuously operated production plants such as the BASF Verbund, these new circular raw ma- terials are mixed with conventional fossil raw materials and processed into plastic precursors. The new (sec- ondary) raw materials are attributed using the mass balance approach. Products and sites are certi ed by independent auditors according to internationally rec- ognized systems such as ISCC PLUS or REDcert². Due to the high quality of the new rawmaterials, the resulting products have the quality of new goods and meet the demanding requirements of high-performance plas- tics, as they are particularly needed for safety-relevant automotive components. BASF plastics.basf.com/gasi cation