Nuclear technology boosts plastics recycling

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is collaborating with industry partners to use radiation to process plastic waste. Their efforts target scrap across Asia and in the Pacific region, where plastic pollution is at an all-time high. 

IAEA researchers are coordinating ‘breakthrough’ solutions under a Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution initiative. It was launched in 2020 in a bid to cut plastic pollution in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Recent tests indicate that a recycling method using nuclear irradiation can transform plastic waste, including hard-to-recycle plastics, into high-performance products.

Crosslinking

Chemical crosslinking has traditionally been used to manufacture polyethylene. Researchers point out that ionising radiation-induced crosslinking can produce improved plastic products without the need for high temperatures and pressure, and without toxic chemical residues.

Indonesian wood-plastic composites producer PT Viro and the country’s National Research and Innovation Agency are providing the materials and helping with stress tests. The next step is planning for large-scale production.

‘Collaboration in the research and innovation of radiation technology for polymer modification must be continually encouraged,’ says professor Anugerah Widiyanto, who is co-leading the project. ‘Indonesia can play a central role in this collaboration under the IAEA’s technical cooperation framework.’

Micropowder

Building on the initiative , the Malaysian Nuclear Agency has partnered with two private companies, HDD Technology and Alam Flora Environmental Solutions. They will improve upstream recycling and the transformation of polytetrafluoroethylene and polyethylene products. The products are used to create plastic bags and other disposable packaging.

HDD Technology is supplying PTFE waste for processing while researchers will oversee the irradiation process using electron beam energy. Doing so will convert the PTFE waste into plastic micropowder – an industrial additive that is used to enhance the chemical resistance and lubricity of oils, paints and more.

Preliminary exercises have demonstrated the scalability of this process. Plans are in place for a laboratory prototype to validate the pilot-scale production of the micropowder.

Oil and housing

Meawhile, researchers are using electron beam and gamma irradiation to degrade PE input from Alam Flora Environmental Solutions in Malaysia. This will yield pyrolysis oil, which can replace industrial fuels such as a furnace oil. Proof of concept has been delivered with production due to start by the end of the year.  

The IAEA is backing efforts by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute and Envirotech Waste Recycling to tackle the  twin problem of a national housing crisis and the Philippines’ plastic waste problem.

Irradiation is being used to create construction materials, including tiles, bricks, lumber and boards, from recycled plastic. Researchers claim the recycled parts boast improved tensile strength, abrasion resistance and other mechanical properties.