New German-developed technology, Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR), regains resources from plastic waste in 20 minutes and the first commercial plant is currently being tested in Teesside, England and construction is to start this year.

Plastic recycling is a global issue with eight million metric tons deposited into the world’s oceans yearly and the issue is that most plastic is incinerated and only 14% recycled. It’s also an issue for igus, who launched its chainge recycling program last October and have now invested €4.7 million ($7.75 million) in the company that plans to start the first commercial Cat-HRT plant.

Cat-HRT uses the oil from recycled plastic to make new polymer products and aims to support the circular economy of plastics.

“With the igus chainge programme, we have started to recycle the plastic of old products,” igus chief executive Frank Blase says.

Mixed waste always remains worldwide and in the case of non-technical plastics, in quantities 100 to 1000 times greater.

“Chemical recycling offers new solutions in this regard,” Frank explains.

“In the middle of last year, I read an article about Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor technology in the FAZ. The next day, I contacted the German inventor Professor Thomas Maschmeyer in Sydney.”

Seven months later, after intensive research, igus now invests in Mura Technology Limited and therefore also in construction of the first Cat-HTR plant.

The patented chemical Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (abbreviated: Cat-HTR) technology was developed in 2007 and tested in a pilot plant in Australia for 10 years.