EUBP Talk #2: Non-thermal air plasma technology and thermo-chemical recycling for bioplastics
In our second edition, Chrysanthi Argeiti, from the Agricultural University of Athens, presented on non-thermal air plasma technology for efficient post-consumer bioplastics waste recycling.
The non-thermal air plasma technology is an advanced oxidative process that operates at ambient conditions, eliminating the use of high temperatures and pressures, chemicals and solvents. Relying solely on renewable electricity, plasma enhances resource and energy efficiency, making it a sustainable bioplastic pretreatment method. The reactive environment rich in nitrogen and oxygen species enhances bioplastic degradation, facilitating enzymatic hydrolysis. By optimising key parameters such as energy discharge, treatment duration, and gas composition, the polymer properties can be selectively modified, enhancing surface roughness and inducing partial biopolymer chain fragmentation. Plasma treatment disrupts the polymer backbone, reduces molecular weight, and increases the porosity and hydrophilicity of bioplastics, significantly improving the efficiency of subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. This approach leads to an efficient and sustainable biological recycling technology. Presentation: https://zenodo.org/records/15044307
David Costa, from GREENE, provided an in-depth look at thermo-chemical recycling for bioplastics.
Thermo-chemical recycling uses heat and chemical processes, such as pyrolysis and gasification, to break down plastic waste into simpler chemical substances, which can then be reused to make new products. Pyrolysis breaks down materials at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, while gasification turns waste into syngas or chemicals. In this talk, David explored how GREENE and GREENE W2H2 aim to apply these mature technologies to bioplastics, address key challenges and limitations, and discussed the potential for renewable hydrogen production from thermochemical processes applied to biogenic waste. Presentation: https://zenodo.org/records/15081168
