Gasification Chemical Recycling System (Waste Plastic - Chemical Raw Material) - Late 1990s to Early 2000s

Gasification Chemical Recycling System (Waste Plastic - Chemical Raw Material) - Late 1990s to Early 2000s
The gasification chemical recycling system introduced by Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a technology that simultaneously addressed two issues facing the Japanese chemical industry: the waste plastic problem and the need to secure stable supplies of chemical raw materials. Unlike conventional recycling, which mainly focuses on waste disposal, the main feature of this technology is that it redefines waste plastic as a carbon resource and incorporates it into the circulation of raw materials for the chemical industry. At the time, the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law made progress in recycling, but quality deterioration and application restrictions were inevitable with material recycling, and breaking away from dependence on incineration was also an issue. The gasification method can treat any material or contamination, and synthesis gas can be used to produce basic chemicals such as ammonia, presenting a recycling model that does not p
resuppose separation. This technology was symbolic of the recycling-oriented society theory of the time in that it transformed the waste plastic problem from a disposal of quantity to a reorganization of carbon resources.