Spanish plastics technology centre Aimplas (Valencia; www.aimplas.net) has helped develop a mobile chemical recycling plant capable of producing viable plastics feedstock from currently non-recyclable waste from the automotive, electrical and electronic, and packaging sectors.

Aimplas said it worked with the European “Life Ecomethylal” project on the pilot plant, which is capable of extracting up to half a kilo of methylal from every kilo of non-recyclable waste. Methylal can be used as a solvent and as a raw material to produce new polymers.

As well as its mobility, Aimplas said the pilot plant was modular and could easily be transported, assembled, and adapted to deal with different kinds of waste. “These features were validated during project development, and it was also confirmed that pre-treatment of waste using mechanical recycling helped produce optimal results” the centre added.