The University of Birmingham has licensed to Stopford the rights to a ‘supercritical water’ technology invented by Dr Bushra Al-Duri, from the University’s School of Chemical Engineering. The technology, a hydrothermal process for recycling mixed plastic packaging, was further developed during a collaborative project with Stopford, an international multi-disciplinary consultancy, engineering design and project management services company.
Called CircuPlast, it delivers a greater proportion of high value recycled plastic with less emissions and fewer processing steps than current recycling methods It will now be further developed and scaled by Stopford, a company that already has a portfolio of green technologies to its name
The technology is an eco-friendly technology using ‘supercritical’ water rather than industrial solvents and providing a sustainable alternative to fossil-based feedstocks with no CO2, emissions in the production or disposal phases.
“Supercritical water technology represents the next generation for treatment and recycling of ‘stubborn’, complex, and hazardous waste that is currently treated by incineration or sent to landfill,”said Dr Al-Duri.
Supercritical refers to water above the critical point of 374.5 oC and 220 bars (217 atmospheres). Its properties and operational behaviour then become completely different from ambient/hot water. Supercritical water can be a solvent for all organic materials including plastics. Its gas-like penetration power makes it a superior medium to decompose mixtures of complex waste plastics into value-added materials, which are feedstock for manufacturing new plastics.
“We are delighted the university is working with Stopford to deliver a viable way of recycling much more plastic packaging that will help meet sustainability goals,” said David Coleman, CEO of University Birmingham Enterprise.
“I am looking forward to working with Stopford on the scientific and operational challenges involved in bringing this technology to market,”added Dr Al-Duri.