KIT and Audi are working on recycling method for automotive plastics

IMAGE: Pyrolysis oil from mixed wastes is to close the loop for plastics from automotive engineering.
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Credit: (Photo: Markus Breig, KIT)
A large number of components in automobiles are made from plastics. They have to meet high safety, heat resistance, and quality requirements. That is why so far only petroleum-based materials have been suitable for manufacturing plastic components in cars that are subjected to extremely high wear. In most cases, such materials cannot be recycled. Whereas plastics of the same type can often be recycled mechanically, recycling of mixed plastic waste poses a major challenge. The THINK TANK Industrial Resource Strategies of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Audi are therefore launching a pilot project for chemical recycling in order to feed such mixed plastic fractions back into a resource-conserving circular system.
“Recycling automotive plastics has not yet been possible for many components. That is why we are