Hydrogen Plasma Torch Instantly Pulverizes Plastic Waste, Making "Zero-Sorting" Recycling Possible

Korean researchers have developed a hydrogen plasma torch that can convert mixed plastic waste into recyclable chemicals within 0.01 seconds, enabling "sorting-free" plastic recycling while significantly reducing carbon emissions.

This technology was developed by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) and decomposes mixed plastics directly into basic chemical raw materials such as ethylene and benzene through the rapid energy transfer characteristics of high-temperature plasma (1000-2000°C). The purity of these raw materials exceeds 99%, allowing them to be directly used for new plastic production, forming a "plastic-raw material-plastic" closed-loop recycling chain.

Traditional plastic recycling relies on pyrolysis, which requires heating waste to 600°C and produces over a hundred by-products, resulting in low actual utilization rates and significant environmental controversies. In contrast, hydrogen plasma torches achieve a high conversion efficiency of 70%-90% and an ethylene yield of 90%, driven by hydrogen energy to realize near-zero carbon emissions. South Korea, as a global leader in recycling, currently has chemical recycling accounting for less than 1%. This technology is expected to promote its transition towards green chemical recycling.

Project leader Song Yingxun stated, "This is the world's first industrialized pathway to directly convert mixed plastics into raw materials. Through continuous demonstration and commercialization, we aim to address the challenges of waste and emissions." Currently, the research team has completed laboratory validation and plans to launch a commercial demonstration in 2026.

This technology overcomes the bottleneck of manual sorting required in traditional recycling by using ultra-high temperature plasma to instantly crack plastic molecules, thereby avoiding explosion risks. After parameter optimization, 99% of the output products can reach industrial-grade purity and can be directly reused in plastic manufacturing.

Faced with the harsh reality that only a small fraction of plastics are recycled globally, this "flash" recycling technology may become a key tool for South Korea and other countries to tackle plastic pollution, advancing the circular economy towards greater efficiency and environmental friendliness.