BASF Advances Chemical Recycling by Converting Plastic Waste and Biomass into Feedstock
BASF has introduced a method to recycle mixed plastic waste from end-of-life vehicles combined with biomass through gasification, creating new feedstocks while reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared with incineration for energy recovery.
According to BASF, research by ETH Zurich showed that gasifying a blend of waste plastics and biomass, rather than incinerating automotive shredder residues to generate electricity and steam, produces both synthesis gas and steam. These outputs can then be used as feedstock for chemical production, reducing reliance on virgin fossil fuels.
The Swiss study revealed that recycling 1 kg of automotive shredder residues together with 3 kg of biomass can cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3 kg CO2-equivalent compared to burning the same waste for energy.
The innovation lies in incorporating plastic waste from automotive shredders into the gasification process, unlocking a substantial amount of plastic waste that is currently incinerated or sent to landfills.
In Europe alone, over one million tons of automotive plastic waste are either incinerated or landfilled annually. While more plastic can be mechanically recycled, residual mixed plastic waste will always remain.
BASF highlighted that for recycled plastic feedstocks to replace fossil-based materials, supportive policies are essential. Legislation should recognize mixed plastic waste as recyclable and establish long-term targets to encourage the shift toward recycled feedstock.
Currently, regulations support the gasification of bio-waste, which has facilitated investments in sustainable fuels for aviation and maritime applications. However, equivalent support does not exist for recycling plastic waste via gasification.
Martin Jung, president of BASF’s Performance Materials division, stated, “Operating separate gasification plants for bio-waste and plastic waste is not efficient. Policies should enable multi-purpose use of these plants through a verified and flexible mass balance approach.”
BASF emphasized that recycling technologies like chemical recycling via gasification are necessary depending on the type of waste and sorting level. For these methods to be widely adopted, a flexible mass balance approach in regulation is crucial.
Currently, biomass gasification is accepted for producing sustainable fuels, but gasifying plastic waste streams—such as those from automotive shredders—is not yet regulated.
The research by BASF and ETH Zurich builds on a pilot project carried out earlier this year with Porsche and technology partner Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies (BEST).
The project successfully demonstrated that high-performance plastics from automotive shredder residues can be recycled with renewable materials through gasification, returning them to the automotive supply chain.
The resulting synthesis gas and its derivatives replaced fossil-based raw materials in BASF’s production network. For instance, polyurethane used in steering wheels was produced using this recycled feedstock under a mass balance approach.
Dr. Matthias Kuba, area manager for syngas platform technologies at BEST, said the plant had previously converted biomass such as wood or straw into chemical raw materials.
“In this pilot project with BASF and Porsche, we applied gasification technology for the first time to complex plastic waste streams combined with biomass to produce synthetic crude oil, or syncrude. This chemical recycling approach shows significant potential for turning mixed waste into valuable raw materials and offers a viable alternative to incineration.”
