Cyclize, a spin-off from the University of Stuttgart, has developed a technology to defossilize the chemical industry by using mixed plastic waste and CO2 as raw materials to produce synthesis gas, a fundamental building block for advanced chemicals that is used in making plastics, methanol, foams, adhesives, paints, hydrogen, and e-fuels.
Syngas – a market worth over $60 billion globally – is currently made with fossil resources such as natural gas or coal. Cyclize’s plasma technology allows the reforming of waste plastics into a green type of syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can ultimately be used to create new products, says CEO and Co-founder Maike Lambarth. This approach has the potential to mitigate CO2 emissions as well as plastic waste pollution, she says, as the plastic used is what is normally burned in incinerators. Depending on the desired product, the company’s process can be carbon negative by using carbon dioxide as feedstock, helping companies reach emission goals.
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