A&M Renewables Limited
Our mission
A&M Renewables was set up to work on projects relating to sustainability, climate change and biodiversity. Our first project is to prove the commercial viability of chemically recycling thin plastics using pyrolysis..
The problem with plastic
Plastic is a great material. Its cheap to manufacture, durable, easy to shape and can be made in a variety of forms, from hard plastics for car bodies and bottles to thin films for use as plastic bags or food wrapping. But once it is no longer needed, its difficult to dispose of. In the UK, around 3.5 million tons of new plastic is created every year, of which arounds two thirds is used for packaging. Less than 10% is recycled, and this is mostly hard plastics which are mechanically recycled. The rest is either sent to landfill, incinerated, or exported to other countries for disposal or ends up in the environment. There is currently no mechanical recycling method for thin film plastics. Plastic pollution harms ecosystems. It affects soil quality, water bodies, and wildlife. Animals often mistake plastic for food. Birds, fish, and marine mammals ingest it, leading to health issues or death. Plastic disrupts natural processes, affecting plant growth and soil fertility. As plastic breaks down into smaller particles, it becomes microplastics in our water, soil, and even the air we breathe - and enter the food chain, affecting human health as well as wildlife.
So what is the solution
Chemical recycling using pyrolysis enables the recycling of plastics, including thin film plastics that are unsuitable for mechanical recycling. It works by heating plastic in an inert atmosphere (ie with oxygen excluded) so that the plastic is broken down into a mix of smaller hydrocarbons and hydrogen. The hot gases are then passed through a series of condensers. The products from this process include: synthetic gas (syngas), oil and a high carbon char.. The oil can be used to make new plastic or for aviation fuel, in both cases removing the need for new oil to be taken from the ground. The gas is used to power the process and the char can be used for a variety of purposes.
What are we going to do
​We are setting up a small scale pyrolysis plant to chemically recycle thin film plastics, Pyrolysis is a mature technology but to date has not proved commercially viable at the scale needed to make a significant impact on the amount of plastic being released into the environment. The technology we are using has been developed in Germany and uses a continuous process, rather than the batch processing used previously. Once we have proved the process, we will scale up and hope that other businesses will also adopt the technology.