Finnish technology company Coolbrook has made a breakthrough in plastics recycling by using its electrified RotoDynamicReactor to crack 100% plastic-waste-derived pyrolysis oil into useful olefins such as ethylene and propylene, according to a Team 10+ report.

Coolbrook’s tests were conducted in conjunction with the EU Horizon Europe program’s Electro project, which looks to demonstrate new technologies linking plastic waste with the petrochemical industry to make the production of olefins used in plastics more sustainable. 

The company’s RDR technology is designed to achieve 100% carbon dioxide-free olefin production using renewable energy sources, which could be a game-changer for the petrochemical industry and plastics recycling. 

Steam cracking is a process that breaks down saturated hydrocarbons, in this case pyrolysis oils, into smaller, often unsaturated hydrocarbons. Coolbrook says its technology does this more efficiently than traditional methods, without the need for dirty fuels, and with a higher selectivity of light olefins, which are highly valued. 

Less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled, with much of it ending up in landfills that generate planet-warming methane and leach chemicals and microplastics into the environment, where they can harm plants, animals, and humans.

The Electro project uses new technology to pre-treat plastic waste, providing a feedstock for Coolbrook’s RDR, which produces circular materials for reintroduction into the plastics manufacturing sector. 









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The scalable concept has an initial life cycle assessment showing a 90% reduction in planet-warming pollution over the best available technology being used today. 

These efforts support the European Union’s objective that all packaging be recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030 and decrease the use of virgin material to reach climate neutrality by 2050.  

The introduction of plastic-free alternatives has already begun, but plastics have been interwoven in society enough to make their elimination a difficult task. 

The automotive industry accounts for around 12-15% of global plastic demand, and the increased adoption of electric vehicles will push that figure up because of the high mechanical strength and light weight of certain plastics and fiber-reinforced composites that aid in extending vehicle range. 

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Because of this, the EU will require 20% recycled plastic in new vehicles within six years of the new regulation’s implementation, with a bump to 25% in 10 years. 

“Without scalable recycling solutions, the industry risks creating a new wave of waste. Circularity is no longer optional; it’s a regulatory, environmental and economic imperative,” per a World Economic Forum report. 

According to Team 10+, Coolbrook has also successfully cracked naphtha — another petroleum product used in plastics — at its pilot plant, which shows the versatility of its technology and its potential to revolutionize other parts of the petrochemical industry. 

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