As oil prices surge amid the Iran war, heightening energy crisis concerns, plastic recycling technology is gaining strategic importance. The eco-friendly technology that transforms discarded waste into new resources is expected to grow into a high-value industry, with Korean companies unveiling breakthrough technologies that could help reduce the nation's crude oil dependency and reshape its energy supply chain.
A visit to Plasicle, a plastic recycling specialist based in Incheon, on January 15 revealed significant advances in plastic recycling technology. Polycarbonate, one of the most difficult plastics to recycle, was being transformed into regenerated raw materials. When researchers placed pellet-form waste polycarbonate and catalysts into a reactor, the process yielded recycled materials that were then refined into high-purity white particles in an adjacent unit.
The white powder is bisphenol A, a base material that chemical companies use to produce polycarbonate. Used in automotive headlamps and other applications, polycarbonate is considered a high-performance plastic that can replace metal or glass due to its superior hardness and heat resistance compared to ordinary plastics. End-of-life car components are now being reborn as new plastics through Plasicle's technology, completing a circular loop.
"Existing polycarbonate recycling technologies had limitations in restoring the original color and quality," said Eom Eun-ji, a senior researcher at Plasicle. "Our patented recycling process produces very few impurities, making it more environmentally friendly than other recycling technologies."
Plasicle's technology uses depolymerization, a form of chemical recycling. Plastic recycling is broadly divided into mechanical and chemical methods. Mechanical recycling cannot completely filter out non-plastic materials and allows only one to two recycling cycles at most. Chemical recycling, however, can restore the original material properties, enabling nearly permanent regeneration, though mechanical recycling has cost advantages.
"Our recycling process can handle mixed contaminated plastics, broadening its applications," Eom said. "It doesn't require high-temperature processing, which is also advantageous for carbon emission reduction. Pyrolysis-based chemical recycling processes that operate at high temperatures have been continuously criticized for their limited carbon reduction effects."
Plasicle is currently undergoing technology verification at the pilot stage with a chemical company and plans to begin construction of a demonstration plant in 2028 to verify production scalability. While no factories capable of recycling polycarbonate currently exist in Korea, interest in plastic recycling is expected to grow as the Iran war intensifies supply chain risks and companies seek to secure supply stability.
"Given Korea's dependence on foreign crude oil and gas supplies, plastic recycling is not simply waste treatment technology but will enhance national competitiveness as an alternative to fossil resources," said Cho Chang-beom, CEO of Plasicle. "Companies sensitive to raw material price fluctuations will increasingly adopt new technologies like depolymerization to address supply chain risks. We are currently engaged in concrete technology collaborations with numerous domestic and overseas chemical companies."
Other Korean companies are also making strides in recycling technology. Dosi Yujeon has commercialized technology that decomposes discarded plastics at low temperatures without incineration. Last year, it completed a plant in Jeongeup capable of processing 6,500 tons of waste plastics and vinyl annually to produce up to 4,550 tons of recycled plastic feedstock oil.
Dosi Yujeon's non-combustion, low-temperature catalytic decomposition technology uses ceramic catalysts and electrical energy to convert waste plastics and vinyl into naphtha-grade high-quality feedstock at temperatures below 300 degrees Celsius without burning. The company said the process generates no harmful substances such as dioxins or furans and can separate vinyl and plastic from mixed waste, including pay-as-you-throw garbage bags, to extract recycled oil.
Ecocreation possesses pyrolysis plant technology that extracts oil from waste vinyl. The company has developed proprietary catalyst technology that significantly reduces wax generated during pyrolysis. In 2023, it supplied refined pyrolysis oil for petrochemical fuel use to a major Korean conglomerate.
"Beyond this war, in a world where geopolitical risks have become routine, building infrastructure for Korea to extract crude oil through its own capabilities is a matter of survival," said Jeon Beom-geun, CEO of Ecocreation. "We need an industrial transition that views waste not as a cost but as a resource."
