Chemical recycling has gradually become high value added and high end technologies in plastic recycling industry as it effectively processes plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled.

CHINAPLAS 2025 set stage for international brands, such as BASF, Kingfa, SK Chemicals, LG CHEM, JSW Machinery, and Huafon, to showcase their advanced technologies for chemical recycling.

BASF: Chemical recycling technologies for PA66 and PU foam

At the fairgrounds, BASF showed its Ultramid PA66 (polyamide) glass fiber reinforced for injection molding, produced through chemical recycling. It is the first chemically recycled PA66 product.

BASF launched its PU recycling solution Loop at CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: BASF)

Its halogen-free flame resistant property and physical performance are the same as its fossil-based grade. It can be directly applied in existing production line for industrial parts such as connectors.

Another chemical recycling technology from BASF is for polyurethane (PU). BASF and Autoliv jointly developed Loop sterling wheel that achieves 20-30wt% recycled content in the new PU foam application through recycling PU foam, bringing engineering sample to the circularity of thermosetting material.

LG CHEM: Supercritical Pyrolysis technology for mixed plastic waste

LG CHEM’s self-developed Supercritical Pyrolysis achieves efficient pyrolysis process with similar material after initial sorting on plastic waste, offering new scalable solution to process mixed and polluted plastic waste. This technology will be operated at the Dangjin plant in South Korea.

LG CHEM brought the Supercritical Pyrolysis to CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: LG CHEM)

Kingfa: PET chemical recycling breakthrough to produce PBT resin

Kingfa made a breakthrough in chemical recycling with its self-developed technology to chemically recycle PET to produce PBT resin. Through high-effective alcoholysis and polymerization, the technology uses PET bottle chips waste as raw material to produce PBT resin that owns performance comparable to fossil-based PBT while lowering 42% carbon emission with optimized processes.

Kingfa showed the full life cycle of plastic, from raw material to recycled application. (Source: Kingfa)

Kingfa further explored the “Renew + Bio-based” polymerization process – by using bio-based BDO as alternative to part of fossil-based raw material to produce chemically recycled PBT resin with 31% bio-based content. At the present, the 100-ton pilot production line has completed the process stability verification, paving technological basis for its 10,000-ton production facility.

SK Chemicals: World-first commercial chemical recycling solution

With the theme “Reachable Solutions for a Sustainable Future”, SK Chemicals highlighted its verified, mature commercial products, showcasing some of the sustainable technology for immediate application, including the world’s first commercial chemical recycling solution.

SK Chemicals’ booth at CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: SK Chemicals)

Depolymerization-based technology breaks down waste plastics at the molecular level to achieve properties and quality identical to fossil-based material, such as high transparency, while supporting multiple recyclability. The technology can also process multiple waste plastics including colored containers, films and trays.

With its world’s first commercial depolymerization technology, SK Chemicals has built an integrated product line with recycled content from PET to high-performance copolyester (e.g. PETG).

Huafon: New PU chemical recycling technology

Huafon and novoloop presented their collaboration on polyurethane (PU) chemical recycling technology, achieving TPU circularity with polyethylene (PE) waste. The technology offers new ways to recycle thermoformed PU and is currently in pre-industrial testing state.

Huafon’s booth at CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: Huafon)

Chambroad: Chemically recycled food-grade CPP

At the flexible packaging area, Chambroad showed its circular CPP chemical recycling technology, achieving food grade renewable CPP with 100 tons supply ability through collaboration between upper and lower stream industries.

Chambroad showed its CPP film in flexible packaging area at CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: Chambroad)

Its chemical recycling technology achieves closed loop circularity by restoring the performance of virgin plastic, solves recycling problems for mixed plastic and polluted packaging, as well as overcomes the limitation of mechanical recycling.

Shanghai DODGEN Chemical Technology: Large-scale production with high purity

Shanghai DODGEN Chemical Technology showed its modular integration of four major technologies – melt crystallizer, DSR polymerization reactor, DSXL high efficient devolatilizer, and static mixer, achieving advancement in purity, efficiency, and cost.

DODGEN’s booth at CHINAPLAS 2025. (Source: DODGEN)

Its countercurrent heat transfer-enabled falling film crystallizer can achieve 99.999% high purity with ultra-low energy consumption of 230 kg stream/ton as well as full automated control in all processes.

The crystallizer can also support continuous large-scale production as it features fast material flow, high efficient crystallization, precise control of processing temperature, high processing ability for single equipment.

Chemical recycling now as key

CHINAPLAS 2025 proved the huge development in chemical recycling technologies. They also showed the development trend of chemical recycling with increasing technology maturity, expanding production scale and stronger collaboration in industrial chains.

Chemical recycling is no longer a small trial, but a key power to plastic circularity. With technological advancement and cost reduction, chemical recycling has been transformed from complementary method to key solution, promoting plastic circularity in sustainable future.