Update: UK university licenses ‘supercritical water’ technology

The University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom has licensed the rights to its “supercritical water” technology to Stopford, a U.K. firm that provides comprehensive services to the petrochemical/bulk chemical, oil and gas, nuclear and renewable energy sectors. The company will use the technology to develop a process for recycling mixed plastic packaging that delivers a greater proportion of high-value recycled plastic with less emissions, fewer processing steps than current recycling methods and no solvent residues, according to a news release issued by the university.

The partners have been awarded funding from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge to enable further development of its process, which Bushra Al-Duri, Ph.D., from the University of Birmingham School of Chemical Engineering, initially developed before it was further developed during a collaborative project with Stopford. 

Above the critical point of 374.5 C and 220 bars (217 atmospheres), water is described as “supercritical,” meaning its properties and operational behavior are completely different from ambient/hot water, according to the news release. Supercritical water can be a solvent for all organic materials, including plastics. Its gas-like penetration power makes it a superior medium to decompose mixtures of complex end-of-life plastics into value-added material that is feedstock for manufacturing new plastics.

Stopford will further develop and scale the hydro-thermal process, CircuPlast, enabling the conversion of nonrecyclable end-of-life plastics into high-value chemicals for use as feedstock for the plastics industry, the university says.

An advanced recycling technology, CircuPlast is thought to be able overcome the limitations of existing recycling processes by enhancing recycling rates, enabling an increase in the amount of recycled content in plastics and maintaining functionality.

Stopford’s Technology & Innovation Director Ben Herbert, Ph.D., says, “This agreement enables Stopford to fast-track the development of the CircuPlast technology to meet the plastics management and sustainability requirements of multiple industry sectors.”

David Coleman, CEO of University Birmingham Enterprise, adds, “The growth of plastics production has long outstripped the capacity for recycling, with the U.K. alone producing over 2 million [metric tons] of plastic packaging waste each year, of which just over half is recycled.  We are delighted the university is working with Stopford to deliver a viable way of recycling much more plastic packaging that will help meet sustainability goals.” 

Al-Duri says, “Supercritical water technology represents the next generation for treatment and recycling of ‘stubborn’, complex and hazardous waste that is currently treated by incineration or sent to landfill.  I am looking forward to working with Stopford on the scientific and operational challenges involved in bringing this technology to market.” 

The project is supported by UKRI’s SSPP Challenge, the largest government investment to support the achievement of the U.K. Plastics Pact with the potential to alter the U.K.’s relationship with, and management of, plastic packaging, the partners say. 

*This article was updated March 2 to reflect the funding award.