Globally, over 350 million tons of waste plastics are generated annually, yet less than 10% undergo mechanical recycling, while the rest are landfilled, incinerated, or even discarded. According to the OECD’s 2022 Global Plastics Outlook, only 9% of global plastic waste is mechanically recycled, 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfills, and 22% is improperly disposed of.
Through chemical recycling technologies like pyrolysis, the waste plastics that once plagued cities are now being transformed into valuable fuel oil, achieving a metamorphosis from “white pollution” to “urban oil fields.”
Technical Principles: The Qualitative Transformation of Plastics into Fuel
Chemical recycling of waste plastics refers to the process of using waste plastics as feedstock and employing chemical methods to convert them into plastic monomers and other chemical by-products, which are then used to produce new plastics and other chemical products.
The plastic pyrolysis process takes place in sealed, oxygen-free or low-oxygen environments, where plastics are heated to specific temperatures, causing their high-molecular polymers to undergo chain scission and convert into low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons. The final pyrolysis products consist of three components: pyrolysis oil, pyrolysis gas, and solid fuel. Pyrolysis oil, as the primary economic output, can be directly used as fuel or further refined into gasoline/diesel; pyrolysis gas is purified and reused as system energy; and solid residues serve as solid fuel or adsorption materials.
While efficient plastic recycling solutions, such as chemical recycling, can effectively recover and upcycle waste plastics to advance the circular economy, chemically recycled plastics currently account for less than 1% of total waste plastic processing, indicating that the industry is still in its early developmental stages.
Niutech’s Technological Innovation: Overcoming Global Challenges
In the field of pyrolysis technology, Chinese enterprises have transitioned from followers to global leaders, with Jinan Niutech Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. standing out as a prominent example. Leveraging nearly four decades of technical expertise, Niutech has overcome three long-standing global challenges in the pyrolysis industry: system coking, dynamic sealing during feeding and discharge, and product polymerization.
Niutech’s independently developed “Integrated Low-Temperature Pyrolysis Technology and Equipment for Resource Utilization of Waste Rubber and Plastics” incorporates multiple innovations. Its continuous pyrolysis system enables fully continuous production, including integrated processes such as continuous feeding, pyrolysis, and residue discharge.
These technological breakthroughs earned Niutech the National Science and Technology Progress Award, establishing it as an industry technology leader and enabling it to lead the drafting of multiple national and industry standards.
Niutech’s technical prowess has been validated not only domestically but also recognized globally. Its technology and equipment have been exported to dozens of countries and regions, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Hungary, and South Korea.
In 2017, a Danish waste plastic pyrolysis plant supported by Niutech’s technology and equipment received investment and high recognition from global chemical giant BASF, becoming a classic case of the company’s technology going global. BASF uses the pyrolysis oil as feedstock for its “Chemical Recycling” project, setting a benchmark for chemical recycling of waste plastics in Europe.
In the Asian market, a waste plastic pyrolysis production line invested by Hyundai Group and equipped by Niutech has achieved cross-border industrial chain integration. In 2025, Niutech signed a single-project contract worth RMB 198 million with a UK client, demonstrating the competitiveness of Chinese environmental equipment in high-end markets.
Niutech’s equipment has obtained seven authoritative international certifications, including EU CE, German TÜV, ATEX explosion-proof certification, and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), exemplifying how Chinese enterprises can break through green trade barriers.
There is no such thing as real waste—only resources in the wrong place. Through continuous technological innovation, rational policy guidance, and a healthy industrial ecosystem, waste plastic pyrolysis technology is poised for broader development prospects, providing robust support for global plastic pollution treatment and resource circularity.