Plastics, as products of the petrochemical industry, are essentially “solid petroleum.” Pyrolysis technology simulates nature’s petroleum formation process—converting organic materials into hydrocarbons under high temperature and pressure—enabling the resource recovery of waste plastics. As global attention to plastic pollution management intensifies, pyrolysis technology is becoming a key focus for countries worldwide. The European Union has set a target for at least 55% of plastic packaging to be recycled by December 31, 2030, while chemical giants like LyondellBasell, SABIC, and BASF have established the “Alliance to End Plastic Waste,” committing $1.5 billion to eliminate plastic waste in the environment.
I. Plastic Pyrolysis: The Path to Industrial-Scale Waste-to-Energy
The pyrolysis process occurs in sealed, oxygen-free or low-oxygen environments, where plastics are heated to specific temperatures to break down their high-molecular polymers into low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons. This process ensures the high-value continuity of the “plastic recycling system.”
Pyrolysis is a “material-to-oil” process, with pyrolysis oil serving as the primary economic output. It can be directly used as fuel or further refined into gasoline/diesel; pyrolysis gas is purified and reused as system energy; and solid residues function as solid fuel or adsorption materials.
Compared to simple mechanical recycling, pyrolysis can process mixed, low-value plastic waste, while significantly reducing environmental pollution and carbon emissions relative to incineration and landfilling. This “atom-economical” approach maximizes the utilization of carbon and hydrogen elements in plastics, representing a truly green circular solution.
II. Technical Advantages: A Win-Win for Environmental and Economic Benefits
The global attention on pyrolysis technology stems from its unique integrated advantages. From an environmental perspective, traditional plastic treatment methods exhibit clear shortcomings: landfilling consumes land resources and risks groundwater contamination; incineration tends to generate harmful substances like dioxins; and mechanical recycling imposes high raw material requirements, struggling to handle low-value plastic waste.
Pyrolysis technology operates in oxygen-free environments, fundamentally preventing dioxin formation while suppressing pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. Its fully sealed design eliminates uncontrolled volatile organic compound emissions, and when combined with an advanced exhaust gas purification system, ensures compliance with the world’s most stringent environmental standards.
From an economic feasibility standpoint, pyrolysis technology has demonstrated commercial value through revenue streams such as pyrolysis oil sales, carbon product income, and government subsidies for plastic waste treatment.
Pyrolysis achieves “upcycling” of waste plastics rather than traditional “downcycling.” Pyrolysis oil can serve as a petrochemical feedstock to produce new plastics, enabling a “plastic-to-plastic” closed loop, reducing dependence on virgin petroleum resources, and achieving a resource utilization rate far exceeding the energy recovery rate of incineration.
III. Niutech’s Technological Innovation: Solving Global Challenges
In the field of pyrolysis technology, Chinese enterprises have transitioned from explorers to global leaders, with Niutech standing out as a prominent example. Leveraging nearly four decades of technical expertise, Niutech has independently developed pyrolysis equipment incorporating multiple innovations, overcoming three long-standing global challenges in the industry: system coking, dynamic sealing during feeding/discharge, and product polymerization.
Niutech’s technical prowess has been validated not only domestically but also recognized globally. Its technology and equipment have been exported to numerous countries and regions, including Germany, Brazil, Hungary, Norway, Estonia, Thailand, Iraq, Malaysia, and India.
Niutech’s collaborative project with Norway’s Quantafuel in Denmark received strategic investment and recognition from chemical giant BASF, which uses the pyrolysis oil as feedstock for its “chemical recycling” initiative to produce carbon-neutral high-end plastic products, establishing a benchmark for chemical recycling of waste plastics in Europe.
In 2025, Hyundai Group’s Southeast Asian waste plastic pyrolysis project fully adopted Niutech’s technology and successfully commenced operations, supplying pyrolysis oil to South Korean chemical plants and achieving cross-border industrial chain integration.
In August 2025, Niutech signed a contract worth RMB 198 million with a UK client for a 60,000-ton/year industrial continuous waste plastic pyrolysis production line. The selection process for this project underscored international recognition of Niutech’s technical capabilities, as the client compared multiple domestic and international competitors before ultimately choosing Niutech based on technological superiority, maturity, and stability.
Niutech’s equipment has also obtained authoritative international certifications such as EU CE, German TÜV, and ATEX explosion-proof certification, particularly achieving ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification). This signifies that pyrolysis products manufactured using Niutech’s technology meet the stringent requirements for entering the global high-end green renewable energy market, exemplifying how Chinese enterprises can break through green trade barriers.