Self-cleaning catalysts enable recycling of multilayered plastic films

Multilayered plastic films containing polyethylene (PE) and poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (EVOH), are of great importance for the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, economical recycling is challenging for these materials, leading to waste accumulation in landfills. Mechanical recycling produces a low-value mixture of immiscible phases. Here, we describe a new approach that employs a biphasic solvent system with interfacially active catalysts to selectively remove oxygen from EVOH within multilayered plastic films to yield a single phase of compatible polymers from this complex feed mixture. This approach offers great potential for selective reactions and separation of plastic waste. An economic evaluation simulates an industrial scale recycling process for the PE product with the minimum selling price of $0.90 per kg, which is below the market price, indicating promise for the economical recycling of multilayered films.