Following a rise in patent applications related to chemical and biological recycling technologies, senior associate Beth Campbell looks at the research driving new plastic recycling technologies and how these innovations can best be protected.
Reducing plastic waste is essential to combating plastic pollution, which is harmful to not only wildlife and marine ecosystems, but also poses significant threats to human health. Recent reports have highlighted the sheer scale of the plastic pollution problem with plastics and microplastics having been shown to be present in surprising places ranging from human blood samples to freshly fallen Antarctic snow.
Over the past 20 years, the world has doubled its production of plastic waste. While recycling of plastic waste has become much more widespread, with approximately one-third of all plastic waste being recycled in Europe, it remains challenging and largely inefficient. Consequently, a significant percentage of all plastic waste generated by human activities is still incinerated, exported or sent to landfills, resulting in CO2 emissions and wasting valuable resources.
Due to the growing concerns about the negative impacts of plastic pollution on both human health and the environment, the global market for plastic recycling is expanding rapidly, with a recent report estimating that the market will be worth as much as 61.0 billion USD by the year 2031. Increasing investment in this area is helping drive research. Therefore, it is no surprise that ways of treating, reducing and eliminating plastic waste is a booming area of chemical research. The ultimate goal of this research: create a circular economy for plastics.
Alternative methods of recycling
One emerging area of research into plastic waste reduction is the biological recycling of plastics, in particular of PET (polyethylene tetraphthalate), a plastic used widely in the production of bottles and polyester clothing. In 2018, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Frances H. Arnold for her work on the directed evolution of enzymes. This work has helped to develop further enzymes that hydrolyse and degrade polymers and plastics, including a promising enzyme capable of hydrolysing PET back into its building blocks with excellent yield, while retaining good mechanical properties. Work is currently underway by the French company Carbios on a recycling plant, which will commercialise the enzymatic recycling of PET. It is anticipated that this plant will be ready to enzymatically recycle 50 thousand tonnes of PET a year – equivalent to 2 billion PET bottles – by as soon as 2025.
Another emerging area of research into plastic waste reduction is improving the depolymerisation of plastics. This area covers both: developing new and more efficient processes for chemically recycling polymers; and re-engineering the production of polymers and plastics so that the plastics we use are much easier to depolymerise. For example, researchers have developed: polydiketoenamines, a family of strong, chemically resistant polymers suitable for a number of applications, which are readily recycled using simple mechanochemical methods; and microwave-assisted depolymerisation, which has already been scaled-up for use in the recycling of PET. Most recently, Swiss company Gr3n announced plans for a new recycling plant, opening in 2027, that will implement microwave-assisted depolymerisation to recycle around 40 thousand tonnes of PET annually.
Trends in patent filings
A recent study published by the EPO found the number of international patent applications directed to chemical and biological recycling technologies to have increased dramatically over the past 10 years, with European and US companies and research institutions accounting for approximately one-third of all applications filed. Patent protection is fundamental to the continued growth of the chemical recycling industry and, in particular, to the increased commercialisation of chemical recycling technologies. A strong patent portfolio attracts investors and improves the likelihood of an innovative technology being transferred from the lab to the industry.
In the UK, applicants wishing to obtain speedy protection for their plastic recycling technologies could benefit from accelerated processing through the UKIPO’s Green Channel, which is intended for inventions having an environmental benefit.
Please get in touch with Beth Campbell or your usual Forresters attorney for advice on patent protection for plastic recycling inventions.
