Plastic to Oil: The Revolution of Advanced Plastic Recycling Technology

Since its inception, plastic has permeated every aspect of human production and life due to its lightweight, durability, and low cost. However, behind this immense convenience lies a growing crisis: the escalating production of plastic waste has led to increasingly severe white pollution, resulting not only in massive resource wastage but also triggering a global environmental emergency.  

Traditional plastic treatment methods have reached their limits. Landfilling consumes vast tracts of land and risks contaminating soil and groundwater, while incineration releases toxic substances such as dioxins and generates significant carbon emissions. The limitations of mechanical recycling are increasingly evident—repeated melting fractures molecular chains, ultimately leading to disposal via landfills or incineration.  

Confronting the global challenge of plastic pollution management, chemical recycling technology is emerging as the core engine to address plastic pollution, representing an advanced "plastic-to-oil" recycling pathway. Unlike traditional mechanical recycling, chemical recycling—through methods such as pyrolysis—can convert plastic waste back into raw materials or high-value-added products, achieving true circular utilization.  

Represented by Niutech, a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and application of pyrolysis technology for organic waste, the company has independently developed an industrial continuous intelligent pyrolysis process and equipment for waste plastics, earning the National Science and Technology Progress Award.  

This technology employs eight core innovations, including "thermal dispersion, gas-tight sealing, and anti-polymerization," integrated with an intelligent control system that monitors nearly 20,000 parameters in real time, ensuring continuous operation at a 10,000-ton scale far exceeding industry averages.  

Niutech's pyrolysis production lines operate at atmospheric pressure without safety hazards, significantly reducing energy consumption through advanced waste-heat recovery and flue gas purification systems while meeting global environmental standards. The technology enables deep resource utilization of low-value, mixed plastic waste—including municipal, oceanic, and medical plastic waste—transforming garbage into energy and resources.  

Niutech's technology and integrated equipment have been exported to dozens of countries worldwide, cumulatively processing tens of millions of tons of organic waste. On August 20, 2025, the company announced a sales contract with a UK client valued at $27.58 million.  

Niutech's pyrolysis technology can be applied to over 30 types of organic waste, including waste rubber/tires, silicone rubber, waste plastics, tar residue, oil sludge, medical waste, discarded textiles, paint buckets/paint residue, and waste fiberglass.  

The equipment has obtained seven international certifications, including EU CE, German TÜV, EU ATEX, and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), establishing Niutech as a leading benchmark for China's pyrolysis technology going global.  

Amid the global push for a circular economy and carbon neutrality, high-end, intelligent, and green technological pathways are becoming industry standards. Chemical recycling technology has transitioned from experimental stages to industrial-scale implementation.  

Looking ahead, chemical recycling technology will increasingly focus on full-process digital management, constructing low-carbon smart factories, and forming rapidly replicable "standard factory" models to support the rapid scaling of waste plastic resource utilization. Niutech's technological applications have cumulatively reduced carbon emissions by over 25 million tons, contributing "Chinese wisdom" to global waste resourceization and carbon neutrality efforts.