This cutting-edge technology, supported by £375,000 in grants from Innovate UK, represents a significant leap forward in the fight against plastic pollution.
Repolywise’s Atomic Scissors technology involves a highly innovative hydrocracking process to break down waste plastics at the atomic level. In its current lab-scale capacity, the technology has demonstrated the efficient, selective, and high yielding degradation of assorted samples of polyolefins.
This initial capacity serves as proof-of-concept for the innovative catalyst developed at Oxford. Repolywise was founded to scale this technology, enabling it to handle larger quantities of plastic waste, from kilograms to tonnes, through a continuous flow process. This advancement moves us closer to a sustainable solution for plastic pollution.
"Our Atomic Scissors technology represents a crucial breakthrough in tackling the global plastic waste crisis,” said Dr Bryan Ng, Founder and CEO of Repolywise. “By transforming hard-to-recycle plastics into valuable raw materials, we're not just reducing waste — we're enabling a circular economy that redefines how we produce and reuse plastics for a sustainable future."
How Atomic Scissors technology works
The Atomic Scissors process selectively converts plastic waste into propane in a one-step process. This propane is then sold to the petrochemical industry, where it is dehydrogenated or cracked into olefins before being used in the production of new polyolefins, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). This approach not only helps reduce plastic waste but also supports the circular economy by creating valuable raw materials for new plastic products.
Repolywise’s technology is designed to process polyolefin plastics, including polyethylene and polypropylene, which account for approximately 50% of the 330 billion kilograms of plastics produced globally each year.
These types of plastics are particularly challenging to recycle using conventional methods, often leading to downcycling into lower-quality materials. In contrast Repolywise’s Atomic Scissors offer a solution to recycle these materials back into high-quality polypropylene, ready for reuse in the production of new plastic products. Vitally this is a more efficient, higher-yielding, lower energy required reaction than current hydrocracking techniques seen elsewhere.
Scaling for commercial use
While the Atomic Scissors technology is a breakthrough in chemical recycling of plastic, a challenge remains to scale the process. The current lab-scale is a 2 gramme batch process, and will be increased to 2 kilogrammes in the next phase of development. Following further funding, Repolywise plans to achieve a commercial-scale capacity of 2 tonnes in a semi-flow process, marking a substantial step towards industrial application.
Fundamentally Repolywise’s technology operates under relatively mild conditions with a highly selective process, which contributes to reduced costs compared to other chemical recycling methods. This cost-effectiveness, combined with the technology’s ability to handle hard-to-recycle plastics, positions it as a game-changer in the global effort to reduce plastic waste.
Repolywise is committed to meeting the highest standards of environmental and operational compliance. The company is working towards obtaining ISCC certification, which will validate its mass balance approach and ensure the sustainability of its processes.
With the support of £375,000 in grants from Innovate UK, Repolywise is conducting further research and development from the AgileLab at Oxford University Begbroke Science Park to enhance and scale up its Atomic Scissors technology. The company continues to leverage its academic roots and cutting-edge research undertaken at Oxford University to drive innovation in the field of plastic recycling.
