aes_logo_invertiert

Research projects

We are not resting on our achievements, but are actively developing improvements to the system and are researching the possibility of processing a wider range of plastics such as PVC and PA.
In addition to government-funded projects, we are also happy to work with you as an industrial partner on customized solutions.

  • Completed Research Projects

Initial Situation:

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a thermoplastic material that has become essential in many everyday products. Due to its favourable characteristics, its applications in industry (construction and electronics) are extremely popular. At 37.4 million tonnes per year, PVC ranks third in global plastics consumption, behind polyethylene and polypropylene. Although PVC was already the most commonly produced plastic in the world in 1945, the issue of recycling has not been sufficiently clarified. The recycling rate in Germany is 37%, which is lower than the average recycling rate for plastics, which is 46% on average. The usual approaches to PVC recycling (landfill and burning) are either energy-intensive or inefficient in terms of the quality of re-use or harmful to the environment due to the release of harmful gases.

The Project:

Pyrolysis technology makes it possible to break down PVC in the absence of oxygen and extract petrochemically recyclable plastics from it. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of chemical compounds at high temperatures (600 °C) and breaks down the long-chain molecules into organic compounds. During pyrolysis, however, chlorine gases are released which can be separated, for example, by binding with sodium in the preliminary stage of the pyrolysis process. This leads to other useful products such as salts and enables pyrolysis without the formation of harmful exhaust gases. However, the successful establishment of pyrolysis technology on a large scale faces economic and operational difficulties due to fluctuating waste quantities and types as well as high investments. Rising energy and electricity costs and increasing disposal fees are currently creating new opportunities for small recycling plants. The challenges here are the robustness of the pyrolysis technology and the adaptation to fluctuating waste quantities and types, as well as the automatic system control to reduce personnel deployment and thus costs.

Objectives:

As part of the project, AES is developing a new system technology that makes it possible to process waste containing chlorine into a pyrolysis oil and hydrochloric acid or common salt. AES is responsible for the design and construction of the chlorine separation and the associated pyrolysis technology. In co-operation with Aachen University of Applied Sciences, the economic efficiency is already being evaluated during the project. Finally, the new system technology will be tested at a pilot client. This technical innovation of the automated pyrolysis system with an ecological approach can achieve C-cycle closure, CO2 savings, elimination of non-recyclable waste flows and efficient utilisation of material resources and recycling.

  • Ongoing Research Projects

Initial Situation:

The Renewable Energy Sources Act has been promoting the energy turnaround to reduce environmentally harmful fossil energy resources for over 20 years. Wind energy plays a key role in this, with the number of wind turbines growing every year. The trend towards ever larger wind turbines and rotor blades is leading to a considerable increase in the amount of materials and raw materials required to build the turbines. After an average service life of 20 years, the question of recycling and closed material cycles has not yet been sufficiently clarified. Dismantled wind turbines are predominantly thermally recycled, landfilled (USA) or occasionally find secondary use in furniture or works of art.

The Project:

With the help of pyrolysis, it is possible to separate the resin-fiber system and extract new raw materials from the resin. The fibers can in turn be used for new wind turbines. The challenge here is the nature of the resin, which often consists of thermosets and therefore makes processing difficult. In addition, a certain degree of fiber purity must be achieved so that they can be spun again.

Goals:

The overarching project goal of a closed material cycle includes the development of a new and innovative rotor blade design. The decisive factor here is the consideration of recycling in the design of the rotor blade (Design 4 Recycling). If possible, this should be constructed using only carbon fibers for reinforcement. In addition to the very high specific properties, economic recycling by pyrolysis is already possible today. In this context, an improvement in the use of raw materials is to be achieved by further developing the recycling process. In addition to the carbon fibers, the matrix is also to be collected as pyrolysis oils during fiber-matrix separation. To this end, AES is developing a new infeed module and optimizing the yield and quality of the pyrolysis products. These recycling products will then be used to create new semi-finished fiber and matrix products for automated rotor blade production. The decisive advantage therefore lies in the
closed material cycle over the entire product life cycle.

Goals:

In this project, complex sensor technology, such as in-line gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, is to be integrated into the system and the measurement data obtained implemented in the intelligent process control system through hardware and software development. This requires a comprehensive adaptation of the hardware interfaces and server software in order to use the data obtained as a control variable. By integrating the sensors, the aim is to reduce the amount of recycled material that is rejected due to limit values being exceeded and to increase the oil yield by better controlling the temperature using the measurement data provided. In addition, the heat introduced is to be optimally utilized in the pyrolysis process by controlling the feed. Overall, this will increase the efficiency of AES’s chemical recycling plants. This makes it possible to save 32.7 tons of CO2 emissions per year with a plant that processes 300 tons per year.