Solution Scope: Recycling systems for litter and/or waste

Target Contaminant: Plastics and Other Litter

Solution Provider or Contact Point: SINTOL SRL  

Project: MarGnet – Mapping and recycling of marine litter and ghost nets on the seafloor

ITS Description: This innovative recycling technology addresses the issue of marine litter by transforming the collected waste into usable fuels, reducing the environmental impact, and promoting a circular economy approach. It involves a prototype of a portable pyrolysis plant that can be installed in harbour areas. This plant is designed to be fed with marine litter collected by local fishers, enabling the recycling of the collected waste close to the source. The technology processes this feedstock through pyrolysis, a thermal decomposition process that breaks down the organic materials in the litter into fuel products. The pyrolysis plant can produce three types of fuel from the marine litter: a. high-quality light fuel, which can even be used as feedstock for manufacturing new virgin polymers; b. marine gas oil, which is the main targeted fuel of the technology; c. intermediate fuel oil (IFO). Analysis of the produced fuels indicates good quality, with low acid numbers allowing for easy blending with standard fuels. Preliminary analysis of emissions from the fuels produced by the prototype has been very positive, with no polluting substances identified, confirming the right assumptions made during the design phase. Prototype testing commenced in 2020, using representative samples of marine litter from the Venice Lagoon.

Correspondence with BMM OIR (sectoral priorities, R&I activities, gaps, needs): Much like the previous ITS, this solution responds to a R&I focus area of activity in elimination & remediation of litter, namely by addressing the development of new technologies for recycling and valorization of waste collected from the environment. It also responds to the challenge listed in the BMM OIR for the wastewater and solid waste management sectors in responding to the need for new technologies to improve recycling efficiency, with particular emphasis on exploiting innovative chemical processes.