How can discarded plastic film be transformed into fuel, turning waste into a valuable resource?
HANGZHOU, China, Dec. 13, 2025 — Construction and demolition debris contains hundreds of millions of tons of lightweight materials, with polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) film comprising roughly half. Combined with plastic film from municipal solid waste, legacy landfill material, agricultural sheeting, and mulch film, these create vast “urban oilfields” ready for exploitation. However, conventional sorting methods have struggled to achieve high-purity separation of PP/PE films, leaving this energy source untapped for years.
Efficient sorting technology is the key to unlocking these “urban oilfields.”
Lightweight materials contain various contaminants such as PVC film, PET film, wood chips, waste plastic, paper, and sand. PVC and PET films, which look similar to PP/PE film, pose the greatest sorting challenges and must be removed because they severely damage the pyrolysis process: PVC emits hydrogen chloride at high temperatures, causing equipment corrosion and creating toxic dioxins; PET requires high pyrolysis temperatures and generates oxygen-containing compounds that decrease fuel stability and heating value.
DATABEYOND’s FASTSORT-FILM (Film AI Hyperspectral Optical Sorter) enables the extraction of these “urban oilfields.”
Using a cutting-edge AI database and 256-band hyperspectral precision recognition, the system separates PP/PE film from complex lightweight materials with over 95% accuracy while efficiently eliminating PVC film, PET film, and other contaminants. This guarantees feedstock purity for subsequent pyrolysis and removes impurity interference at the source.
High-purity PP/PE film can be transformed into pyrolysis oil through anaerobic thermal cracking. Further refining converts this oil into fuel components like off-spec diesel and gasoline—each ton of PP/PE film produces 0.6–0.75 tons of oil. This creates a sustainable “waste-to-energy” cycle and substantially reduces carbon emissions.
“Urban oilfields” are no longer a distant dream but a green opportunity of our time. DATABEYOND’s intelligent sorting technology is driving breakthroughs in the global energy transition and strengthening environmental protection. Through innovation, we are powering the circular economy. Partner with us to explore these “urban oilfields” through collaboration and advanced solutions that promote sustainable development.
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