Video courtesy of MURA Technologies

A recent video released by MURA Technology regarding its new HydroPRS™ Technology features some big ‘environmental’ names. The technology will recycle all plastics and keep them out of the world’s oceans. Sir David Attenborough, marine biologist and campaigner Dr Sylvia Earle, and Jo Ruxton, producer of the 2016 Netflix documentary A Plastic Ocean all feature in the new video.

The new recycling process, HydroPRS™, enables current non-recyclable plastics to be recycled into usable oil products. The first plant to use the technology will open next year in Teesside, UK. Plants are also planned for Germany, the US and Asia. According to MURA, the new plant will be able to process 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. Recycling ultimately keeps it out of our oceans!

No Limits!

HydroPRS™ (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution) is a revolutionary advanced recycling process designed by Mura. The process uses supercritical steam to convert plastics back into the oils and chemicals they were made from. These oils are then repurposed to create new virgin-grade plastic products. The HydroPRS process can recycle all forms of plastic – including ‘unrecyclable’ products such as multi-layer, flexible plastics used in packaging.

As the process enables the creation of new virgin plastics, there are no limits to the number of times the same material can be recycled! This means it has the potential to eliminate single-use plastic and make the raw ingredients for a circular plastics economy. Importantly, the products may be suitable for use in food-contact packaging, unlike conventional recycling processes.

Hydrothermal technology

Mura’s HydroPRS process utilises the Cat-HTR™ technology, developed and owned by Australias Licella Holdings Limited. Cat-HTR breaks down plastics using water in the form of supercritical steam (water at elevated pressure and temperature). The steam acts like molecular scissors, cutting longer-chain hydrocarbon bonds in plastics to produce the valuable chemicals and oils from which the plastic was originally made.

Using supercritical steam means the technology is also inherently scalable. Unlike other methods, which heat waste from the outside, the steam imparts energy from the inside, providing far more efficient conversion of plastic waste.

Life on Earth, depends on us!

The video concludes with some strong words from Sir Attenborough. ‘So, I strongly urge you all to treat plastic with care, because if it reaches the environment it will stay there for a very long time, if not forever and ultimately affect us all. We all have a responsibility to care for our planet. The future of humanity and indeed all Life on Earth now depends on us.”