Technological watch

Dow and Mura Technology announces a partnership to help keep plastic waste out of the environment. The deal marks an important step in Dow’s commitment to advance a circular economy for plastics and keep plastic waste from entering the environment.
Rapid Scaling of Advanced Recycling Process
The collaboration will support the rapid scaling of Mura’s new HydroPRS™ (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution) aimed at preventing plastic and carbon from entering the natural environment while creating the feedstocks for a sustainable, circular plastics economy.
The partnership combines Dow’s materials science capabilities, global scale and financial resources with Mura’s technology, to produce the circular feedstocks which are then converted into the recycled plastics that consumers and global brands are increasingly seeking.
Mura’s proprietary solution, HydroPRS™, is a revolutionary advanced recycling process that uses supercritical steam to convert plastics back into the chemicals and oils from which they were made, for use in new, virgin-equivalent plastic products. HydroPRS™ can recycle all forms of plastic – including multi-layer, flexible plastics used in packaging, which are currently harder to recycle and often incinerated or sent to landfill.
Products Suitable for Food-contact Packaging
Importantly, the plastics produced using these recycled products are expected to be suitable for use in food-contact packaging, unlike most conventional recycling processes. With Mura’s process there is no anticipated limit to the number of times the same material can be recycled – meaning it has the potential to significantly reduce plastics being used once and make the raw ingredients for a circular plastics economy. In addition, advanced recycling processes are expected to save approximately 1.5 tons of CO2 per ton of plastic recycled, compared to incineration of unrecycled plastics.
Dr Steve Mahon, CEO of Mura Technology, said, “Plastic pollution is a global challenge and our goal is to meet it head on by recapturing millions of tons of plastic waste every year and put them to work again as a valuable resource for the world’s biggest brands.

Dow’s Role in Plastic Manufacturing Using Mura’s Solution
Dow will play an important role as a global manufacturer of plastic, proving that Mura’s solution can meet both the sustainability and performance needs of the industry and that the products made via HydroPRS™ can be employed at scale to make new plastics.
The world’s first plant using HydroPRS™ is in development in Teesside, UK, with the first 20,000 ton per year line expected to be operational in 2022. Once all four lines are complete, Mura will be able to recycle up to 80,000 tons of plastic waste per year, providing Dow with materials produced by the process. Dow will use these materials to develop new, virgin-grade plastic for applications such as food packaging and other packaging products to be re-circulated into global supply chains, creating a true circular plastics economy.
Carsten Larsen, commercial director plastic circularity EMEA & APAC, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics commented, “We are delighted to offer our investment and expertise to support the development of this truly game-changing recycling process. We are committed to enacting real change to stop plastic going to waste and accelerate moves towards a more circular economy. We know achieving this goal will take major innovation and investment and we can’t do it alone. That’s why our partnership with Mura is so exciting and why we believe it will form a key pillar of our recycling strategy going forward.”
“We’re changing the way the world thinks about plastics – not as something to throw away, but as a product that can be used repeatedly, and sustainably, without damaging our natural environment. Our partnership with Dow will help make this a reality for global brands and deliver a circular plastics economy globally within the next decade,” said Mahon.
Aiming to Reduce Global Plastic Waste
To reduce global plastic waste, Mura has designed its business model for rapid global deployment and is building a global network of partners. Dow joins other major global players such as KBR Inc., a US-based multinational engineering services company, Wood, a global consulting and engineering company, and Igus GmbH, a global leader in industrial plastics, as partners to accelerate the deployment of Mura’s technology worldwide. Mura’s HydroPRS™ process utilizes at its core the Cat-HTR™ technology, which was developed and is owned by Licella Holdings, New South Wales, Australia.
The partnership announced is example of how Dow is working with partners to build momentum around breakthrough advanced recycling technologies and to drive game-changing innovations that keep plastic waste from entering the environment. The partnership with Mura represents another step in Dow’s efforts to meet its recently announced sustainability targets to address both climate change and plastic waste.