Recovery of Beta-Caprolactam from Fishing Nets Wastes via Thermochemical Routes and its Life Cycle Assessment (ReCap)

The research proposal called “Recovery of β-Caprolactam from Fishing Nets Wastes via Thermochemical Routes and Life Cycle Assessment (ReCap)” is related to a significant environmental challenge, i.e., valorisation of end-of-life fishing nets (WFNs), which are a critical source of marine plastic pollution. It is estimated that globally between 500,000 and 1,000,000 tons of fishing gear enter the ocean annually, which amount to approximately 10% of marine litter. Industrial WFNs are made almost entirely from nylon-6. This synthetic material can be particularly attractive for recycling due to its selectivity. Within this framework, the ReCap project aims to develop and optimise a novel technology to decompose WFNs and recover β-caprolactam, which could be potentially recycled into new materials. During the implementation of this project, a novel type of catalyst and three distinct pyrolysis pathways – conventional pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis, and pressurised pyrolysis, will be evaluated. Each of these technologies offers different advantages in terms of efficiency, selectivity, and environmental performance. A comprehensive study of these methods will broaden current understanding and may yield results beneficial for reducing marine pollution through economically viable approaches. This project will be implemented at the Lithuanian Energy Institute as the main coordinator for 36 months. The project consists of four Work Packages (WPs) distributed as follows: WP1 – Real-life feedstock characterisation and catalyst preparation, WP2 – Conventional and catalytic pyrolysis study of waste fishing nets, WP3 – Investigation of pressurised-pyrolysis of waste fishing nets, WP4 – Investigation of the environmental performance of β-caprolactam recovery by treatment of fishing using pyrolysis and pressurised pyrolysis process.

Keywords:

Nylon-waste; Fishing nets; Pyrolysis; Pressurised-pyrolysis; Waste-to-energy; Biochar-catalyst.

Acronym: ReCap

Project ID: P-MIP-25-75

Total cost: 199 896,00 EUR (LEI part: 199 896,00 EUR).

Coordinator: Lithuanian Energy Institute