Old PVC pipes, window frames, and cables contain toxic stuff like lead and harmful plasticizers that were legal decades ago but are now banned. That makes it nearly impossible to recycle them — so millions of tons end up in landfills or incinerators every year. REMADYL built a continuous extrusion process that essentially squeezes these toxins out of molten PVC, like wringing dirty water from a sponge, leaving behind clean material you can sell again. The extracted lead goes to battery makers and the plasticizers are safely destroyed, so nothing hazardous leaks back into the supply chain.
Millions of tons of old PVC from buildings, infrastructure, and cables contain toxic lead stabilizers and banned phthalate plasticizers. Current recycling methods cannot economically remove these substances, forcing the material into landfills or incinerators. This wastes a valuable polymer while creating environmental liabilities and keeping recyclers locked out of a massive feedstock supply.
REMADYL developed a continuous single-step extractive extrusion process combined with novel solvents and melt filtration that strips hazardous legacy substances from old PVC. The consortium built and tested prototypes for both soft and rigid PVC circular use cases, including window profiles and waterproofing sheets.
If you are a PVC recycler struggling with legacy substances that block you from selling recycled material — this project developed a continuous extractive extrusion process that removes lead and DEHP from old PVC at roughly €570/ton, making the output REACH-compliant and sellable into the same markets as virgin PVC.
If you are a window profile or waterproofing sheet manufacturer looking for cheaper, regulation-compliant recycled PVC feedstock — REMADYL demonstrated circular use cases for exactly these products, with prototypes for both soft and rigid PVC applications that meet current EU chemical safety requirements.
If you are a plastics compounder looking for technology to remove hazardous additives from post-consumer plastics — this extractive extrusion process also has potential for other plastics applications such as removing halogenated flame retardants, opening new recycling streams beyond PVC.
The project targets a processing cost of approximately €570 per ton, including both capital expenditure and operating costs. Virgin PVC typically trades at €800-1200/ton, so this positions recycled PVC as cost-competitive while also meeting REACH compliance requirements.
REMADYL designed the process as a continuous single-step extrusion line, which is inherently scalable. The project's own projections target recycling 400,000 tons per year of old PVC waste within 5 years after project completion. Demonstration activities with prototypes for both soft and rigid PVC were completed.
The technology was developed by a 16-partner consortium with 10 industry players across 6 countries. Based on available project data, licensing or technology transfer arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator CENTEXBEL in Belgium. The consortium's heavy industry presence (62%) suggests commercial deployment was a priority.
Yes — the entire point of the process is to produce REACH-compliant high-purity PVC. The extracted hazardous substances (lead stabilizers and DEHP plasticizers) are separated and handled safely: lead is redirected to battery manufacturing and phthalates are disposed with energy recovery.
The technology is based on extractive extrusion combined with melt filtration — equipment categories already familiar to plastics processors. Based on available project data, the process was designed as a single continuous step to minimize complexity. Integration timelines would depend on existing plant configuration.
The project estimates that recycling 400,000 tons per year of old PVC would reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 800,000 tons CO2-equivalent and prevent 8,000 tons of lead emissions. It would also create roughly 800 new jobs and generate around €280 million in turnover.
The process targets both hard PVC (window frames, tubes) and soft PVC (flooring, cables) — which together make up most post-consumer PVC waste. Demonstration use cases were developed for window profiles and waterproofing sheets specifically.
The REMADYL consortium is unusually industry-heavy for an EU research project: 10 out of 16 partners are industry players, and 9 are SMEs, spread across 6 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands). This 62% industry ratio signals that the project was designed with commercialization in mind from day one, not as a pure academic exercise. The coordinator is CENTEXBEL, a Belgian technical research center classified as an SME, which bridges the gap between scientific rigor and practical application. With only 1 university partner versus 3 research organizations and 10 companies, the consortium is structured to push results toward market rather than publications.
CENTEXBEL — Centre Scientifique et Technique de l'Industrie Textile Belge, Belgium. Contact through SciTransfer for a facilitated introduction.
Want to explore licensing this PVC purification technology or source REACH-compliant recycled PVC? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the REMADYL team and provide a detailed technology brief.
