Turning Waste Organic Materials into the 'Rice of Industry' Using Plasma Technology

Ministry of Science and ICT - Ministry of Environment to Open Technology Development Project Group Applications from the 28th

Greenpeace activists are performing a large fish swallowing plastic waste in front of the Lotte Chilsung Beverage headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 25th, demanding companies reduce plastic usage. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The development of technology to recycle waste organic materials such as plastics into ethylene, acetylene, and other resources using plasma is set to be actively pursued.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 26th that, together with the Ministry of Environment, it will open a new call for the 'Technology Development Project for High Value-Added Basic Raw Material Production from Waste Organic Materials Using Plasma' project team starting from the 28th.

Unlike existing methods of treating waste organic materials through incineration, landfill, or recycling, this project aims to develop technology that uses plasma to recycle waste organic materials into economically viable basic raw materials (such as ethylene and acetylene) without emitting carbon dioxide. The project duration is three years, with a total investment of 6 billion KRW this year. The development will focus on pretreatment and decontamination technologies for converting waste organic materials into C2 monomers, conversion processes and systematization technologies, and the advancement of C2 production.

Detailed information can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Environment, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute. The application deadline is March 2nd, and the project leader will be selected through an evaluation by the project leader selection committee in March to April.

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