A Canada-based clean technology company claims to have successfully completed initial testing of synthetic turf as a feedstock for its proprietary hydrochemolytic technology. With an expected 12,000 fields to be in for a resurfacing in the coming five years, the technology could help prevent end-of-life issues with reclaimed synthetic turf.

The company tested both synthetic turf landscaping products as well as synthetic turf for sports. Samples had all been made of a mixture of polyethylene grass blades, polypropylene thatch and backing layers, and contained residual infill materials like silica sand and crumb rubber (for sports), and polyurethane adhesives.

The HCT technology used doesn’t require high thermal input for uncontrolled polymer molecule rupture but uses water alongside a catalyst at moderate temperatures to cleave carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in polymers. A lower-molecular-weight compound was the final result. The process uses gentler conditions to enable controlled reaction pathways.

The catalysed selective chemistry reportedly yields higher quantities of hydrocarbon products with excellent functional group purity, minimising polymer feedstock loss to undesired byproducts such as char, heavy tar, or gases.

Testing results showed that Aduro’s chemical recycling process selectively converted the polyolefin components of the turf into shorter-chain hydrocarbon products suitable as potential feedstocks for steam cracking and new polymer production.

“This trial supports our strategy of targeting market segments that are underserved by conventional recycling, either due to complex material composition or limited processing scale,” said Ofer Vicus, CEO of Aduro in a statement. “Synthetic turf is a good example. Its multilayer construction, bonded components, and contamination make it difficult to process through traditional means. These are the kinds of waste streams that may be better suited to right-sized, modular chemical recycling systems like HCT.”