폐플라스틱 기계적 재활용 공정 기술의 동향과 적용성 고찰 = Mechanical Recycling of Plastic Waste: Recent Trends and Applicability

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The rapid increase in global plastic consumption has made the sustainable management of plastic waste a critical challenge across industrial and environmental sectors. In response to growing demands for carbon neutrality and resource circularity, mechanical recycling has emerged as a practical and readily deployable strategy. Mechanical recycling typically consists of sequential physical processes—collection, sorting, size reduction, washing, drying, and pelletizing—requiring tailored technological solutions due to the diversity of polymer types, complex multilayer structures, and varying contamination levels in plastic waste streams. To address these challenges, both industry and academia have developed approaches incorporating automated optical and artificial intelligence (AI)-based sorting technologies, material- and structure-dependent comminution mechanisms, advanced washing and drying processes, and strategies to mitigate polymer degradation during reprocessing. This review systematically summarizes recent technological developments across the mechanical recycling chain and highlights key considerations and future directions for improving process efficiency and securing high-quality recycled feedstock.