710466ReXLPE – The Recycling of Crosslinked Polyethylene (XLPE) scrapClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKPolyethylene is widely used across industry in both Low Density (LDPE) and High Density (HDPE) forms. Crosslinked PE (XLPE / XPE / PEX ) is increasingly being used for applications where there is a need for improved long-term thermal or chemical stability, such as in heavy-duty electrical cables as insulation materials (XLPE), in plumbing as hot water and central heating piping (PEX – nearly 50% of the market) and in the automotive industry as seating foams. Whilst regular LDPE and HDPE plastics can be easily recycled using conventional technologies, crosslinked material cannot be easily returned to its non-crosslinked state for reuse. This means that currently, XLPE production scrap and off-cuts generated during product application are discarded. This scrap represents a valuable and costly resource and its recovery is highly desirable. In order to recover this material a technology is required that can reverse the crosslinking process whilst retaining the technical properties of the polymer. Work carried out on crosslinked rubber polymers using Gradient Compounds’ CDV (Continuous Devulcanisation) technology has demonstrated both the technical and commercial feasibility of recovering rubber materials at production scales for reuse in their original application with minimal or no loss of properties or alteration of the customer’s production process. Previous work carried out using controlled stress fields to rupture XLPE networks has shown promise and research in Japan has led to the commercial application of XLPE materials processed using an extrusion technology, within the cable industry. CDV technology is likely to offer improved efficiency and economy over the Japanese process but this needs to be confirmed with trial work at both laboratory and industrial scales. This project will look at the application of CDV technology to post-industrial XLPE materials through a proof-of-concept study using existing CDV laboratory and pilot production apparatus.