Scientists have developed a new method to turn one of the world’s hardest to recycle plastics into a useful ingredient for engine oil.
Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed a chemical process that converts polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste into polyalphaolefin, a major component used in synthetic lubricants. The study was published in the journal Nature on August 5, 2026.
PVC is widely used in products such as pipes, window frames and credit cards, but recycling it is difficult because it contains chlorine and various chemical additives. As a result large amounts of discarded PVC end up in landfills.
The researchers placed PVC waste in a solvent and added aluminium trichloride and alpha-olefins. The mixture was heated to about 158°F (70°C) for three hours. The resulting material was a relatively thick lubricant oil.
The research team initially tried to transform PVC into other chemical structures, but the resulting materials were soft and unsuitable for their intended applications. Researchers then changed their approach and continued breaking down the long PVC polymer chains into smaller segments. This eventually produced a material with properties suitable for lubricants.
The team tested the resulting oil with researchers at Texas A&M University and also worked with scientists at Caltech to understand the chemical processes involved. Economic modelling was carried out to examine the possibility of producing the lubricant on a larger scale.
According to the researchers the technology could address two environmental challenges at once reducing difficult to recycle PVC waste and creating a valuable industrial material that is currently produced through other processes.
The researchers now hope to improve the sustainability and accessibility of the process and determine whether it can be scaled up economically.
The study titled Upcycling of polyvinyl chloride into polyalphaolefin lubricants was published in Nature on August 5, 2026.