As we head into the fourth quarter of 2022, the chemical recycling industry reaches a critical juncture. After years of development and announcements, the first commercially active facilities are now operational, with a large number of plants scheduled to begin full commercial operations in the near future and by 2023. Even larger capacities are in the pipeline and are scheduled to be operational during the forecast period to 2030.
Nexus: Plans to have at least 12 large-scale plants within five years to chemically recycle film waste from various sources
Nexus Circular, located in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed chemical recycling technology using proprietary processes and pyrolysis. The company claims that it has optimized the technology to create an efficient, economical, commercial-scale and scalable system that provides cost-effective, high-quality distillate or "circulating liquid".
Nexus currently recycles about 40 tons per day, with a yield of about 85%. The recycled raw materials are mainly post-industrial, post-commercial, post-retail, post-agricultural and post-consumer films. The technology can process polyolefin and polystyrene films. President and co-founder Eric Hartz said that Nexus plans to have at least 12 large-scale plants within five years to chemically recycle film waste from various sources, including post-industrial and post-consumer waste plastics. Currently, more than 90% of the raw materials come from post-consumer plastics.
BASF: Invests €20 million in Quantafuel to further develop and improve the process for producing pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste
BASF's efforts in chemical recycling are mainly focused on the ChemCycling pyrolysis project, which has been underway for four years in collaboration with several partners. In 2019, BASF invested €20 million in the Norwegian company Quantafuel, which specializes in pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste and purification of pyrolysis oil. In September 2020, QuantaFuel opened a pyrolysis purification plant in Skive, Denmark, with an annual production capacity of approximately 16,000 tons. However, the plant is not yet fully operational.
SABIC: Multi-party collaboration aims to increase the production of certified circular polymers recovered from waste plastics
SABIC and Plastic Energy built the first commercial plant in more than a year to significantly increase SABIC's production of certified circular polymers recovered from waste plastics. The project in Gren, the Netherlands, is expected to be operational in the second half of this year.
SABIC is also involved in chemical recycling projects for ocean-bound plastics (OBP). For example, SABIC is working with Portuguese film product manufacturer Polivouga and Spanish leading seafood producer Nueva Pescanova to use certified circular polymer PE made from marine waste in packaging solutions.
Total Energy: Signs a long-term commercial agreement with Vanheede Environment Group to supply post-consumer recycled (PCR) raw materials
In May, Total Energies and Vanheede Environment Group signed a long-term commercial agreement to supply post-consumer recycled (PCR) raw materials for use as raw materials in the production of circular polymers.
According to the agreement, Vanheede Polymers & Compounds supplies Total Energy with PCR raw materials from plants in France and Belgium, including Dautigny. The company is currently building a new plastic waste treatment facility in Dautigny using innovative technology.
ExxonMobil: After the expansion of the Baytown plant is completed, it will become one of the largest advanced plastic waste recycling facilities in North America
In February, ExxonMobil announced the sale of its first certified circular polymers to Berry Global, which will use these polymers to produce food-grade packaging containers. ExxonMobil said that the initial sales of certified circular polymers were based on plastic waste processed by the advanced recycling facility at ExxonMobil's integrated base in Baytown, Texas. The facility began operations in 2021 and has processed more than 1,800 tons of plastic waste.
ExxonMobil said: "Once the expansion is completed, the Baytown plant will become one of the largest advanced plastic waste recycling facilities in North America, with the ability to recycle 30,000 tons of plastic waste each year."
Mura: HydroPRS technology can avoid the production of "carbon", Dow is the main purchaser of its materials
Mura Technology said it is pioneering a globally scalable technology that prevents millions of tons of plastic and carbon dioxide from entering the natural environment each year and converts $80 billion worth of plastic waste resources into valuable global commodities. Mura's proprietary technology HydroPRS (Hydrothermal Plastic Recovery System) uses supercritical steam to convert post-consumer household plastic waste, including flexible and multi-layer plastic packaging, into industrial-grade liquid hydrocarbon products. HydroPRS differs from pyrolysis in that heat is applied to water rather than directly to the plastic, which avoids the production of "carbon" and maximizes the yield of hydrocarbon products, while the hydrogen supply helps reduce violent reactions and avoids excessive cracking.
Dow said it will be the main off-taker of Mura's materials. Dow Chemical said in July that the two companies will also build multiple plants with an annual output of 120,000 tons in the United States and Europe, adding up to 600,000 tons/year of production capacity by 2030.
Dow: Actively seeking commercial partnerships with customers to scale up chemical recycling technology "as quickly as possible"
Dow said it is actively seeking to establish some commercial partnerships with customers and brand owners to scale up chemical recycling technology "as quickly as possible." For example, Dow announced a strategic investment in Plastogaz SA, a technology startup and owner of chemical recycling technology. “Plastogaz’s proprietary catalytic hydrocracking technology solution is more efficient and less energy intensive than some other advanced forms of recycling on the market,” Dow said.
Dow has been busy signing supply deals in the recycling space, with suppliers beyond just NexusCircular and Renew ELP. Dow Chemical Group said in July it would become the main off-taker of post-consumer plastics at Valoregen’s Damazan project in France, which will have the capacity to process up to 70,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Braskem confirms: high yields of valuable intermediates such as aromatics and monomers
Braskem, the largest polyolefin producer in the Americas, announced in late July that it had developed a new generation of technology to address plastic waste. The company said the recycling process uses a proprietary catalyst that reduces the need for external energy. “This significantly reduces CO2 equivalent emissions compared to conventional advanced recycling technologies.”
Braskem’s global bioprocess catalysis and recycling manager Jan Kalfus said the project had already confirmed high yields of valuable intermediates such as aromatics and monomers. “We are scaling up the trial, which will provide us with important data for future expansion. The pilot project is planned for 2025 and the technology should be operational at scale by 2030.”
Global chemical recycling input capacity is close to 1.2 million tonnes by 2022, excluding facilities that process post-use plastics into fuels. Europe is considered to be at the forefront of chemical recycling technology development. However, in the coming years, North America is expected to develop more rapidly.
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