MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS has opened a new pilot plant in Rosignano, Italy, producing polymers from increasing levels of plastic waste diverted from landfill or incineration, said the producer.
Part of the company’s EUR100m research and development programme, the new plant will manufacture polymers for end markets such as auto parts using waste plastic as a feedstock instead of fossil fuels. “The plant demonstrates INEOS' commitment to develop this technology to full commercial scale," said INEOS Olefins & Polymers South CEO Iain Hogan.
The company has also introduced a new range of polymers melding 50% recycled polymers with virgin material earlier this month. The capacity and investment level were not disclosed.
Franken, chairman of INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe, and chairman of INEOS Polyolefins Catalyst, said: “This pilot plant will help to use more and more plastic waste for new high-value polymers, which is the very core of the circular economy. It demonstrates INEOS' commitment to develop this technology to full commercial scale."
Dr Iain Hogan, CEO of INEOS Olefins & Polymers South, said: “I would like to thank those that have supported this key R&D project from the beginning, across regional and local authorities. This is an important investment in the Rosignano site and for the whole of INEOS O&P."
Earlier this month, INEOS Olefins & Polymers also announced the introduction of the Recycl-IN polymer range to its portfolio. The range contains up to 50% post-consumer recycled plastic compounded with new highly engineered virgin polymers.
We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in September 2019, INEOS Phenol broke ground at its world scale cumene investment in Marl, Germany. The new state-of-the-art 750 000 t unit is scheduled to be completed in 2021. Its location will help optimise the efficiency of the plant by integrating raw materials from the refinery and cracker complex. The site also benefits from the Marl harbour waterway connection.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC