MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell says it has started up a small-scale pilot facility at its Ferrara, Italy, site for the molecular recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, said Chemweek.
The company announced the construction of the pilot plant in October last year and says R&D teams in Germany, Italy, and the US are now “actively working to explore potential commercial-scale applications.” The plant is capable of processing up to 10 kilograms/hour of household plastic waste, with the aim to help build understanding of the interaction of various waste types in the molecular recycling process, test various catalysts, and “confirm the process temperature and time needed to decompose plastic waste into molecules," LyondellBasell says.
The goal is to complete this process "over the next couple of years and then plan for an industrial scale unit," it says. The chemically recycled product will be used as feedstock for new plastic materials.
"Ending plastic waste in the environment and advancing the circular economy are key sustainability focus areas for our company," says Jim Seward, LyondellBasell’s senior vice president/R&D, technology, and sustainability. “With our advanced plastics recycling technology, we return larger volumes of plastic waste back into the value chain and produce new materials for high-quality applications, retaining their value for as long as possible," he says.
Plastic materials from the recycling process will be able to be used in food packaging and healthcare items, according to LyondellBasell.
The company announced a collaboration mid-2018 with Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology to advance its molecular recycling efforts, first proving the concept at laboratory scale before moving into the pilot testing stage.
As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) announced that Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company LLC (DRPIC) has selected LyondellBasell’s world-leading polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) technologies for a new facility. The new plants will comprise of a polypropylene (PP) plant that will utilize LyondellBasell’s Spheripol PP process technology to produce 280,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of PP and a 480-m.t./yr high-density polyethylene plant which will utilize LyondellBasell’s Hostalen ACP process technology and will be built in Al Duqm, Oman.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC