Multinational chemical companies pay closeattention to plastic recycling industry

Recently, K 2022 closed in Düsseldorf, andplastics recycling became the top topic of the show. A number of industrybodies and multinational chemical executives said that for the plasticsrecycling cycle to be successful, cooperation between the chemicals andplastics value chains will be crucial.

In Europe, the use of recycled plastics tomake new products is growing rapidly. A recent report from the EuropeanPlastics Industry Association says that in 2021, plastics from non-fossilfeedstocks will account for 12.4 percent of total plastics production inEurope, with post-consumer recycled plastics accounting for 10.1 percent, atotal increase of 20 percent from 2020; bio-based plastics account for 2.3percent of total plastics production. The EU aims to achieve a 20% share ofnon-fossil feedstock plastics in plastic products by 2030. Globally, theEuropean Plastics Industry Association estimates that 9.8% of plastics producedglobally in 2021 will be recycled plastics, slightly less than in Europe.

On the corporate side, several companiesannounced or presented plastic recycling projects at the K Show. RobertoSimons, CEO of Blasco, said the petrochemical and plastics industry isundergoing a profound transformation as it strives to meet the requirements ofcircularity and sustainability. It is clearly impossible to achieve thesustainability and climate goals of the petrochemical industry without gettinginvolved in the plastics recycling business," Simmons said. To that end,Blasco has developed a business that includes plastic waste collection andrecycling." Today, through acquisitions and joint ventures, the companyowns three polyethylene (PE) mechanical recycling plants, two in Brazil and onein the Netherlands. Blasco is also involved in a number of plastic chemicalrecycling projects, such as a stake in chemical recycling company NexusCircular and the construction of a plant near Chicago, Illinois. At the Chicagoplant, Blasco will have exclusive access to the pyrolysis oil produced by NexusCircular to produce polypropylene (PP) pellets.

SABIC's joint venture with recyclingtechnology company Plastic Energy is building a plastics chemical recyclingdemonstration plant in Herren, Netherlands, to produce pyrolysis oil from wastepolymers, said Sami Osami, acting executive vice president of Saudi BasicIndustries' (SABIC) petrochemicals business. The plant is expected to achievemechanical completion in the first quarter of 2023 and begin commercialoperations in the second quarter. Osami said SABIC will developcommercial-scale plants at its global production sites if the Plastics Energytechnology is proven in processes such as pyrolysis and hydrotreating inHerren.

Scandinavian Chemicals announced at the KShow that it plans to build a commercial-scale plastics machinery recyclingplant in Schwechat, Austria. Scandinavian Chemical CEO Thomas Gangl said theplant, which has a design capacity of more than 60,000 tons per year, isscheduled to be operational by 2025. Scandinavian Chemicals expects to make afinal investment decision in the second half of 2023.

For industry players, Virginia Janssen,president of the European Plastics Industry Association, said greatercooperation along the value chain and with policymakers is necessary to achievethe EU's 2030 plastics recycling target. According to Janssen, an industry-widepolicy framework for a supportive recycled plastics industry in Europe couldplay a leading role in the net-zero emissions and recycling transition. Inaddition, the European Plastics Industry Association believes that chemicalrecycling, as a complementary tool to mechanical recycling, is key to improvingrecycling rates and sustainability.