Lyondell Basel began commercial production of polymers using waste plastics

Wesseling, Germany, May 7, 2021/PRNewswire/ - LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today announced that it has entered its ambitious next step, in its location in Weis, Germany. Surin's factory uses raw materials from waste plastics to produce new quality polymers, thereby promoting a circular economy. The raw materials produced by the thermal conversion of waste plastics are converted into ethylene and propylene at the Lyondell Basel production facility, and then used in downstream plastic production facilities to produce polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). This is the first use of raw materials from waste plastics after the company has successfully produced plastic materials made from waste edible oil and other renewable raw materials, which helps reduce CO2 emissions throughout the product life cycle and reduce the use of fossil raw materials.

Pyrolysis oil for polymer production was delivered for the first time at the Westerliande Basel plant in Germany (the mask was briefly removed for the photo shoot).

Richard Roudeix, Senior Vice President of Europe, Middle East, Africa and India said: “Promoting a circular economy requires clear action. By continuing to use these new raw materials in commercial-scale polymer production, we are doing our part to help. Eliminate plastic waste and combat climate change. We are expanding the range of our sustainable solutions through the Circulen brand and the use of recyclable ingredients to provide customers with ways to use recyclable polymers in various applications."

Products made from recycled and renewable raw materials will be marketed by LyondellBasell under the Circulen brand, enabling brand owners to improve the sustainability of consumer products. These products enable the production of high-quality plastics and can be used in strictly controlled applications such as food packaging and medical supplies. The Lyondell Basel plant that produces these products has passed ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS standard certification.

LyondellBasell has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions in its global operations by 15% in 2030 compared to 2015, and to produce and sell 2 million tons of recycled or renewable polymers each year by 2030.

In addition, Leander Basel completed the start-up of a pilot plant in Ferrara, Italy last year to further develop its molecular recycling technology and convert waste plastic waste into raw materials for the production of new plastics. The use of waste plastics under realistic conditions will help to further improve research. The goal is to establish possible industrial-scale molecular recycling plants, which will further increase the use of waste plastics in the production of new plastic raw materials.

These developments complement LyondellBasell's activities in the field of mechanical recycling. Here, the Dutch joint venture Quality Circular Polymers (QCP) produces high-quality polyethylene and polypropylene grades from domestic waste, which are also sold under the Circulen brand name. For example, these polymers can be used in appliances, detergent bottles, and suitcases.