Plastic Recycling! BASF, Dow, INEOS Have Made Moves

BASF launches new product to purify complex waste plastic pyrolysis feedstock

BASF has announced the launch of a new advanced high-performance product line PuriCycle® for the purification of complex waste plastic pyrolysis feedstocks. The PuriCycle portfolio includes novel catalysts and adsorbents that selectively remove or convert various impurities in pyrolysis oils and enable downstream processing of recycled plastic streams. PuriCycle's ingredients meet industry standards and allow customers to benefit from efficient purification and refining solutions that increase the flexibility of the overall chemical recycling process for plastics.

PuriCycle purifies pyrolysis oil, a secondary feedstock obtained through the chemical recycling of plastic waste, and is used in the production of new plastics early in the value chain. Purifying pyrolysis oil obtained from waste plastics is one of the most demanding techniques in chemical plastics recycling. Impurities in pyrolysis oils include halogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur compounds, but also higher active components such as dienes, complicating downstream applications and severely limiting further processing in new material production processes.

Dr. Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF, said: "With our PuriCycle product portfolio, we are very well positioned to recycle chemical plastics and enable the recycling of plastics. The PuriCycle product portfolio purifies challenging pyrolysis The performance of the oil process is a major contribution to helping closed-loop recycling of plastics, minimizing waste, and ultimately opening up new raw materials for the chemical industry."


Dow Chemicals Builds Multiple Plastics Recycling Processing Facilities in U.S. and Europe

On July 22, Dow Corporation, the world's leading materials science company, and Mura Technologies, a global pioneer in advanced plastic recycling solutions, jointly announced that they have reached a cooperation agreement to further promote the removal of plastic waste around the world. The United States and Europe have built a number of world-scale, 120,000-ton advanced recycling and processing facilities, and the cumulative annual capacity is expected to reach 600,000 tons.

Dow will play an important role in this partnership as the primary off-taker of recycled raw materials produced by Mura. The recycled raw materials produced by Mura come from plastic waste that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated, and are then manufactured into virgin plastic-like material products through Dow's innovative technology, which not only reduces the dependence on petrochemical raw materials, but also meets the needs of Global brands are in high demand for sustainable materials. Through the cooperation, Dow and Mura will ensure that plastics are recycled into the global supply chain in a feasible way, increasing the value of plastic waste and promoting the promotion of a circular economy for plastics.

While promoting advanced recycling business, Dow also announced on July 22 related projects in physical recycling and waste ecosystem construction.

Investment in the construction of the largest single mixed recycling plant in France. The plant will be managed by Valoregen in the future and will ensure the supply of post-consumer resin (PCR) to Dow.

Signed a Letter of Intent with Nexus Circular to build a circular ecosystem in Dallas, Texas, USA for processing previously unrecyclable plastics. Previously, Dow has partnered with Nexus and Reynolds Consumer Products to process Hefty® EnergyBag® products.


INEOS develops recyclable flexible packaging film

On July 20, INEOS announced a multi-million-euro investment in state-of-the-art technology, enabling it to work with processors, brands and retailers to develop simpler, more recyclable films for flexible packaging. This investment helps prevent about 1 million tons of waste from being sent to landfill each year.

INEOS and partners will use Machine Direction Orientation (MDO)'s new multi-layer blow molding line technology to jointly develop, engineer and produce polyethylene and polypropylene-based flexible packaging films that use less polymer to improve product recyclability .

The new line will be installed in 2023 at INEOS' R&D laboratory in Brussels, Belgium, where INEOS will develop new single-material flexible film packaging products. INEOS will leverage this capability and its expertise in resin design to work with partners to develop a new generation of resins specifically designed for its flexible packaging products.

In November 2021, INEOS Styrolution announced that it will cooperate with British Recycling Technologies to build a PS recycling pilot plant in Swindon, UK. It is planned to be completed in the second half of 2022 and will become the first advanced polystyrene recycling facility in Europe.