Shell successfully uses plastic waste to produce chemicals
Published by Tom Mostyn,
Editorial Assistant
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
Shell has announced that it has successfully made high-end chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste. The technique, known as pyrolysis, is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics and advances Shell's ambition to use 1 million tpy of plastic waste in its global chemicals plants by 2025.
“This makes sense for the environment and our business”, said Thomas Casparie, Executive Vice President of Shell's global chemicals business. “We want to take waste plastics that are tough to recycle by traditional methods and turn them back into chemicals – creating a circle. These chemicals will meet our customers' growing demands for high quality and sustainable products.”
Atlanta-based Nexus Fuels LLC recently supplied its first cargo of pyrolysis liquid to Shell's chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana, US where it was made into chemicals that are the raw materials for everyday items. Shell is working with multiple companies who collect and transform plastic waste in order to scale this solution to industrial and profitable quantities across its chemicals plants – in Asia, Europe and North America.
Shell is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). This not-for-profit organisation is bringing together professionals from across the plastics value chain (chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters and waste management companies) and partnering with the financial community, governments and civil society. The AEPW has committed US$1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/21112019/shell-successfully-uses-plastic-waste-to-produce-chemicals/
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