Recycling plastics back into oil

Regina Chislova, Project Director of Petrochemical and Refining Congress PRC Europe 2020 has prepared a special report about the current recycling solutions available for the oil and gas industry.

There are quite a number of recycling technologies on the market: some produce synthetic crude oil, while some turn plastics directly into fuel. Though some companies already implement these technologies at their production sites, they are not as widespread as one might imagine.

There are operational and commercialised recycling solutions, and now is the right time for companies to take a closer look at this trend. This piece will analyse a number of recycling projects and solutions from different providers:

RT7000 by Recycling Technologies

RT7000 production unit applies thermal cracking to break waste plastics into fractions called Plaxx, which can be used as low sulfur fuel oil and petrochemical feedstock, with 85% conversion rate. At the moment, RT7000 is presented at the Recycling Technologies’ facility in Swindon, UK, with plans to install 1700 units and reach 7 million tpy capacity by 2027.

Cat-HTR (Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor) by Licella Holdings

This platform turns mixed composite polymers, multi-layer flexible and rigid plastics contaminated with non-plastic materials through hydrothermal process into naphtha, distillate gas oil, heavy wax residue and a product gas. Product gas can be then used for power generation for the platform to decrease energy consumption. First this technology was implemented at the pilot plant in New South Wales in Australia, and the first commercial plant in Wilton, Northern England, is currently under construction.

Plastic conversion system by Renewlogy

Renewlogy’s modules use chemical recycling technology to process mixed and contaminated plastics into naphtha and non-condensable gases, with 70 - 80% conversion rate. Produced naphtha is further used in petrochemistry, while gases are being recycled. These modules are already used in Nova Scotia, Canada, and by 2020 will be introduced in Phoenix, Arizona, in the US.

ChemCycling by BASF

The thermochemical recycling process applied in ChemCycling converts mixed and contaminated waste plastics into oil or syngas that goes further as feedstock for refining and petrochemical production. Now this technology is implemented at the BASF Verbund production sites, with such companies as Jaguar Land Rover, Storopack, Südpack and Schneider Electric having already tested ChemCycling’s product in their business.

ReOil by OMV

OMV uses ReOil technology based on thermal cracking that transforms plastic wastes into gas and synthetic crude oil. Recycling products can then be used as a raw material for refining and petrochemical processes providing sustainable feedstock for downstream operations. With a pilot ReOil plant operating at the OMV’s Schwechat refinery, this technology is to reach the industrial scale by 2025.

Recycling integration could lead to essential CO₂ emission reduction and cut costs together with sustainable feedstock and environment preservation. However, these technologies are relatively new to the market and require understanding of how they work and how to integrate them in the existing production process. OMV will present ReOil innovation project at the Schwechat refinery visitation which will take place at the Petrochemical and Refining Congress: Europe 2020 in Vienna, Austria, on 18 - 19 May 2020.

To find out more about the event and Schwechat refinery visitation, visit prceurope.com.

Regina Chislova, Project Director of Petrochemical and Refining Congress PRC Europe 2020

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/the-environment/30102019/recycling-plastics-back-into-oil/