25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY 16 PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 05/24 www.petpla.net 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY Gasification Another thermochemical process that is suitable for PET and capable of converting mixed plastics waste and biomass in presence of heat and oxygen into syngas and CO2 is gasification. Overall, 12 gasification technology providers were identified and currently the largest achieved capacity measure is of up to 200,000 t/a; most providers are located in North America (seven providers) followed by Europe (five). The majority of the identified companies (four) are medium-sized enterprises, followed by small- (three companies), micro/start-up (two companies), with just one large enterprise (Eastman). Pyrolysis In the pyrolysis process, a thermochemical recycling process is available that converts or depolymerises mixed plastic wastes (mainly polyolefins) and biomass into liquids, solids, and gases in the presence of heat and the absence of oxygen. Obtained products range, for example, from various different fractions of liquids including oils, diesel, naphtha, and monomers as well as syngas, char, to waxes. Depending on the obtained products these can be utilised as renewable feedstocks for the production of new polymers. With 40,000 t/a, the second-largest capacity found in the report is achieved with pyrolysis. The majority of the 80 identified technology providers are located in Europe (42 providers) followed by North America (21), rest of the world (11), China (four), Cis (one), and Japan (one provider). With 27 companies most providers are small enterprises followed by micro/start-up- and medium- enterprises (both each comprising 18 companies), and large enterprises (16 providers) such as Blue Alp (Eindhoven, the Netherlands), Demont (Millesimo, Italy), Ineos Styrolution (Frankfurt, Germany), Neste (Espoo, Finland), Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung (OMV) (Vienna, Austria), Repsol (Madrid, Spain), Unipetrol (Prague, Czechia), VTT (Espoo, Finland), and Chevron Phillips (The Woodlands, TX, USA). In Europe, pyrolysis is the predominant form of chemical recycling for PE/PP. However, for PET, the process is only suitable to a limited extent of <5%. Evaluation of capacities More than 340 planned as well as installed and operating plants were mapped worldwide providing a total input capacity of 1,477 kt/a. In Europe, there is already a considerable potential of know-how and providers for chemical and physical recycling technologies which is reflected in the comparison with the globally installed plants and capacities. From all installed chemical and physical recycling plants worldwide more than 60 and thus the majority are operating in Europe covering nearly one quarter of the worldwide input capacity. Europe therefore ranks top in the global comparison chart. Globally, the production capacity of advanced recycling is 1,082 kt/a with products ranging from polymers, monomers, naphtha, Secondary Valuable Chemicals (SVC), and fuels & energy. Europe’s circular strategy becomes evident by putting the product shares of polymers, monomers, naphtha, and SVC from chemical and physical recycling into a global context. Here, Europe covers 36 % of the installed global capacity. In the coming five years a strong growth of the market is expected in which the amount of installed chemical and physical recycling plants will steadily grow. A first indicator are the announcements of the technology providers for the construction of new plants. An analysis of these announcements shows that the input capacity in Europe will more than triple by 2027 while globally the capacity will double. However, the projection for Europe might change depending on any additional political measures, such as the revision of relevant directives or the establishment of incentives and investment programmes. www.nova-institut.eu A NEW LEVEL IN RECYCLING Happy 25th Anniversary PETplanet OMNI Recycling Technologies Super Clean Recycling in One Extrusion Step
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