Driving Innovation in Circular Economy: Plastics2Olefins Project Advances at GA in Alicante

Watch photos from the 6th General Assembly in Alicante and visit to ACTECO’s facilities.

The Plastics2Olefins project gathered for its sixth General Assembly (GA) on November 20-21, 2024, in Alicante, Spain.

Hosted by ACTECO, the two-day meeting highlighted the progress made by the consortium in key technical work packages. The partners discussed challenges, agreed on solutions, and outlined next steps in the project’s goal towards transforming plastic waste into valuable resources. The event concluded with a valued visit to ACTECO’s state-of-the-art facilities, showcasing processes and know-hows implemented within the project and beyond.

“Important insights have been acquired in this gathering that will feed into the concept and design of the Plastics2Olefins demo plant,” comments Raquel Moreno from ARTTIC Innovation.

Day 1 Highlights: Technical Progress

Rebeca Yuste (coordinator from REPSOL) and Ángel Martinez (ACTECO) opened the meeting with a warm welcome and overview of the participants’ schedule. Further, the Work Package (WP) and task leads presented the progress on their respective tasks and activities and main achievements within the last period.

  • WP1 – Project Coordination: Raquel Moreno (ARTTIC) provided an overview of WP1 objectives and tasks, including strategic decision-making, administrative management, and scientific and technical management. Key points of discussion from this WP included the review of changes to the upcoming amendment, and the development of a new data management plan collector and the upcoming interim report.
  • WP2 – Pyrolysis Optimization: Julio Perez (ACTECO) and Curro Artillo (REPSOL) discussed the identification and supply of pre-treated materials, problems with water content in materials, and the impact of caustic scrubber on pyrolysis gas. They also discussed the potential solutions to the challenges, presented pyrolysis results and also discussed the next steps.
  • WP3 – Downstream Process Optimisation: Michal Jeremias (VTT) presented an overview of WP3, including tasks related to the revalorisation of heavy tar-like fractions (CIEMAT), purifying gas (VTT), and char characterisation (LHE). Key points of discussion included the impact of water content on chloromethane adsorption and the use of char in cement plants.
  • WP4 – Digitalisation and Renewable Energies Integration: Prashanth Nadukandi (REPSOL) and Noemi González Cobos (REPSOL) discussed the simulations done about the pyrolysis reactor and development of a planning tool for renewable energy integration including the validation of the tool within Repsol Tech Lab’s facilities.
  • WP5 – Technical Integration and Engineering: Pablo de Hoyos and Bernardo Herrera (TRSA) provided an overview of WP5 objectives, including design basis, conceptual and basic engineering of the demo plant, and the review of tasks, deliverables, and milestones. They discussed the definition of the feeding system and the start conceptual engineering of the demo plant.
  • WP7 – Sustainability Assessment and Replicability Potentials: Mikolaj Owsianiak (DTU) presented a brief overview of WP7 progress, including the initiation of tasks related to life cycle assessment (LCA) and the need for data confirmation from technical partners, Cost-benefit analysis and prefeasibility study on replication potential (lead by SIN).
  • WP8 – Exploitation, Communications, Dissemination & Training: Alemu Belay (SIN) presented an overview of tasks and deliverables achievements. Key points included the status of communication and development of the dissemination materials, the development of learning modules, and the review of KPIs.

Day 2 Highlights: ACTECO’s Facilities Tour

On the second day we had a fruitful visit to ACTECO’s cutting-edge facilities in Almansa and Ibi, where we saw firsthand how they’re transforming plastic waste into valuable materials to be taken to the Repsol plant to go through an innovative pyrolysis process to obtain olefins.

“We saw first-hand waste storage, processes and final products processed in ACTECO’s facilities, which will contribute having a feasible concept and design of the Plastics2Olefins demo plant,” says REPSOL coordinator Rebeca Yuste.

Exciting things ahead as we continue working together to drive sustainability and create a more circular economy!