(Innovation News Network) Recycling plastic waste into high-value materials: Plastics2Olefins is closing the loop

This article was featured on Innovation News Network on 13 September 2023.

The Plastics2Olefins project is paving the way for the industrialisation of high-temperature pyrolysis for circular olefins production.

Plastic waste has become one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Despite efforts to recycle and reduce plastic consumption, a significant amount of plastic still ends up in landfills, oceans, and natural habitats.

This not only poses a threat to wildlife and ecosystems but also contributes to the depletion of finite resources. Globally, 359 million metric tons of plastic were produced in 2018, with Europe producing 17% of this. In the same year, 29 million metric tons of plastic waste was generated in the European Union (EU) and only a third of this was recycled.

VIDEO: Plastics2Olefins project will design, build and demonstrate new recycling technology for unsorted plastics

The Plastics2Olefins project will design, build, and run a demonstration plant for recycling of unsorted plastic waste at Repsol’s plant Puertollano (Spain). The process which will be digitalised, run on 100% renewable (electric) and estimated to reduce the GHG emission by 70-80% compared to incineration and existing plastics recycling processes.

VIDEO: Plastics2Olefins project will design, build and demonstrate new unsorted plastic recycling technology

Rebeca Yuste (Repsol), project coordinator of Plastics2Olefins explains the project objectives, Repsol’s role and the expectation of the novel pyrolysis technology.

VIDEO: The Plastics2Olefins project will develop a novel pyrolysis for recycling unsorted plastics

Eduardo Ariza, Business Development Manager of ETIA Group talks about their role and expected impact of the novel pyrolysis technology.