PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Some 12.5 million tonnes of waste plastics were burned and 7.3 million tonnes landfilled in Europe in 2018 alone, further raising concern about the dispersion of microplastics. Many manufacturing sectors in Europe use wax as a source material; it is currently obtained from fossil resources, with demand is expected to exceed supply by 20%.
OBJECTIVES
The project PLASTIC2WAXLIFE aims to demonstrate and bring to market an innovative chemical recycling process based on pyrolysis for the conversion of waste plastics into sustainable wax, thus replacing current unsustainable plastic disposal practices. It will highlight the market opportunity of large-scale production of sustainable specialty wax as a substitute for polyolefin waxes.
The project will scale up a proprietary pyrolysis process, which has already been validated at lab scale and pilot scale, from 4 000 tonnes a year to 12 000 t/y at a demonstration site. The project will then scale up further to industrial production of 40 000 t/y, in close collaboration with waste feedstock providers (Bord na Mona/AES, SABRINA/SIS, Whirlpool) and end-users (H&R Group and DOW Chemicals), in order to ensure a fully secured and sustainable value chain from feedstock till client. In this way, the project is expected to deliver an industrial plant able to prevent up to 24 000 t/y of waste plastic incineration and the emission of 23 000 tonnes of CO2eq, while generating saving of 354 GWh annually. Such a value chain will meet shareholder and customer CSR expectations, while helping achieve social development goals and the aims of the European Green Deal.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Decrease in the amount of plastic wastes sent to landfills or incineration by using plastic polyolefins as a secondary raw material for producing wax using thermal technology.
- Demonstration of in-situ processing and re-use as an efficient and viable way to meet the challenge of EU limitations on the export of waste plastic.
- Plan to introduce the project approach in 20 plants across Europe, processing around 480 000 tonnes of plastic waste annually – around 2.4 million tonnes of plastic waste re-used within five years of the project end.
- Reduced transportation requirements and consequent GHG emissions.
- Sale of 12 000 tonnes of wax during the project.
- Emission savings, with the project process producing less than 1.822 CO2eq per kilogram of plastic.
- Demonstration of energy self-sustainable process, once the capacity of 24 000 tonnes/year is reached.
- An industrial process that is replicable worldwide.
