PTQ Q1 2026 Issue

Increasing waste plastic oil quality

350 Decreasing the boiling point distribution of waste plastics oil

100%

90%

300

Pyrolysis

C+

80%

250

70%

200

Naphthenes

60%

Catalytic Pyrolysis

150

Iso-parans

50%

100

Aromatics

40%

Olens

30%

20%

100

Parans

Mass (wt%)

10%

Figure 2 Effect of catalytic pyrolysis on boiling range of WPO

Thermal pyrolysis

Catalytic pyrolysis

Catalytic upgrading

The government supports advanced recycling projects, but enforcement details and broader adoption remain unclear. • Major plastics producers have announced ambitious chemical recycling targets for 2030, but actual capacity remains low (under 1 million tons in 2022). Even optimistic projections (10-25 million tons by 2030) represent only a fraction of global plastic waste, and operational, economic, and regulatory challenges persist. For the time being, the conclusion is that while chemi- cal recycling is positioned as a solution for hard-to-recycle plastics, its future depends on regulatory clarity, especially While chemical recycling is positioned as a solution for hard- to-recycle plastics, its future depends on regulatory clarity, mass balance accounting, and the ability to retrofit existing infrastructure to control costs. Without this, market expan - sion may be slower and more costly than industry forecasts suggest. Recycling: stages and catalytic challenges Chemical recycling pathways Chemical recycling encompasses a variety of pathways and technologies (see Figure 1 ), including pyrolysis, hydrother- mal liquefaction, gasification, depolymerisation, and others, that convert waste plastics into monomers, fuels, or chem- ical intermediates. The landscape of technology developers and licensors is currently still fairly scattered along the value chain, with technologies at different stages of development between bench-top and commercial scale. However, com- mon to most pathways is that the process unfolds in three main stages: especially mass balance accounting, and the ability to retrofit existing infrastructure to control costs

Figure 3 Stepwise improvement of WPO quality

u Primary conversion: Plastics are decomposed into smaller molecules (oils, gases) via thermal or catalytic processes. v Upgrading: The resulting products are refined to remove impurities and tailor their chemical properties. w Valorisation: Upgraded intermediates are integrated into existing petrochemical units (for example, steam crack - ers and fluid catalytic cracking [FCC] units) to produce new monomers, fuels, or specialty chemicals. Each stage presents unique catalytic challenges, from enhancing selectivity and yield to managing contami- nants that can poison catalysts or degrade product quality required for the intended downstream use. Primary conversion: catalytic pyrolysis and beyond Pyrolysis, the thermal decomposition of plastics in the absence of oxygen, is the most widely adopted chemical recycling technology for polyolefins (PE, PP). However, conventional pyrolysis produces oils with a broad boiling range and high levels of impurities, limiting their direct use in downstream processes. Introducing proprietary catalysts either (i) directly into the pyrolysis reactor or (ii) in a subsequent catalytic step can be a means of lowering the boiling point distribution of pyroly- sis oils. In this way, the fraction suitable for steam cracking could be increased and the need for extensive downstream upgrading reduced. Recent academic reviews highlight the importance of catalyst design in pyrolysis: zeolites, sili- ca-alumina, and metal-doped materials can enhance selec- tivity toward desired products and reduce coke formation. The choice of catalyst affects not only product distribution but also process economics and environmental impact. FCCSA, Ketjen’s joint venture in Brazil, exemplifies the integration of advanced catalysis with commercial-scale chemical recycling. Two different types of catalyst technol- ogy were deployed to produce high-quality oils suitable for steam cracking and aromatics production. A first catalyst is introduced in powder form into the pyrolysis reactor, while

PTQ Q1 2026