PTQ Q2 2025 Issue

period for pyoils when players from refining and petrochem - ical segments are going to cooperate in probing new meth - ods of introducing pyoils into established value chains. Since CDU is the gate to a diverse universe of platform chemicals through its naphtha and LPG product streams, it is expected that there will be attempts to explore pyoils blend - ing into crude. The effectiveness of this route compared to alternatives for circular feedstocks would have to be carefully assessed using the mass balance principle. Upgrading needs (CDU) Refiners are typically reluctant to introduce new types of feedstocks to the CDU due to potential risks of downstream processes being affected. The CDU supplies feedstocks to most conventional refinery operations as well as to some of the major petrochemical processes. Thus, contaminants introduced at the CDU level are likely to have a pronounced effect across multiple units. In this regard, the original boiling range of the pyoil plays a key role. Upon pyoil injection, the expected change in yields of LPG, naphtha, gasoil, and heavy bottoms if processed under the current CDU process settings must be carefully evaluated. This goes along with the understanding of how heteroatoms are going to distribute across those cuts. For example, metals are expected to stay in a heavy bottom, while halogens are likely to be trapped in light and heavy naphtha, with some making it to the LPG gas. The impurity that draws the most attention is halogens, more specifically, chlorides. Inorganic chlorides are usually managed in the desalter plant, with resulting sodium chloride NaCl levels in the crude kept below 20 ppmw. Since NaCl will not hydrolyse until about 540°C, there typically is no HCl release under CDU process conditions, and low ppm of NaCl are tolerated. In contrast, there is, in essence, no tolerance towards organic chlorides in a typical CDU feedstock, with most specifica - tions limiting the contamination to below 1 ppmw. As pyoils normally feature high content of organic chlorides, refiners must thoroughly assess to what extent blending which crude is feasible and whether installing an on-pur - pose chloride adsorption unit is required to eliminate chlo - rides from the pyoil feed. PuriCycle H adsorbents is a proper solution for users looking to dechlorinate pyoils to enable safe and reliable processing in downstream assets. Conclusion Chemical recycling is a promising route to help plastics tran - sition to circularity. Some progress has been already made, with multiple pyrolysis units globally being brought up into commercial service after scale-up trials and chemical compa - nies actively assessing potential of plastic pyoils as the feed - stock for their manufacturing chains. Nevertheless, the industry is still at its beginnings. It is expected that early adopters will be exploring a range of available technologies to convert pyoils into monomers, the building blocks of virgin plastics, with some of those requiring tighter cooperation between traditional refining and petro - chemicals segments. The barriers that industry needs to overcome to integrate pyoils into existing production involve high contamination,

compositional peculiarities, and effectiveness of recycled carbon conversion. The change is not going to be abrupt, nor seamless given the complexity of the problem and scale, likely requiring optimisation across multiple proprietary tech - nology steps during the transition. What is apparent, though, is that the knowledge, expertise, and, most importantly, commercial experience in adopting towards new challenging feedstocks exist within the modern chemical industry. The stakeholders must carefully assess the technology pathways for the most efficient pyoil conversion and coordinate the efforts across the whole value chain – from plastic waste collection to virgin resin production. PuriCycle G and PuriCycle H are marks of BASF Corporation. References 1 Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options, Policy Highlights, OECD, 2022. 2 Borrelle, S., et al ., Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution, Science , Vol 369, 2020, pp.6,510. 3 Why aren’t we recycling more plastic? United Nations Development Program, November 2023. 4 Tiseo, I., Global data on plastic production and waste , February 2023. 5 Chemical Recycling: Greenhouse gas emission reduction potential of an emerging waste management route , CEFIC and Quantis Report, October 2020. 6 M Kusenberg, A Eschenbacher, M R. Djokic, A Zayoud, K Ragaert, S De Meester, K M. Van Geem, Opportunities and challenges for the applica - tion of post-consumer plastic waste pyrolysis oils as steam cracker feed - stocks: To decontaminate or not to decontaminate?, Waste Management , Vol 138, 2022, pp.83-115. 7 M Kusenberg, M Roosen, A Zayoud, M R. Djokic, H Dao Thi, S De Meester, K Ragaert, U Kresovic, K M. Van Geem, Assessing the feasibility of chemical recycling via steam cracking of untreated plastic waste pyrol - ysis oils: Feedstock impurities, product yields and coke formation, Waste Management, Vol 141, 2022, pp.104-114. 8 Khazraie, T., Vincent, G., Chemical recycling of waste plastics: The role of catalysts, Decarbonisation Technology, August 2024, pp.61-65. 9 Delhomme-Neudecker, C., Schödel, N., Tóta, Á., Schmidt, G., Plastic pyrolysis oils as feedstock for steam crackers: Opportunities and chal - lenges – Part 2, Hydrocarbon Processing, Special Focus: Sustainability and the Energy Transition , February 2024. 10 Poparad, A., Ellis, B., Glover, B., Metro, S., Improved catalytic reform - ing, Catalyst solutions help to improve the profitability and reliability of reforming units, Digital Refining, January 2012. 11 Amadei, R., Improved hydrogen yield in catalytic reforming, A process step that sends higher-boiling C6 hydrocarbons to light tops isomerisa - tion delivers an increase in hydrogen production from naphtha catalytic reforming, Chemical & Energy Development, Digital Refining, January 2013. 12 Erkmen, B., Ozdogan, A., Ezdesir, A., Celik, G.. Can pyrolysis oil be used as a feedstock to close the gap in the circular economy of polyole - fins? Polymers (Basel), February 2023, 9, 15 (4):859. 13 Stijepovic, V., Linke, P., Alnouri, S., Kijevcanin, M., Grujic, A., Stijepovic, M., Toward enhanced hydrogen production in a catalytic naphtha reform - ing process, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol 37, Issue 16, 2012, pp.11,772-11,784. 14 Avery, C., Strohm, J., FCC pathways to co-processing, Digital Refining, November 2021. 15 Subramaniyam, M., Chavan, S., Menon, S., Yield impact of blending waste plastic with vacuum residue in a delayed coker, Hydrocarbon Engineering , September 2021. Artem D Vityuk is Global Market Manager in Chemical Catalysts and Adsorbents Solutions. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering – heter - ogenous catalysis from The University of South Carolina. Email: artem.vityuk@basf.com

PTQ Q2 2025