Decarbonisation Technology May 2025 Issue

output products from Hydro- PRT (referred to as CR(III) in the published LCA report) are produced with around 55% lower global warming potential than fossil resources ( Garcia- Gutierrez, et al., 2023 ). Importantly, recognising the need to conserve carbon within the circular economy, Hydro- PRT was also found to be the most resource-efficient recycling process when compared with

Figure 3 Mura Techology’s 20 kta Wilton site

alternative for plastic waste and also limiting the cost of environmental collection and clean- up. Furthermore, the end-of-life destination provided by the technology can displace plastic waste from reaching waste-to-energy plants; as incineration does not produce a product to retain in the system, there is a further cost of the production of virgin material to replace the plastic that is lost from the system and, ultimately, a lost opportunity for circularity. There are also ambitions to further explore what is possible with Hydro-PRT. Early in 2024, Mura Technology signed a five-year research partnership with the Laboratory for Chemical Technology at Ghent University, dedicated to minimising the environmental impact of chemical processes. As part of this research partnership, a continuous flow pilot- scale testing facility will be constructed at the laboratory, which will then be used for a range of research programmes to evaluate what other materials Hydro-PRT is capable of processing and to help Mura’s industry partners better understand the potential of its output products. The Wilton facility’s commencement of operations this year will be a key milestone for Mura and advanced recycling as a whole. The sector remains focused on advancing the circular economy for waste plastic and turning what was once considered a waste product into a valuable commodity. Hydro-PRT is a registered trademark of Mura Technology. VIEW REFERENCES

mechanical and chemical recycling processes, indicating the highest yield of hydrocarbon products that displaces equivalent, virgin fossil products. An LCA published in 2023 by Warwick Manufacturing Group of the University of Warwick assessed the carbon and wider environmental impacts of processing waste plastic at Mura Wilton in Teesside. The most significant finding of the LCA study was that the technology can generate up to an 80% reduction in climate change impacts when compared to the incineration of waste plastic, understood by the study to be the most common approach for disposing of hard-to-recycle films and flexible plastics ( Ozoemena & Coles, 2023 ). In addition, the LCA demonstrated that for each tonne of plastic recycled, more than five barrels of fossil oil were saved. The study also indicated a 50-70% reduction in carbon intensity from the Hydro-PRT hydrocarbons, against the equivalent fossil oils, based on values in the Life Cycle Inventory from ecoinvent ( ecoinvent, 2025 ). Commercial prospects As well as being the sustainable alternative to incineration, the Hydro-PRT process has a robust economic argument to make for itself. A research report found that after a short first- use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value, worth between 80 and 120 billion US dollars annually, is lost to the economy alongside the associated carbon ( World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, & Mckinsey & Company, 2016 ). Hydro-PRT returns economic value to plastic waste that the global economy has considered valueless for many years, providing a low-carbon

Geoff Brighty