While pyrolysis technology has been known to industry, the complexity of waste stream composition and associ- ated process design, as well as a need to ensure a consistent supply of large volumes of waste plastics are among the factors hindering the build-up of units at a scale comparable to tradi- tional crude refining (the source of conventional naphtha). While some of the largest announced pyrolysis projects are at 200-250 kt/yr of waste plastics feed, most commer- cial producing units are at 10-50 kt/yr throughput. Despite technological dif- ficulties with designing large pyrolysis plants, access to waste plastics supply infrastructure, which includes collec- tion and basic presorting, is essential in defining plant size and cost com - petitiveness of the pyoil it produces. In addition, the geographical posi- tioning of waste collection sites based on population density, local waste processing legislation framework, and smart integration with alternative recy- cling methods (mechanical recycling) play an important role in assessing pyrolysis plant feasibility and eco- nomic competitiveness. The success of chemical recycling as an emerging industry will depend on the extent of the interface it establishes with the waste collection and sorting business. This industry has never had common ground with chemicals production. As chemical recycling gains momen- tum, it is projected to transition from smaller-scale distributed plants to larger capacity, highly integrated facilities. In those geographies highly constrained by unfavourable waste collection logistics or remote locations outside of large industrial clusters, dis- tributed production might dominate where off-take from smaller plants is combined and processed centrally at a facility integrated with an olefin pro - duction site. Pyoils upgrading to allow higher blending ratios with crude-based feedstocks to steam cracker oper- ations will be even more important once significant pyrolysis installed capacity is built. Whether upgrading is predominantly done at the pyrol- ysis site by the producing company or at the consumer location (within the olefin production complex), this
is something to be defined by project economics in conjunction with local legislation setup. However, what is very clear is that pyoils purification will be crucial to enable wider use of these feeds in olefins production. Technology advancement is required, not only by individual market players but across the whole value chain. Conclusions Solving the plastics waste puzzle is a major challenge for the modern chemical industry, requiring input from all players along the value chain. Chemical recycling using pyrolysis has gained momentum as a promis- ing technology. However, challenges associated with scale-up are not fully resolved, and commercial pyoils purification processes have not been well established. The industry has enormous potential and experience in transitioning to new feedstocks. BASF is committed to circularity in plastics and continues to innovate towards enabling more efficient chemical recy - cling by introducing new high-perfor- mance catalysts and adsorbents.
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References 1 Plastics Recycling, IHS Markit, Dec 2019. 2 The evolution towards a Circular Economy, May 2022, Goldman Sachs Global Research. 3 Large-scale Pyrolysis – Plastic Chemical Recycling, PEP 199G Nov 2021, IHS Markit. 4 Plastics Recycling and Sustainability – a process economics framework, PEP Review 2019-15, Dec 2019, IHS Markit. 5 Plastics to Fuels and Chemicals, PERP2017S6, Dec 2017, Nexant. Artem Vityuk is Global Market Manager in Chemical Catalysts and Adsorbents Solutions, leading waste plastics pyoil upgrading devel- opment. He holds a PhD in chemical engi- neering – heterogenous catalysis from The
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University of South Carolina. Email: artem.vityuk@basf.com
Sanaz Norouzi is Technology Manager, Adsorbents Solutions, advancing sustainable technology solutions in olefins purification and pyoil upgrading from waste plastics applications. She holds an MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California and a BS in chemical engineer- ing from Iran University of Science and Technology. Email: sanaz.norouzi@basf.com
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