Sulzer advanced separation technology will enable end-of-life plastics recycling at Indaver’s first plastic depolymerization plant currently under construction in Antwerp, Belgium, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The new Plastics2Chemicals (P2C) plant will drive polymer circularity by using Sulzer separation technology to reclaim and purify 30,000 tpy of plastic waste. The resulting pure chemical feedstock can then be reused in manufacturing.
As a leading European sustainable waste management company based in Belgium, Indaver is leveraging Sulzer’s advanced separation technology to develop safe recycling methods for typically non-recyclable post-consumer plastic. This demo-plant is the first of several sustainable P2C facilities that Indaver plans to build in strategic locations across Europe, together which will upcycle 1 MMt of used plastic.
After breaking long plastic macromolecules (polymers) down to simple monomers through depolymerization, the new P2C facility will use Sulzer Chemtech equipment to recover and purify the monomers to be used in the production of packaging materials, such as butter dishes, chocolate foils, cups and yoghurt pots amongst others.
Indaver elected to partner with Sulzer in this project due to its extensive research and pilot testing at Sulzer Chemtech’s in-house pilot plant in Allschwil, Switzerland. Sulzer is delivering four units that will run proprietary processes to enhance the quality of the recovered styrene or oil fractions. The Sulzer Chemtech equipment is critical to purification of chemical feedstock, enabling the polymer circularity.
We remind, Sulzer has signed an agreement with circular technology company Fuenix Ecogy to acquire a strategic stake in its plastic upcycling business. The partnership will drive the development, commercialization and adoption of advanced, fully integrated solutions for plastic waste processing.
mrchub.com