Lummus and NER announce partnership to deploy waste plastic recycling technology at scale

Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced that its Green Circle business entered into a strategic partnership with New Energy Risk (NER), a wholly-owned division of Paragon Insurance Group, in which NER will serve as the preferred insurance supplier for Green Circle’s advanced waste plastic recycling technology, said the company.

Upon completing a thorough due diligence process, NER is prepared to provide technology performance insurance solutions to plant owners and operators who license Green Circle’s advanced waste plastic recycling technology. Since 2013, NER’s performance insurance has enabled the financing of over USD3 billion for development of new and renewable clean energy technologies and other circular economy projects.

"NER provides an extremely valuable service to project owners looking to deploy early-stage technologies at scale through project finance,” said Greg Shumake, Managing Director of Green Circle. “They thoroughly evaluated our advanced waste plastic pyrolysis technology and are confident in its commercial viability. And as a result, it will be easier for our clients to develop bankable projects to drive a more circular economy."

The waste plastic pyrolysis technology uses a thermochemical process for turning end-of-life plastics into a high-quality product that can be used to reduce the carbon intensity in the production of both transportation fuels and circular plastics. Green Circle is working across the sector, from Fortune 500 companies to independent project developers, to deploy technologies that close the loop of the plastic product lifecycle.

"Green Circle’s advanced waste plastic pyrolysis technology has been developed with a level of expertise and discipline that is rare,” said Brad Price, Managing Director of Technical Due Diligence at New Energy Risk. “We are proud to help accelerate the adoption of this technology by providing assurance to owners and investors that this technology will perform."

Green Circle concentrates and expands Lummus Technology’s capabilities to capture new opportunities in the energy transition and circular economy. Green Circle is a leader in providing economically and technically sound solutions to: process solid wastes containing plastics; process various renewable bio-based feedstocks to value-added chemicals, polymers and fuels; decarbonize refinery and petrochemicals assets; and expand production of blue hydrogen and biofuels.

We remind, Lummus Technology announced Butadiene LLP has selected its iC4 CATOFIN®, CATADIENE®, CDMtbe® technologies and BASF's butadiene extraction technology for units at Butadiene LLP's new petrochemical plant in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.

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North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a third straight week, with loadings for the week ended 18 March down 2.2% year on year to 45,200, led by a 5.8% decline in the US, according to the latest freight rail data by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

For the first 11 weeks of 2023 ended 18 March, North American chemical rail traffic was down 3.5% year on year to 496,589 railcar loadings, with US traffic down 7.2%, to 352,779 loadings.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic fell 2.1% year on year to 47,515 loadings for the week ended 4 March, with traffic falling in both the US and Canada, according to the latest freight rail data by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The decline came after in the week before, ended 25 February, chemical rail traffic registered a first increase after 22 straight year on year declines.

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PTT and ALPLA under the entity Envicco received approval from Thailand’s FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to sell recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) for local use, said the company.

Envicco is the first recycler in Thailand to gain the seal after the government announced in June 2022 that R-PET pellets will be allowed for local food packaging. Thailand’s decision is a key development across Asia's R-PET industry which could potentially impact trade flows of the materials.

The approval opens substantial demand potential for R-PET materials as currently only virgin PET plastics are allowed for use in applications such as bottled beverages in domestic markets. Other major recyclers in Thailand which include Indorama and EcoBlue have also applied for the permits since last year and are waiting for approval.

Envicco produces up to 30,000 tonnes/year of bottle-grade R-PET pellets and exports to customers both within Asia and to long-haul clients. The opening of the local market bolsters demand for the food-grade pellets and could potentially divert overseas-bound cargoes to local consumers.

Most recyclers expect production rates at respective plants to remain sufficient to meet both local and overseas demand. The move is in line with Thailand’s steady push towards increasing its recycling rates for more sustainable plastic packaging solutions in the future.

Thailand has announced earlier this year that by 2025, it will completely ban imports of mixed plastic waste bales.

The ban could severely tighten available feedstock when R-PET pellets demand is robust due to higher sustainability targets from major brands in the coming years.

We remind, ALPLA Group, together with its joint venture partners Ecohelp and UPT, has opened its first PET recycling plant in Romania after a construction time of nine months and investment of around 7.5 million euros. The state-of-the-art plant is now producing around 18,000 tonnes of recycled material per year from household waste. The joint undertaking PET Recycling Team Targu Mures supplies the southeast European market with food-grade rPET and thus promotes the circular economy in the region.

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Dutch renewable chemistry company Avantium has signed another offtake agreement for its plant-based and recyclable polymer polyethylene furanoate (PEF), said the company.

Under the latest deal, Danish interior textiles company Kvadrat agreed to purchase PEF from Avantium’s upcoming furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) plant in Delfzijl, Netherlands, Avantium said. The plant is expected to begin commercial production next year.

Kvadrat plans to use PEF yarns in the production of textiles. Financial or volume details were not disclosed. Over 2022 and into early 2023, Avantium signed eight offtake agreements for FDCA and PEF, and in total it now has 14 deals in place, it said.

Also, last month Avantium and US Origin Materials entered into a technology license agreement, providing Origin access to parts of Avantium’s YXY Technology, to enable the conversion of Origin-produced chloromethylfurfural (CMF) derivatives into FDCA.

Avantium is in "multiple discussions" on additional FDCA and PEF offtake deals, and is also exploring additional licensing opportunities for future large-scale production of FDCA and PEF, it said. FDCA is a chemical intermediate that is used to make PEF.

We remind, Avantium N.V. (“Avantium”), a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, and Origin Materials, Inc. (“Origin” and “Origin Materials”), a leading sustainable materials company based in the USA, today announced a partnership to accelerate the mass production of FDCA and PEF for use in advanced chemicals and plastics.

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Satellite Chemical and South Korea’s SK Geo Centric China Ltd (SKGC) are planning to jointly construct a 50,000 tonne/year second ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) plant in China’s Jiangsu province, the Chinese partner announced.

The new plant is estimated to need yuan (CNY) 2.17bn (USD317m) of investment. Their existing joint venture will still be responsible for construction and operation of the second plant.

Their 40,000 tonne/year first EAA plant at the same site is now under constructing.

We remind, Satellite Petrochemical is planning to partner with French’s industry gas provider Air Liquide to construct an integrated new material and new energy project at Dushangang in China’s Zhejiang province. Under the agreement, Satellite will invest yuan (CNY) 10.2bn (USD1.57bn) to build an 800,000 tonne/year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant, an 800,000 tonne/year butanol unit and a 120,000 tonne/year neopentyl glycol (NPG) unit, together with some supporting facilities.

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