PortNews 2021 issue 4

Page 18

SUSTAINABILITY

Domestic plastic waste. Chemical recycling will enable the companies to upgrade even coloured and mixed plastic packaging waste into highquality raw material for the production of new plastics, chemicals, and fuels. Photo courtesy of Neste.

Joint venture for chemical recycling of waste plastic Neste and Ravago aim to establish a joint venture to build an industrial facility for chemical recycling in North Sea Port’s Vlissingen port area. With this, the companies plan to demonstrate and advance the commercialisation of chemical recycling. The facility is intended to be the starting point of joint global chemical recycling activities, often also called advanced recycling, built upon the advancement of the thermochemical liquefaction technology of US-based Alterra Energy, an innovative chemical recycling technology company.

Combining expertise along the value chain This strategic partnership combines Ravago’s expertise in the mechanical preparation of plastic waste, Alterra Energy’s proprietary liquefaction technology, and Neste’s expertise

in the processing of hydrocarbons. In Vlissingen, the facility will have an annual processing capacity of about 55,000t of mixed plastic waste, corresponding to the plastic packaging waste generated by some 1.7 million average EU citizens1 per year. The long-term aspiration of the partners is to significantly increase the processing capacity on a global scale and continuously develop the joint venture into a global leader for chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste. Chemical recycling will enable the companies to upgrade even coloured and mixed plastic packaging waste into high-quality raw material for the production of new plastics, chemicals, and fuels. Unlike mechanically recycled plastics, chemical recycling enables waste plastic to be used as raw material even in the most sensitive applications, such as primary food packaging or medical devices.

A step closer “We are truly excited about the progress of our joint project work. By fixing the investment location and scope, we are again 1 The average EU citizen generated 33kg of plastic packaging waste in 2018. Source: Eurostat.

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