Engineering and technology company Technip Energies and Anellotech have entered a global agreement to jointly develop plastic recycling technology.
The companies will join forces on the development and licensing of Anellotech's one-step thermal-catalytic recycling technology, the Plas-TCat process.
Anellotech develops technologies that produce renewable chemicals and fuels from non-food biomass or plastic waste.
The technology can transform mixed plastic waste feedstocks, including composite films, single-use plastics and other hard-to-recycle plastics into the same basic chemicals.
Plas-TCat process primarily focuses on toluene, benzene, and xylene, which can be used for manufacturing virgin plastics.
Technip Energies sustainable fuels, chemicals and circularity SVP Bhaskar Patel said: “Technip Energies is delighted to work with Anellotech to advance the Plas-TCat process.
“Anellotech’s technology brings a new pathway towards solving the plastic waste problem, converting the mixed plastic wastes into useful end products. For us, this is another opportunity to contribute to the circular economy, including now in Japan.”
The partnership will perform extensive performance trials at Anellotech's demonstration plant in Silsbee, US, which has a capacity of 100 tonnes a year.
Technip Energies will integrate its downstream processing units into the plant, aiming to design a process that it will license globally.
The Plas-TCat process can process all major plastics and offers predictable yields of end products.
It also boasts the potential to cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50% compared to traditional virgin monomer production in naphtha crackers.
Anellotech founder, president, and CEO David Sudolsky said: “Anellotech looks forward to engaging with Technip Energies, a global leader in petrochemical, fluid catalytic cracking, refining and steam cracker technologies.
“This collaboration will provide the scalable, cost-efficient, attractive LCA [life-cycle assessment] solution needed to address plastic sustainability.”
