The collaboration will blend Sulzer Chemtech’s capabilities in licensed processing technologies and mass transfer equipment with BASF’s strong position in high-performance adsorbents and catalysts.

The companies said they will not only seek to drive the development of innovative, cost-effective chemical processing solutions to improve the conversion of plastic waste into new plastics, but also to reduce the carbon intensity of renewable diesel and aviation fuel.

BASF is already engaged in a number of initiatives aimed at converting plastics waste into secondary raw materials, as well as providing adsorbent and catalytic materials to produce clean and renewable fuels.

The German chemical giant recently launched PuriCycle, a line of catalysts and adsorbents solutions that remove or convert a wide range of impurities in pyrolysis oils, a secondary raw material that can be obtained from chemically recycling plastics waste.

Winterthur-based Sulzer Chemtech, an established licensor of process technologies for renewable fuels and chemical recycling of plastics, also collaborates with other chemicals and plastics industry players to harness resources that can help global producers achieve their net-zero ambitions.

The Swiss company last year began collaborating with olefins and polyolefins producer Borealis on developing a process for expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam. The partners said they expect the new technology to offer significant cost savings and allow processors to meet circular economy guidelines.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist