Carbios, a company specializing in biological technologies for the life cycle of plastic and textiles, and Sasa, a manufacturer of polyester and related products, have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore the potential acquisition of a license for Carbios’ PET biorecycling technology by Sasa.
French chemical producer Arkema has reported a breakthrough in new manufacturing processes that incorporate up to 40% recycled content from old packaging into its powder coating resins.
Rising demand for sustainability-related products will create a huge growth opportunity for chemical companies.
LyondellBasell has acquired a 25% stake in Cyclyx International, a joint venture between Agilyx and ExxonMobil formed in December 2020. Cyclyx is working with industry participants to develop innovative recycling solutions for all types of post-use plastics and aims at increasing the recyclability of plastics from 10% to 90%.
Carbios announces that it has been granted the building permit and operating authorization for the world’s first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) biorecycling plant, allowing construction to start.
Malaysia’s leading integrated chemicals producer Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), part of Petronas group, has reached the final investment decision (FID) to construct an advanced chemical recycling plant with a capacity of 33 kt/a. The plant, to be built in Pengerang, Johor, is the largest of its kind in Asia, said Petronas, and is expected to be operational in the first half of 2026.
The board of Finnish refiner Neste has given the all-clear to invest €111 million in new facilities for upgrading liquefied plastics waste at the company’s headquarters site in Porvoo.
TotalEnergies has acquired Spanish mechanical recycling company Iber Resinas for an undisclosed sum. The French energy, chemicals and plastics company said the acquisition will increase its production of circular polymers in Europe, extend its range of recycled products and enhance its access to feedstock through Iber Resinas’ network of suppliers.
NextChem, part of Italian engineering group Maire Tecnimont, has paid €6.12 million to take a 51% stake in MyRemono, a new company set up with partner Biorenova, which holds the remaining 49%.
LyondellBasell said it plans to acquire Veolia Belgium‘s stake in the joint venture Quality Circular Polymers (QCP), which has recycling facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands. Currently, the Paris-headquartered waste management group supplies soiled plastic waste to the recycling units, a role it will continue on an independent basis.
Agilyx ASA to explore the scale-up of the former’s integrated cascading catalytic pyrolysis (ICCP) process in a commercial demonstration plant.
Industry associations representing EU plastics producers, processors and users have called on the European Commission to develop transparent parameters for chemically recycled products.
Agilyx and Ineos Styrolution are advancing work on their previously announced PS chemical recycling project in Channahon, Illinois, USA. They expect to complete engineering this year, providing the foundation for a final investment decision.
Italian companies Saipem and Garbo have agreed to collaborate to commercialize the latter’s proprietary depolymerization technology, called ChemPET. The process converts waste PET into high-quality, high-value PET that can be reused in the chemical and food industries.
Ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Mar. 23-24, the European Commission has shaken out a cornucopia of proposals to stimulate green investment in the 27-member bloc.
Avantium is partnering with Origin Materials to accelerate the mass production of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and plant-based, fully recyclable plastic, polyethylene furanoate (PEF).
NextChem and its subsidiary MyRechemical – both part of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont group – and Dutch company Dimeta have agreed to jointly explore new opportunities to develop plants for producing renewable and recycled carbon dimethyl ether (DME) from waste.
NextChem, a subsidiary of Italian engineering contractor Maire Tecnimont, has agreed to acquire, scale up and commercialize Biorenova’s proprietary CatC continuous chemical recycling technology through a joint venture.
Repsol has announced plans to install a new production line for recycled plastics at its site in Puertollano, Spain. The new line, with capacity of 25,000 t/y, will go into operation at the end of 2024, almost doubling existing output of 16,000 t/y.
ExxonMobil has started up what it says is one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America at its integrated manufacturing complex in Baytown, Texas, where the company uses proprietary Exxtend technology to break down hard-to-recycle plastics and process them into chemical feedstock.
France’s TotalEnergies said it plans to build a new production line for high-performance recycled polypropylene used in automotive applications at its polymer production site in Carling, France.
LyondellBasell (LYB) said it is moving ahead with engineering for a commercial scale advanced plastics waste recycling plant it intends to build at its Wesseling, Germany, production site together with Germany’s 23 Oaks Investments.
US nylon giant Ascend Performance Materials has acquired an undisclosed majority stake in compatriot Circular Polymers, a recycler of post-consumer high-performance polymers including PA 6 and 6.6, polypropylene and PET.
Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe and Plastic Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to produce 100,000 t/y of petrochemical feedstock from recycled plastic waste.
Solvay is collaborating with two companies to collect and reuse the limestone residues from its soda ash production in Rosignano, Italy. The move will enable the residues to be reused in construction and agriculture.
ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell and Cyclyx International have agreed to jointly establish a plastic waste sorting and processing facility in Houston, Texas, USA, providing feedstock for both mechanical and advanced recycling technologies.
Germany’s BASF and Swiss-based technology firm Sulzer Chemtech have announced plans to collaborate on finding sustainable solutions for a number of industrial applications, in particular renewable fuels and chemically recycled plastics.
German engineering plastics producer Covestro is buiilding its first dedicated line for mechanical recycling (MCR) of polycarbonates at its integrated site in Shanghai, China. The new 25,000 t/y facility, which will cost €27 million, is planned to start up in 2023.
Dow has announced several new steps in its plans to accelerate the deployment of plastics recycling technologies in Europe and the US.
Trinseo and Dutch firm GMP Group are setting up a framework for an exclusive cooperation to further progress the circulatory of PS.
German chemical giant BASF has announced it will build a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant in at its Schwarzheide, Germany, site, strengthening the location’s activities in production and recycling of cathode active materials (CAM).
US science, technology and engineering group KBR is investing a further $100 million in chemical recycling firm Mura Technology. The move takes KBR’s aggregate investment in Mura to 18.5%.
German engineering plastics producer Covestro is heading up a four-year EU-funded innovation project with 22 partners from nine countries to help erase the industry’s recycling deficits and close the material cycle for rigid polyurethane foam used in refrigerators and building insulation.
Following trials earlier this year of its proprietary technology for advanced recycling – also referred to as chemical recycling – ExxonMobil has now announced its intention to build a large-scale plant in Baytown, Texas, USA.
Haldor Topsoe is partnering Dow to accelerate development of chemical recycling technology that converts hard-to-recycle waste plastics into pyrolysis oil feedstock. The Danish group will support the design and engineering of a 10,000 t/y market-development, or pilot, unit to be built at Dow’s site in Terneuzen, the Netherlands.
