Circular polymers from plastic waste - the GreenDot Group and Shell Chemicals Europe are working together to achieve this. Plastic waste from households will be used to produce pyrolysis oils, which will be refined and further processed for use in plastics.
In the last six months, the GreenDot Group and Shell Chemicals Europe B.V., a subsidiary of Shell, explored opportunities to work together to achieve additional business results in the area of Circular chemicals and polymers for Europe to achieve.
These discussions have now led to GreenDot supplying pyrolysis oil to Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. since March this year. GreenDot is utilising its 30 years of experience as a system operator for extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Germany to Plastic waste from households for the production of pyrolysis oils to utilise. Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. will use pyrolysis oil in its Market Development Upgrader Unit (MDU), which is currently under construction at the Shell Chemicals Park in Moerdijk, the Netherlands. MDU is expected to be commissioned this year.
“We are very pleased to be supplying pyrolysis oil to Shell Chemicals Europe B.V., which will help to improve these pyrolysis oils and further expand the capacity for recycled polymers needed in Europe. There are only a few years left until the first targets for the recycled content of polyolefins in packaging have to be met. It is therefore important that many industry partners pull together. By supplying these volumes and having Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. take over the processing of these pyrolysis oils, GreenDot has taken another crucial step in putting all the pieces of the puzzle together that will ultimately enable the supply of circular polymers on a large scale.”
Mark Vester, Managing Director GreenDot Advanced Recycling
Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. will refine the pyrolysis oil to remove impurities and use the new, cleaner feedstock to produce closed-loop chemicals that can be recycled into Recycled polymers further processed for use in plastics can be produced. These circular polymers can be used to produce touch-sensitive plastic packaging intended for various areas such as pet food, food contact, medical devices and cosmetic products.
GreenDot and Shell Chemicals Europe B.V. remain open to exploring additional outlets for future volumes to ultimately provide more recyclable chemicals and polymers. Diverting more plastic waste from energy recovery, landfill and the environment is a crucial step towards a truly circular economy in Europe. In addition, the Collaboration with downstream partners and brand owners show that advanced recycling technologies can play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for the safe, circular use of recycled materials in food contact products and help the EU achieve its target of 10 per cent recycled content for food contact plastic packaging by 2030.
Source: GreenDot
