Technological watch

INEOS Styrolution has confirmed its decision to invest into a pilot plant for advanced recycling of polystyrene. The site will be set up in collaboration with Recycling Technologies in Swindon, UK. It is expected to be operational in the second half of 2022.
Polystyrene Recycling through Depolymerization
The decision announced is a significant step forward launching polystyrene recycling through depolymerization technology. Depolymerization is an that converts polystyrene waste feedstock back into its main building block, Styrene which can then be used to manufacture new polystyrene with identical properties to the virgin material. The unique properties of polystyrene allow this efficient monomer recycling process to be harnessed avoiding the need to downcycle polystyrene. An additional benefit of depolymerization is a significant decrease of greenhouse gas emissions when compared with the production of virgin polystyrene from naphtha.
The Swindon pilot plant will be based on Recycling Technologies’ fluidized bed reactor technology, which offers excellent scalability making it the technology of choice for future even larger recycling plants.
Dr. Alexander Glück, president EMEA at INEOS Styrolution comments, “I am excited to see this project move ahead. With Recycling Technologies, we have found a partner, who is not only offering a very attractive technology, but who is also sharing our own vision to avoid polystyrene ending up in landfills or being incinerated. We are on the right path to make polystyrene a circular material.”
Adrian Griffiths, CEO & founder of Recycling Technologies, adds, “We welcome INEOS Styrolution’s decision and are pleased to be a critical element of the team to build Europe’s first advanced chemical polystyrene recycling facility. Harnessing our fluidized bed engineering technology and expertise to recycling polystyrene is a critical step to making polystyrene circular.”
Grades from INEOS Styrolution's Polystyrene Range

Source: INEOS Styrolution