Plastics recycling firms strike technology

Two agreements have been signed with the aim of commercializing new chemical recycling technologies for plastics. Honeywell is forming a joint venture with Avangard Innovative to build a recycling plant in Waller, Texas, that will use Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology, which uses pyrolysis to break down mixed plastic waste into chemical feedstocks. Avangard calls itself the largest plastics recycler in the Americas. The plant, located on a site where Avangard already mechanically recycles low-density polyethylene, will have 30,000 metric tons (t) per year of capacity when it opens in 2023. Honeywell earlier announced plans for similar plant in Spain with the infrastructure firm Sacyr. Separately, Sulzer Chemtech will provide its aromatics separation technology to Encina, which is developing a catalytic method for converting mixed plastics into aromatics such as benzene and toluene. Encina plans to build a plant with more than 350,000 t of capacity in the Northeast US by 2024. Its process previously captured the interest of the chemical maker Braskem.