SK’s chemical arm renames, embraces plastic recycling

SK Global Chemical, the petrochemical arm of the South Korean conglomerate SK Innovation, has changed its name to SK Geo Centric as part of an effort to transform from “carbon to green.” The firm says it aims to become the “world’s largest urban oilfield company,” sourcing its raw materials from plastic waste rather than petroleum. SK plans to spend about $4.2 billion on recycling projects by 2025, when it hopes to be recycling 900,000 metric tons (t) of postconsumer plastic annually. It hopes to process 2.5 million t by 2027. “The plastic waste problem should turn into an opportunity,” SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo says in the firm’s rebranding announcement. SK intends to achieve its goals largely through partnerships with recycling companies, many of which it has already lined up. In August, SK said it will build a polypropylene recycling plant in South Korea that uses PureCycle Technologies’ purification process. It is studying a plastics pyrolysis plant in South Korea with partner Brightmark. SK also bought 10% stakes in both Loop Industries and Shuye Environmental Technology, firms that are working on technology to recycle polyethylene terephthalate.