Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2023 - 28

inside at...
eywell formally introduced its
UpCycle Process Technology,
it has announced some five
collaborations with partners
planning to deploy the technology.
The first was the joint venture
with Sacyr, a Spain-based
global engineering and services
company with operations in
more than 20 countries worldwide,
which was soon followed
by licensing agreements with
companies in the US, China,
Korea and Turkey.
In November 2022, a collaboration
was announced with
Egypt's Environ Adapt for Recycling
Industries, a leading
company in waste management
systems and resource recovery
solutions, with the aim
of advancing plastics recycling
in that country. The companies
signed a memorandum
of understanding to explore
the development of the first
advanced recycling facility in
Egypt that would be equipped
with Honeywell's UpCycle Process
Technology; already the
first feasibility studies are in
RPF produced at
Honeywell's pilot plant
continued from page 27
High-quality output
The differentiators in terms of
technology and expertise produce
an output product that
Honeywell UOP calls recycled
polymer feedstock, or RPF.
" That oil can go to a petrochemical
plant, and it can be
made into any plastic that they
want to make - HDPE, LDPE,
PS, whatever, " said Quast.
Honeywell is currently in a
number of conversations globally
about the suitability of
RPF as a drop-in feed; in other
words, a feedstock that is
ready for use without having to
go through a hydrotreatment
process. The intent and expectation
is that, with Honeywell's
expertise in contamination control,
this will be possible, said
Quast, although 'there are a lot
of different steam cracker variations
globally'.
" That's one of the things that
the petrochemical companies
we're partnering with really like:
the fact that it's a high quality
that fits the specs of their par28
ticular
steam cracker, " he said.
Honeywell UOP has samples
of RPF produced at their pilot
plant that after two years have retained
their light colour and clarity,
with no settling or separation.
Standardised units
As yet, Honeywell does not
have a full-scale plant in operation.
The volumes of RPF being
produced are therefore still relatively
limited. Full-scale plants
with a capacity of 30,000 metric
tons per year each are in the
final stages of approval to start
construction.
" We have a standard modular
30,000 t/a unit size, " said
Quast. " Part of the reason we
standardised on 30,000 mt/a
is because early on, we did an
analysis around waste plastic
availability and size of city and
so forth, and we identified that
30,000 mt/a is about the ideal
size for a midsize city in terms of
availability of plastic waste going
through the recycling chain.
At this point in time, it's very
difficult to consistently maintain
January/February 2023
a continuous process plant of
more than 30,000 mt/a. "
Although some competitors
are talking about 200,000 mt,
120,000 mt, or 100,000 mt, securing
feed of the right quality
and volume on a consistent basis
anywhere around the globe
is very difficult, he added, although
it should become more
feasible in the future.
Because of this, various
customers and licensees will
be initially installing a single
30,000 mt/a unit, which can
be expanded with subsequent
30,000 mt/a units, as needed.
" They're not going to have a
big plant; they're going to ease
into it as the industry changes, "
said Quast.
" The ironic thing is there
is more than enough plastic
waste. It's just that we need to
do a better job at recovering it
from the waste stream. "
Rolling out
the technology
In the brief period since Honprogress.
" I
think this offers a great opportunity, "
said Quast. He considers
Northern Africa a region
where, as the local economies
expand, plastics usage is set
to soar. And instead of waiting
for this to become a major disposal
problem, putting the infrastructure
in place to process
it could stop it from becoming
one. The collaboration with Environ
could also open the door
to other countries in Africa for
the technology, as Environ has
many contacts there and understands
those economies.
" Egypt is going to be a steppingstone
to that continent but
also to places like the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia because of
the relationship that they have
there. Then there are opportunities
potentially in Israel and
Pakistan; in fact, we're having
conversations everywhere
around the world, " he said.
" Honeywell's great; it opens
doors. Advanced recycling is a
nascent technology, but its potential
to transform our ability to
recycle plastics is already being
acknowledged. With advanced
recycling, instead trailing behind
and having to clean up after
the fact, we actually have the
opportunity to get ahead. "
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2023

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