Japanese refiner Idemitsu has completed construction of its first chemical recycling plant as part of efforts to promote a circular economy in the plastic industry.
Idemitsu's subsidiary Chemical Recycle Japan (CRJ) has finished the construction of plastic recycling facilities at its Ichihara plant, neighbouring Idemitsu's Chiba plant in eastern Japan, the companies said on 19 January.
Construction was completed in December 2025, and Idemitsu plans to begin commercial operations at the new chemical recycling plant in April 2026. The Ichihara facility can process 20,000 t/yr of plastic waste and produce around 14,000 t/yr of recycled oil.
CRJ's facilities use catalysts to break down plastic waste into recycled oil. The resulting product is equivalent to light crude and contains no heavy distillates or wax, the companies said.
Idemitsu plans to blend the recycled oil with conventional oil and use it at the existing refining and petrochemical units, aiming to add environmental value to selected chemical products.
Plastics made from the recycled oil are expected to cost about three times more than conventional crude-derived plastics at the current plant scale, CRJ said. The company aims to expand capacity over time and eventually reduce the cost to less than twice that of conventional plastics, it added.
