<article><p class="lead">South Korean petrochemical producer LG Chem plans to invest 310bn won ($238mn) by 2024 to build a pyrolysis plant and an insulator aerogel plant in Dangjin, South Korea.</p><p>The facilities will be built within the Seongmun National Industrial Complex on a site with an area of about 240,000m², said LG Chem on 30 March. The pyrolysis plant is expected to produce 20,000 t/yr of pyrolysil oil, according to the country's trade and industry ministry. But project milestones for the facilities were not disclosed. </p><p>LG Chem plans to use plastic pellets and flakes, sourced from waste treatment companies, as feedstock for chemical recycling. The plant will conduct chemical recycling through supercritical pyrolysis, a process where polymers are thermally decomposed by heating water to a point where its temperature and pressure surpasses its critical point. This process produces pyrolysis oil, which will then be used to produce petrochemical products such as synthetic resins. </p><p>The Dangjin facility will be the petrochemical producer's latest investment in chemical recycling. LG Chem on 12 January signed an initial agreement with domestic resource circulation company Netspa for the supply of marine waste as feedstock for chemical recycling.</p><p>Fellow petrochemical producer SK Geo Centric is also <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2408920">planning a pyrolysis plant</a> that will be located in Ulsan and have a capacity of 66,000 t/yr. Plant construction is planned to start later this year.</p><p class="bylines">By Akash Ravinran</p></article>
