Dutch pyrolysis technology provider BlueAlp will provide a pyrolysis unit to serve as part of BioBTX's planned facility at Delfzijl in the Netherlands, which is intended to produce aromatic petrochemical intermediates from non-fossil feedstock.
An investment decision has been taken on the pyrolysis unit, which is under construction, and is expected to be transported and integrated into the Delfzijl site from December this year, BlueAlp chief executive Valentijn De Neve told Argus. Start-up is planned for 2028.
The unit will have an input capacity of around 20,000 t/yr. The primary feedstock will be plastic waste, which will be pyrolysed in the BlueAlp unit. The output from the pyrolysis unit will then be fed into a catalytic unit developed by BioBTX to be converted into a benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) mixture. This mixture contains "key chemical building blocks used in industries such as automotive and advanced materials", the companies said.
The use of BioBTX's technology to produce aromatics, bypassing the steam cracker step of the petrochemical chain, may allow increased flexibility to pyrolyse organic biomass feedstocks, De Neve said, although plastic waste will be the main feedstock used. Organic feedstocks are typically avoided by pyrolysis producers, because they lead to more oxygenates and nitrogenates in the pyrolysis oil that are undesirable in material destined for further processing in steam crackers, he said.
The main focus of pyrolysis chemical recycling industry has been on supplying circular plastics for packaging, particularly polyolefins. But there are specific "niches" of demand for circular aromatics, particularly xylene and toluene, De Neve said. He attributed this partly to the EU's End-of-life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), which will mandate recycled content in automotive plastics from six years after its expected official adoption this year, as well as voluntary commitments from other industries, including pharmaceuticals.
The BioBTX approach is a "low-capex, low-energy" way of producing circular aromatics, as it avoids the need for cooling and reheating of pyrolysis oil, De Neve said. And, as an on-purpose route, it has a higher yield of circular aromatics than processing pyrolysis oil through a steam cracker.
The pyrolysis technology for Delfzijl matches that which BlueAlp licensed to Italian waste management company Recupero Etico Sostenibile, which is being installed at the firm's site in Pettoranello del Molise, Italy. Construction of the plant is progressing, with start-up expected by the end of this year, De Neve said.
