Major European styrenics makers INEOS Styrolution and Trinseo and chemical recycler Agilyx have teamed up to build a depolymerisation plant for chemical recycling of polystyrene (PS). Trinseo’s global circularity manager Julien Renvoise said the plant would process 18,000 tons/year of PS waste starting from 2023.
He added that the companies aimed to create food-grade materials from the depolymerisation process. The plant will use 300-600 degree-Celsius temperature for the depolymerisation recycling process which converts post-consumer PS into liquid styrene which can be used as feedstock to produce PS with virgin-like qualities. Renvoise said the process yield would be between 70% and 80%.
He also added that a second depolymerisation plant would be built in Belgium. The second facility will be able to process 17,000 tons/year of PS waste, with construction expected to be completed in the second half of 2022. Renvoise, however, did not provide further details on the project.
