Recently, Abundia which is a US based major technology company focused on circular solutions and sustainability announced that the company will be entering into a licensing agreement with Alterra Energy which is a leader in the advanced recycling of plastics into petrochemical products.
As per the agreement, Alterra’s thermochemical liquefaction process will be combined with the Abundia’s advanced technology in order to recycle plastic waste into usable chemical products thereby providing a circular solution to the plastic waste that is treated.
Abundia has planned the commencement of its first site in Mainland UK. The initial capacity of the recycling plant will be around 40 kilotons of plastic waste per year into recycled chemicals. The plant is expected to become operational by the second half of 2022. Expansion is also underway with the targeted expansion to 120 kilotons annually by 2027.
The combination of Alterra’s liquefaction platform and Abundia’s downstream upgrading technologies is expected to provide a robust and circular solution to plastic waste. Thermochemical plastic recycling refers to the chemical method applied for recycling the plastic waste in the place of conventional mechanical processes. In this process, the plastic waste returns back to virgin like petrochemical products.
Plastic recycling is growing is demand due to the related sustainability and circular solutions. The demand for plastic recycling stood at around 10 million tonnes in the year 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% during the upcoming years.
As per ChemAnalyst, “the deal between Abundia and Alterra Energy is targeted at capturing the growing demand for plastic recycling and sustainable chemical solutions. Both the companies will be benefitting out of the synergies arising from the agreement. As the demand for the plastic recycling increases, more and more such deals are expected to take place.”
