Houston, Texas-based Lummus Technology has announced that it has finalised a Letter of Intent with Phigenesis, a UK-based chemical recycling technology company producing ISCC+ certified renewable chemical feedstock for use in existing petrochemical plants. This feedstock is suitable for the production of new, virgin-like food-grade plastic materials, says the company. The aim is to use significant quantities of otherwise unrecycled and incinerated waste plastics to produce the feedstock, said Chris Moore, CEO of Phigenesis.
The LOI was entered into by Green Circle LLC, a Lummus subsidiary focussed on, among other things, technologies for the processing of solid wastes containing plastics and the processing of various renewable bio-based feedstocks into value-added chemicals, polymers and fuels.
Under the present agreement, Phigenesis will deploy the Lummus New Hope Plastics Pyrolyisis Technology for a new chemical recycling facility with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per annum. This will be the first license of the proven chemical recycling technology in Europe, and at this scale, the first project will significantly increase the current European chemical recycling capacity.
Phigenesis has plans for developing five similar sized projects in Europe, including feedstock supply, product sales and delivery of engineering. This agreement accelerates the company’s delivery of these projects. Each project prioritises the use of renewable energies and low emission technologies to ensure a major contribution to net zero is achieved.
Based on the Lummus New Hope Plastics Pyrolysis process, the new facility will allow for a significant reduction in the carbon emissions compared to plastics waste incineration and virgin polymers production, and will help in the fight against climate change by a direct displacement of oil-derived feedstocks with recycled content.
The technology is part of a partnership formed in 2020 between New Hope Energy and Lummus, combining Lummus' ability to license, scale-up and further develop process technology and New Hope Energy's operational experience and waste conversion technology.Lummus is a master licensor of clean energy, petrochemical, refining, gas processing and renewable technologies, and a supplier of catalysts, proprietary equipment, digitalisation and related lifecycle services to customers worldwide
Phigenesis was established in 2019 by a veteran team of energy asset developers who have deployed over £2.5 billion into port located infrastructure under project finance structures during the energy transition. Phigenesis is developing a fleet of waste plastic chemical recycling facilities across Europe,