In the Netherlands, Teho EuRope B.V. - Teho Ropes - and PCP B.V. have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on the recycling of end-of-life mooring ropes used in shipping. The former, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teho International Inc Ltd, is a supplier of among others, synthetic mooring ropes, and the latter, a subsidiary of BioBTX B.V., a renewable and biobased aromatics pioneer set to realise its first commercial scale plant at the chemical park of Delfzijl in Q3 of 2024, have committed themselves to create a new circular value chain, in which BioBTX creates high value drop-in chemicals from used ropes supplied by Teho Ropes. To that end, Teho Ropes will take back its customers’ ropes at the end of their useful life, said the company. The MOU is subject to the agreement and signing by Teho Ropes Europe and PCP of a detailed legally binding agreement before the end of Q1 of 2024.
The recycling possibilities of mooring ropes are currently extremely limited, due to the varying compositions and constructions. These ropes often consist of distinct types of polymers, making it difficult in recycling them. The BioBTX process is one of the few processes that can handle such complex feedstocks, without the need of extensive pre-processing.
BioBTX and Teho Ropes have collaborated successfully over the past few months on developing the upcycling possibilities for these end-of-life mooring ropes, which were demonstrated to be suitable feedstock for the BioBTX process.
“We always want to offer our customers the best and most sustainable mooring solutions possible. By taking back the end-of-life mooring ropes and enabling their recycling, the maritime industry fulfils its obligation to society,” Jan-Kees Noordhoek, managing director at Teho Ropes Europe.
Teho Ropes aims to supply up to 1,000 tonnes of end-of-life mooring ropes to the BioBTX plant, as one of the first contracted feedstocks.
The collaboration contributes to the circular economy by eliminating waste and circulating materials and conforms to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 12, 13 and 14.
As Ton Vries, managing director at BioBTX pointed out, the full range of available carbon resources will need to be used to replace the fossil resources currently used to reach a fully circular economy in 2050. “The collaboration with Teho Ropes Europe proves that circular solutions can already be realised if parties from different industries join forces. In this case, it not only prevents the plastic waste from growing, it also simultaneously substitutes the need for fossil-based resources.”