Neste has announced that it has completed its first industrial scale processing run with liqueified plastic, an achievement that marks an important milestone.During the run, packaging and mixed waste plastics were upgraded into high-quality recycled feedstock for the petrochemical industry. THis feedstock is, among other things, suitable for producing new plastics, the company said.
Neste has committed to processing over 1 million tons of waste plastic annually from 2030 onwards. This fall, the company said it successfully processed 400 tons of liquefied plastic waste at its refinery in Finland, equal to the annual amount of plastic waste, based on figures from Eurostat, generated by 20,000 average European citizens.
Prior to the trial, Neste carried out extensive research and laboratory tests. The company also conducted comprehensive analyses to ensure the feasibility and safety of processing this new recycled raw material.
"The trial run is a result of great cooperation throughout the Neste organisation,” said Marko Pekkola, Executive Vice President, Oil Products, Neste.
Neste aims to increase the volumes of liquefied waste plastic processing gradually to continue learning and developing the value chains and processing technologies. The next processing runs at Neste’s fossil oil refinery in Porvoo are already being prepared for 2021.
Neste received support from its partner Ravago in sourcing the liquefied waste plastic for the first processing run.
Together with Ravago and several other plastics value chain partners, Neste is developing chemical recycling technologies and capacity to enable currently unrecyclable plastic waste streams to be recycled. By developing a high-value outlet for plastic waste, Neste and its partners are helping to keep plastics in circulation, while also providing new means to reduce crude oil dependency in the production of new plastics.