Xycle, a joint venture between Vopak, NoWit and Patpert Teknow Systems, is to start construction of its first plastic recycling plant in the Port of Rotterdam in Q4 2022.
The Port authorities have leased the JV a site at Rijndwarsweg in Europoort for the plant, which is expected to convert 20,000 tpa of plastic waste into approximately 20 million L of liquid hydrocarbons (pyrolysis oil), for use as a feedstock to produce new plastics. Xycle expects to receive the environmental and building permits in Q3 2022. The facility is expected to be operational in Q4 2023.
Xycle has been working on its recycling process for 14 years. Non-mechanically recyclable plastic waste is heated in the absence of oxygen, which causes it to break down and depolymerise rather than burning. Currently, less than a quarter of plastic waste can be recycled mechanically, with the rest landfilled, dumped, or burned. The Xycle plant is self-supporting, running on the fuel produced by the machine itself. The CO2 emissions are significantly lower than if the plastic waste is burned.
‘We’re very pleased with this milestone for Xycle and proud that Vopak is contributing to this. Developing new infrastructure solutions and setting up new supply chains in partnership is essential in the energy transition,’ says Marcel van de Kar, global director new energies Vopak.
Xycle hopes to develop more such facilities around the world, at larger scales, from 80-100,000 tpa.
