Jackie Thompson
Nova Chemicals Corporation, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, recently teamed up with UK-based chemical recycling company, Plastic Energy, to discuss the possibility of opening a new chemical recycling facility in Sarnia, Ontario. If constructed, the facility would use Plastic Energy’s proprietary pyrolysis technology designed to convert end-of-life plastic. The facility would also have an impressive initial capacity of 66 kilotons annually – making it the biggest of its kind in Canada.
Plastic Energy’s Proprietary Pyrolysis Technology
Plastic Energy’s proprietary pyrolysis technology essentially involves an innovative thermal anaerobic conversion process that successfully transforms end-of-life, plastic waste into a raw liquid chemical feedstock called Tacoil. “For every tonne of end-of-life plastic waste processed, 850 liters of chemical feedstock Tacoil are produced”, Plastic Energy explains on their website. Tacoil is virtually identical to virgin polyethylene, and can be used for food-grade packaging (it can make rigid, flexible food packaging containers, for example). Tacoil can be successfully made from mixed, multi-layered, and contaminated plastics, as well as plastics no longer able to be mechanically recycled. Ultimately, with their technology, Plastic Energy aims to “build a circular economy of plastic”.
A Promising Partnership
“Post-use plastics offer tremendous value to furthering the circular economy, and our teams at Nova Chemicals work daily to innovate new and collaborative ways to extend the lifecycle of our products and plastic packaging,” said Greg DeKunder, Vice President of Nova Circular Solutions .“This agreement with Plastic Energy is a prime example of two companies working together to create timely, effective, and sustainable solutions that will help us make progress towards our 2030 recycled plastics ambitions while diverting hard-to-recycle segments of plastic waste away from landfills,” DeKunder said. Strategic business partnerships have a host of benefits when it comes to growth and development. For instance, shared knowledge, skills, and expertise can pave the way for innovation and increased business opportunities. However, it is essential businesses do their due diligence on any potential partners before entering into an agreement to ensure they’re the right fit. Shared business goals, for instance, are a positive sign the partnership will be both successful and fruitful.
Goals for a greener future
In Nova Chemicals’ Roadmap to Sustainability Leadership, they outline their goal to “build a state-of-the-art mechanical recycling business by 2030”. Specifically, they aim to make 30% of their total polyethylene sales recycled content, as well as reduce their total absolute carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030. Nova Chemicals also aims to develop new technologies to minimize and eradicate emissions from their operations, such as, their proprietary Low Emissions Ethylene Process (LEEP™) technology. If constructed, the new facility would be the next step in Nova Chemicals’ list of impressive achievements; they recently invested $2 billion (CAD) to construct a polyethylene plant, and expanded capacity at their Corunna site in Ontario (it produces 1.8 billion pounds of ethylene and 700 million pounds of co-products every year). Nova Chemicals is also the largest private employer in the Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario region.
“We are pleased to sign this agreement with NOVA Chemicals to explore the scope for our first advanced recycling project in Canada,” said Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of Plastic Energy, a global leader in chemical recycling technology companies. The company already has two long-standing commercial recycling facilities in Spain, and have also recently launched newer operations in Asia and Europe. “Together with NOVA Chemicals, we aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills, incineration, or as leakage into the environment, which is important for the circular economy in Canada.”