SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling produces first recycled oil

SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling (SPEAR), the joint venture recycling plant by Plastic Energy and SABIC in Geleen, the Netherlands, has produced its first pyrolysis oil, known as TACOIL. This marks a key milestone on the road to full commercial operations.

The SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling (SPEAR) plant in Geleen, the Netherlands.

“Recycling plastic waste into new plastics is critical to building a circular economy — and that’s exactly what this plant delivers. It boosts recycling rates, helps reduce CO2 emissions by diverting used plastic from incineration, and shows what’s possible when innovation meets scale,” said Ian Temperton, Chief Executive Officer of Plastic Energy.

TACOIL is made from hard-to-recycle post-consumer plastic waste. It serves as a replacement for conventional naphtha in existing petrochemical plants, enabling the manufacture of food-contact packaging, medical-grade plastics and other high-quality products.

The polymers produced at the plant will significantly increase commercial volumes of circular polymers which have been used by brand owners in a variety of consumer and packaging products since 2019.

Plastic Energy’s patented TAC chemical recycling process breaks down mixed plastic waste using heat in an oxygen-free environment. Once fully operational, the plant will recycle 20,000 tons of plastic waste per year.

The technology, already proven at industrial scale at Plastic Energy’s plants in Spain, is designed to plug directly into the existing plastics value chain.

The SPEAR facility, which is set to be the first example of a third-party chemical recycling technology being integrated into an existing petrochemical facility, will help support and enable the EU’s goal under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) for all packaging to be fully recyclable by 2030.