INEOS Styrolution to Invest in an Advanced Recycling Plant for Polystyrene

In a recent announcement made by INEOS Styrolution it was announced that the company has confirmed its decision to invest into a pilot plant which will be involved in advanced recycling of polystyrene. The site will be set up in collaboration with Recycling Technologies. The plant is expected to become operational by 2022.

The investment decision represents a significant step towards launching polystyrene recycling with the help of depolymerization technology. Depolymerization refers to an advanced recycling technology that converts polystyrene waste feedstock back to the main building block of the polymer which is styrene. The styrene which is manufactured through this process can be further used to manufacture new polystyrene having identical properties to the virgin material. Additionally, the benefits of depolymerization technology include the drop in green house gas emissions as compared to the emissions related to the production of styrene from Naphtha.

Recycling Technologies will be providing the technology support to the plant as the plant will be using the Recycling Technologies’ fluidized bed reactor technology that offers excellent scalability making it one of the best available technologies.

Polystyrene is a clear, crystalline resin. It is soluble in cyclohexane, ethyl benzene, and ethyl acetate but insoluble in ether, acetone, phenol, and other saturated hydrocarbons. There are two main types of Polystyrene including the general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) which contains varying levels of polybutadiene to improve toughness and impact resistance.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the upcoming investment of INEOS Styrolution is aimed at supporting a circular economy for Polystyrene and Styrene. The demand for recycled polystyrene is also rising as the demand for sustainable material solutions is rising globally. Therefore, the new investment will benefit both INEOS Styrolution and Recycling Technologies in maintaining leadership in the recycled styrene market.”