Plastic circularity
Convert collected post-use plastics into an economic feedstock solution based on recycled materials with the Shell Recovered Plastics Upgrader (SRPU).
Maximise feed opportunities with plastic circularity solutions
Plastic circularity overview
The use of plastics increased 20-fold over the past half-century and is expected to double again in the next 20 years. As a result, there is an increased need for plastic circularity.
That is why Shell Catalysts & Technologies is developing catalyst and process solutions that convert collected post-use plastics into an economic feedstock solution based on recycled materials.
The Shell Recovered Plastics Upgrader (SRPU) Process
The Shell Recovered Plastics Upgrader (SRPU) processes plastic waste-derived pyrolysis oil obtained from primary conversion units. It is capable of processing a wide range of feeds with varying properties and purity levels.
The SRPU features a special pretreatment technology that removes most impurities and a feed upgrading stage to remove the remaining contaminants. This is followed by a boiling point shift and fractionation for enhanced selective conversion.
Proprietary catalyst technologies are used to maintain a high yield and achieve the desired properties of the final compounds.
Pre-treatment and upgrading
Contaminants are removed in a two-step process, protecting downstream assets and enabling a wider range of feeds to be used.
Boiling point shift and fractionation
Proprietary catalyst technologies increase the overall yield and target the desired product properties.
Industry drivers for plastic circularity
Economic drivers
After a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value ($80鈥�$120 billion/y) is lost to the economy (1).
Approximately 32% of plastic packaging escapes collection systems, reducing the productivity of vital natural systems, such as the ocean, and clogging urban infrastructure (1).
The cost of this is conservatively estimated at $40 billion per year (1).
Consumer demand drivers
The incentive to recycle plastic is currently driven mainly by consumer demand.
This is reflected, for example, in Nestle鈥檚 commitment to sourcing up to 2 million tonnes of recycled plastics by 2025 and its allocation of more than $1.5 billion to pay a premium for these materials (2).
Regulation drivers
Legislation mandating the use of recovered plastics is likely to be introduced. Boosting high-quality recycling is one of the three main objectives of the proposed revisions to the EU legislation on Packaging and Packaging Waste.
There will also be mandatory rates of recycled content that producers must include in new plastic packaging (3).
Use the SRPU to maximise feed opportunities and protect assets
Depending on your needs, Shell Catalysts & Technologies can provide a complete value chain or individual processing blocks. For example, if you are a pyrolysis oil refining company you could benefit from the pretreatment unit in the SRPU process to remove corrosive contaminants and enable a variety of feeds to be processed.
Alternatively, if you are a chemical company lacking integrated refining technology you may want to maximise naphtha production as a drop-in feed for your steam cracker and opt for an offtake of the heavier compounds. In this case, you could benefit from the entire SRPU value chain and an offtake agreement with Shell.
Explore potential benefits of SRPU technology
- Wider range of feeds 鈥� Unique pre-treatment technology removes or reduces contamination, enabling a wider range of feeds, including opportunity feeds with higher chlorine levels and metals. The SRPU technology can process a wide range of feeds with varying exotherms and reduces the need for expensive recovered-plastics sorting.
- Lower corrosion control costs 鈥� Removing or reducing contamination means fewer expensive materials are needed downstream and less corrosion maintenance work.
- Volume swell 鈥� Hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation add volume and enhance the selective conversion environment.
- More molecules in range 鈥� Upgrading using proprietary catalyst technologies increases the overall yield and target properties. Shell can also be an offtake partner for product molecules.
- Drop-in feed 鈥� SRPU technology gives high yield from upgrading and increased yield in the desired steam cracker boiling point range (up to 95%). It eliminates the need for limited co-processing schemes.
References
1 World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Company, (2016).鈥�
2 Meier, Christoph and Luca Borlini, Nestl茅 Press Release. (2020).鈥�
3 European Commission, (2022).