Ineos Styrolution, Trinseo advance plans for polystyrene recycling plant in France

Material suppliers Ineos Styrolution and Trinseo are advancing their plans to build what’s being called a “first-of-its-kind” polystyrene (PS) recycling in Wingles, northern France.

The planned full commercial scale recycling facility will be capable of processing up to 50 tons-per-day of post-consumer PS feedstock, the companies said in a Sept. 17 statement, and is expected to be fully operational by mid-2023.

The companies said they will evaluate two different technology pyrolysis-based concepts during the conceptual design phase, one from Agilyx Corp. and the other from Swindon, England-based Recycling Technologies Ltd., in terms of quality, efficiency, and adaptation to different waste streams.

When completed, the plant will use the depolymerization process. “In previous project milestones, the depolymerisation of PS has proven to be an ideal recycling process showcasing polystyrene’s unique intrinsic capability for full circularity,” the statement said. “The plastics-to-plastics depolymerisation technology converts PS food packaging waste directly back into its original liquid monomer, which then can be repolymerised into recycled polystyrene for the same high-quality end applications, including food contact applications much like virgin PS.”

“We are excited to move to the next phase of engineering of this plant, as we are well on track to deploy the game-changing depolymerisation technology with the construction of this recycling plant in France,” said Nicolas Joly, vice president, plastics & feedstocks at Trinseo. “This plant will be part of establishing a novel recycling infrastructure for styrenics in Europe together with key players from across the entire value chain, which will mark a step change in PS recycling.”

“Our collaboration between Trinseo…is a significant commitment of capital and resources and a major milestone in truly closing the loop with food grade recycled content,” said Sven Riechers, vice president, business management, standard products EMEA at Ineos. “It forms part of Ineos’ and Trinseo’s commitments to use, on average, 30 per cent recycled content in products destined for PS packaging in Europe by 2025.”