Bow Tie Analysis; Application of Established Techniques in Non-Traditional Setting

To increase the percentage of recycled plastic used in consumer packaging, additional methods of recycling beyond mechanical recycling are required. Mechanical recycling is effective, but often results in product downgrading and typically only applies to rigid HDPE, PP, and PET. To increase recycling rates, we need to find solutions for flexible and film-based plastics. Depolymerization or pyrolysis is one of those solutions. UOP’s pyrolysis process for recycled plastics is called the UpCycle process.

For the implementation of the UpCycle process, we face many challenges – from the feedstock acquisition all the way to the product disposition. The available feedstocks need to be sampled, sorted, cleaned and sized for the pyrolysis process. The pyrolysis process needs to be robust enough to handle feedstock impurities and still provide the desired product – Recycled Polymer Feedstock (RPF) - for the downstream steam crackers. The desired RPF quality is highly dependent on the plastic feedstock sorting and cleaning steps. Our UpCycle process is inclusive of product clean up and fractionation, if necessary, to meet the customer boiling range and key product specifications. The light gases generated from the pyrolysis reactor are routed to the unit’s fired heater and used as fuel.