Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022 - 4

4 * Plastics News, October 22, 2022
SHOW DAILY
PureCycle moves closer to
South Korea PP recycling plant
By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
Polypropylene recycler PureCycle
Technologies LLC has cleared
another hurdle - arguably the
biggest one, according to the
company's CEO - to build its fi rst
overseas plant.
Orlando,
Fla.-based PureCycle
PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson, left, and Wim Van de Velde, global vice
president for plastic additives at Milliken & Co., at K 2022.
Plastics News photo by Caroline Seidel
has signed a detailed joint venture
agreement with chemical and
resins company SK Geo Centric to
build a plastic recycling plant using
solvent-based technology to clean
used PP to create virginlike resin.
Construction of the new plant
in Ulsan, South Korea, is still subject
to one fi nal step where both
sides will work to specifi cally
identify the fi nal costs of the project,
PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson
said during an Oct. 21 news conference
at K 2022.
" It really gives us our fi rst entrée
in to Asia, which is obviously a big
and growing market, " he said.
" With SK we have really been
able to accelerate forward
throughout the process. SK is really
a visionary company as well.
They see where the world is going
from a sustainability perspective.
They are building a really nice ecoMILLIKEN
& CO.
Hall 6, Booth A27
system for how to solve this problem
holistically. And they are very
good technically, " Olson said.
" For us they are a very natural
partner for us to get started in
Asia with because they check all
the boxes for us, " he added.
" The relationship with SK is beyond
just the capacity. It's technical
support. It's a global collaboration.
It's an entry into Asia that
should result in more and more
and more in Asia. And it's a partnership
over the last year and a
half where we developed a lot of
trust in one another, " Olson said.
The PureCycle CEO talked about
the new defi nitive agreement with
SK during a press conference to
discuss a separate collaboration
with Milliken & Co., which has a
plastics additives division.
Milliken created a new additive
COLLABORATION.
IT'S MAKING THE CIRCULAR
ECONOMY GO ROUND.
SABIC teamwork is rethinking recycling.
SABIC's collaborations are making it possible to create materials
of high enough quality for food packaging by breaking complex,
low quality waste plastics down to their original state. We can use,
reuse and repurpose more of our resources without needing new
ones. It's ground-breaking technology that's making the circular
economy reality with Chemistry that Matters™.
Meet one of the world's leading chemical
companies at SABIC.com/collaboration
specifi cally for PureCycle's recycled
PP to improve clarity, and
the chemical company now hopes
to market Millad NX 8000 Eco to
other recyclers as well. Milliken
has been a longtime collaborator
with PureCycle as the company
builds facilities and prepares to
launch commercial operations.
" I would say that this partnership
works because Milliken had
[the] vision in the beginning to
see how a process like this could
really change the game of plastic
recycling. Milliken had depth
in order to support us from a
technical perspective very well.
And I think both companies were
open-minded to partner together
in order to just try to fi nd something
new and better, " Olson said.
Transparency of recycled resin
has always been an issue when it
comes to mechanically recycled
resin, said Wim Van de Velde,
global vice president for plastic
additives at Milliken.
" The limitations around both
food contact and transparency
have always been a big issue, " he
said. " If we can fi x that problem,
well that's going to be a big deal.
" We truly believe in this techMEET
US AT K 2022
HALL 6, BOOTH D42
19-26 October
Düsseldorf, Germany
nology. We also believe it's going
to part of the solution for a big
problem out there, " he said about
PureCycle.
PureCycle's fi rst plant, in Ironton,
Ohio, expects to begin operations
during this year's fourth quarter or
next year's fi rst quarter and ramp
up from there, Olson said. The fi rm
also has announced plans for a second
site in Augusta, Ga.
PureCycle expects the facility
in South Korea will take about
two years to construct and come
online some time in 2025. The
fi nal fi nancial details will take
the next several months to work
out, the company said. Olson declined
to provide an estimated
cost of the facility.
PureCycle uses a solvent-based
approach that strips used PP
down to original form prior to the
introduction of additives, colorants,
fi llers and contaminants.
The technology originally was
created by consumer goods company
Procter & Gamble Co.
http://www.SABIC.com/collaboration
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