LG Chem to build hydrothermal plastic recycling plant in Dangjin
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LG Chem said Tuesday it is building its first plastic recycling plant in South Korea that will process used plastics using high-temperature steam, accelerating its push for clean materials.
The plant, to be built in the southwest city of Dangjin by the first quarter of 2024, will have an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, and produce oil from plastic waste using a process known as supercritical pyrolysis, the company said in a press release.
Supercritical pyrolysis is a technology that decomposes used plastic with steam at high temperature and pressure beyond a critical point and converts them into fossil-fuel replacement oils and chemicals that can be processed into new plastics.
LG Chem will work with U.K.-based Mura Technology, which it has invested in for its proprietary pyrolysis technology, for the new Dangjin plant.
More than 80 percent of the plastic waste from the new plant will be converted into renewable oils that can replace fossil fuels, with the remaining 20 percent of by-product gases expected to be reused as an energy source for operating relevant facilities, the company said. (Yonhap)