The companies Aramco, TotalEnergies, and SABIC have worked to convert oil from plastic waste into ISCC+ certified circular polymers.
The plastic pyrolysis oil, aka plastic waste-derived oil (PDO), was processed at the SATORP. Afterward, PETROKEMYA, a SABIC affiliate, used it as feedstock to create certified circular polymers.
Since plastic is a hard to recycle quickly, this will open a method for setting up a domestic value chain. This will advance better and up-to-date recycling processes for plastics into circular polymers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The non-sorted plastic is used for this recycling since such plastic is difficult to recycle mechanically.
Milestones of the project, as stated by Aramco –
- Being given the ISCC+ certification.
- As a result, it assures transparency and traceability of recycled feedstock and products.
- All three industrial plants, namely – SATORP refinery, Aramco’s Ju’aymah NGL Fractionation Plant and PETROKEMYA, have the ISCC+ certification.
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), non-profit organization, is founded by SABIC and TotalEnergies. It offers collective knowledge, resources and experience to generate a solution for waste management to reach net zero in time.
Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, Aramco’s president of Downstream, said: “This achievement illustrates the importance of the petrochemical sector in creating more sustainable products and solutions. Our aim is to create circular solutions for plastic waste, while also making progress on our ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across our wholly-owned operated assets by 2050.
Bernard Pinatel, president, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies, said: “This advanced plastic recycling initiative reflects TotalEnergies’ ambition to concretely contribute to addressing the challenge of end-of-life of plastics”
It is a major pathway towards TotalEnergies’ target to produce 30% of circular polymers by 2030, and its strategy to build a multi-energy company with the ambition to get to net zero by 2050, together with society.”
Sami Al-Osaimi, SABIC EVP Petrochemicals (A), said: “SABIC is a national champion in chemicals that supports Saudi Vision 2030, ensuring sustainable future growth by focusing on environment, energy and climate. This project is aligned with SABIC’s commitment to avoid landfill and incineration through its innovation competencies and advanced technology.”
