USA: Circular Economy Exxon Mobil Tests Advanced Recycling of Plastic Waste

Exxon Mobil has concluded the trial of its proprietary advanced recycling process for converting plastic waste into raw materials for the production of high-value polymers at its Baytown facilities in Texas, USA.

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Texas/USA – Exxon Mobil has completed the initial phase of a plant trial of a proprietary advanced recycling process for converting plastic waste into raw materials for production of high-value polymers. The trial, at the company’s existing facilities in Baytown, Texas, marks another step in Exxon Mobil’s efforts to help reduce plastic waste in the environment and maximize resource recovery.

Exxon Mobil intends to use results from the Baytown trial to scale-up advanced recycling capabilities at other global facilities, targeting a circular solution for converting difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into feedstock for virgin-quality plastic.

“Exxon Mobil is taking action to help address the issue of plastic waste,” said Karen McKee, president of Exxon Mobil Chemical Company. “This advanced recycling initiative brings together the strength of Exxon Mobil’s integrated petrochemical facilities and our deep technology expertise in chemical processing to capture value from plastic waste and meet our customers’ growing demand for high-performance, certified circular polymers.”

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Exxon Mobil has already obtained certifications through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC+) process. ISCC+ is widely recognized by the industry as an effective system to certify products that result from advanced recycling of plastic waste. Pending a successful completion of the next phase of the Baytown plant trial, the company plans to market commercial volumes of certified circular plastics later this year.

Exxon Mobil has also formed a joint venture with Agilyx Corporation, Cyclyx International, focused on developing innovative solutions for aggregating and pre-processing large volumes of plastic waste that can be converted into feedstocks for valuable products. Cyclyx will help supply Exxon Mobil’s advanced recycling projects, and will aim to do the same for other customers.

The company supports the idea of making the most of resources and minimizing waste, which are the underlying principles of the circular economy concept. Advanced recycling, along with innovation and new processes, will play an important role in reducing plastic waste.

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