Petrobras and the Coordination of Graduate Engineering Programs(Coppe/UFRJ) have inaugurated a plant for the chemical recycling of plastics through physical-chemical pyrolysis at Ilha do Fundão in Rio de Janeiro. This unit represents a direct and forceful response to the problem of solid waste that historically could not be processed by mechanical recycling methods.
The development of the plastics chemical recycling plant
The installation comes from an investment of R$ 10 million by the oil company in Research and Development. This capital was earmarked for the renovation of the infrastructure and the acquisition and installation of the pyrolysis unit.
Pyrolysis is a thermal process that works without the presence of oxygen to break down plastic waste. This advanced thermoconversion converts waste polymers into
Moreover, the plant was designed as a scalable pyrolytic oil production module. Most notable are the plant’s continuous flow capabilities, processing up to one ton of plastic per day.
This strategic partnership includes the participation of the Instituto de Macromoléculas(IMA/UFRJ) and the support of the Orla sem Lixo project for the collection of floating waste, has a defined objective: to boost the circular carbon economy. Petrobras’ objective is to verify the feasibility of using pyrolysis oil in co-processing within its existing oil and gas refineries, which would make it possible to obtain more environmentally friendly products.
Future work will focus on the generation of oil samples from different plastic waste materials, experimenting with different catalysts in the chemical recycling process.
This procedure will ensure that the technology is perfectly calibrated to maximize the reintroduction of solid waste into the life cycle of commercial plastics.
Source and photo: Petrobras