Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco), TotalEnergies SE and SABIC have successfully converted oil derived from plastic waste into ISCC Plus certified circular polymers, they said in a joint press release.
Plastic pyrolysis oil, also called waste plastic oil, was processed at the Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (SATORP) refinery, jointly owned by Aramco and TotalEnergies, in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The product was used as a raw material by PETROKEMYA, a subsidiary of SABIC, to produce certified circular polymers, according to the statement.
The project is the first successful certified conversion of plastic waste in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the press release.
The ISCC+ certification, awarded by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, an independent certification organization based in Germany, is a guarantee that the plastic produced went through the appropriate recycling processes and that the consumption of virgin raw material is reduced. The certification covers all types of waste and pre- and post-consumer waste, renewable non-bio and recycled carbon materials and fuels, according to the ISCC website.
The three industrial plants involved in the process, the SATORP refinery, Aramco’s Ju’aymah NGL fractionation plant and PETROCEMYA, obtained ISCC+ certification, according to the statement. This allows the production of circular materials, meaning that the new plastics produced are made from waste and not from virgin oil or gas.
“This achievement illustrates the importance of the petrochemical sector in creating more sustainable products and solutions,” said Aramco Downstream President Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani. “Our goal is to create circular solutions for plastic waste, while advancing our ambition to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across our 100% operated assets by 2050. By leveraging the excess capacity of existing infrastructure, we aim to produce circular products that can be scaled up at low cost. Aramco is considering multiple ways to leverage new technologies and leverage existing assets to support the deployment of circular products, more sustainable and with low carbon emissions”.
“This advanced plastic recycling initiative reflects TotalEnergies’ ambition to contribute concretely to addressing the end-of-life challenge of plastics,” said Bernard Pinatel, President of TotalEnergies Refining and Chemicals. “Several other circular economy projects are being studied, taking advantage of the technical expertise and experience of partners to further contribute to plastics recycling. It is an important path towards TotalEnergies’ goal of producing 30 percent circular polymers by 2030 and its strategy to build a multi-energy company with the ambition to reach net zero by 2050, together with society.
“This project is aligned with SABIC’s commitment to avoid landfill and incineration through its innovation and advanced technology competencies,” said Sami Al-Osaimi, Vice President of SABIC. “This project shows collaboration across the petrochemical value chain to overcome the upstream and downstream challenges of circular plastics.”
SABIC is a petrochemical manufacturer based in Saudi Arabia that is 70% owned by Aramco.
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