This week, I wanted to discuss the work that’s being done to address the scale of the plastics waste problem. The more we talk about this problem the likelier we are to solve it so please share if you find this article interesting. Thank you!
We’ve all been to the beach and seen pieces of plastic washed up on shore, tangled in seaweed, or scattered across the sand. We’ve all taken road trips and noticed plastic bottles or bags along the highway, littering landscapes we care about. Plastic waste is ubiquitous, a constant reminder of a problem in urgent need of a solution. That’s why we created Project Flex and its first initiative, FlexOnyx, to turn this waste into an opportunity.
The good news is that solutions are within reach, and tackling plastic waste is about restoring and preserving places we all love. Project Flex (and FlexOnyx) is committed to making a real difference through advanced recycling, turning waste plastics into valuable products and reducing pollution. Here’s how advanced refining technology can help close the loop on plastic waste and create a cleaner future for everyone.
The Scale of Plastic Waste: An Environmental Challenge
Plastic waste is a significant challenge worldwide. Each year, approximately 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally, yet a shockingly small fraction of this is recycled. Much of this waste ends up in landfills or the environment, where it persists for hundreds of years, harming wildlife, polluting water sources, and impacting human health. Traditional recycling methods, such as mechanical recycling, involve shredding and melting plastics to repurpose them. However, this process is limited to certain types of plastics and can only be done a few times before the plastic loses its quality and ends up in the landfill.
The urgent need for more efficient recycling solutions makes advanced recycling all the more important. Advanced recycling is a set of chemical processes that can break down plastics into their molecular building blocks. This approach holds the promise of transforming diverse types of plastic waste into new materials, fuels, and chemicals, contributing to a sustainable and circular economy.
Understanding Advanced Recycling: A Multi-Method Approach
Advanced recycling encompasses several chemical processes that address plastic waste in different ways, each with unique benefits:
1. Pyrolysis: This process involves heating plastics in the absence of oxygen, which breaks them down into a synthetic crude oil or gas that can be further refined into fuels or chemical feedstocks. Pyrolysis can process a broad range of plastics, including those that cannot be mechanically recycled. However, it requires careful temperature control to maximize yield and minimize emissions. The biggest challenge with pyrolysis is scaling up.
2. Gasification: This method also involves heating plastic waste, but with a controlled amount of oxygen to convert plastics into a mixture of gases, including hydrogen and carbon monoxide, known as syngas. Syngas can be used to produce chemicals and fuels or as an energy source. Gasification is versatile but requires significant energy input, which can be a limitation in terms of scalability.
3. Hydrocracking: This method uses high pressure, heat, and hydrogen, to break down long-chain polymers in plastics into simpler, more valuable molecules. Hydrocracking, the basis of FlexOnyx’s FlexFEED™ process, is particularly effective in handling mixed plastic waste streams. This process not only produces ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and naphtha but also achieves high efficiency, making it ideal for large-scale operations.
Each of these methods contributes to the advanced recycling landscape, offering different pathways to reduce plastic waste and return valuable resources to the economy. FlexOnyx focuses on hydrocracking due to its scalability and efficiency, especially when dealing with diverse and contaminated waste streams.
FlexOnyx and the FlexFEED™ Process: A Unique Approach to Plastic Waste
FlexOnyx’s FlexFEED™ process represents a major step forward in advanced recycling. Built on established hydrocracking technology, FlexFEED™ has been adapted to handle high volumes of mixed waste plastics effectively, producing two primary outputs: ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and naphtha. Naphtha can re-enter the plastics manufacturing process, creating what’s known as “plastic circularity,” where waste plastics become new plastics, reducing the need for virgin fossil resources.
Hydrocracking’s adaptability makes it well-suited for FlexOnyx’s goals. The process involves breaking down complex hydrocarbons using high pressure and hydrogen, transforming waste plastics into usable fuels and feedstocks without generating significant residues. This approach ensures that almost all the plastic waste processed through FlexFEED™ is transformed into valuable products, minimizing both waste and emissions.
Benefits of Hydrocracking in Advanced Recycling
Hydrocracking offers unique advantages in the realm of advanced recycling:
– Flexibility: Hydrocracking can process mixed plastic streams, including contaminated plastics, which are difficult to recycle conventionally.
– Efficiency: The process’s high efficiency yields a large portion of usable products, like ULSD and naphtha, making it economically viable at scale.
– No Waste: Hydrocracking produces no unwanted byproducts. Everything we produce is a marketable product!
FlexOnyx’s facility is designed to process up to 1.6 million tons of waste plastics annually, transforming them into 23,000 barrels per day of valuable products. By scaling up hydrocracking technology, FlexOnyx offers a model that can help address the global plastic waste crisis on a substantial scale.
Supporting the Circular Economy with FlexOnyx’s Model
The circular economy aims to reduce waste, promote reuse, and create closed-loop systems where materials are continually repurposed. FlexOnyx’s approach to advanced recycling aligns with this vision by turning plastic waste into valuable feedstocks for new plastics and fuels, effectively closing the loop on waste plastics. This approach not only preserves resources but also reduces the environmental impact of plastic production, contributing to a truly sustainable economy. Our framework offers a scalable solution that could be implemented globally to combat plastic pollution and encourage responsible waste management.
The Future of Advanced Recycling and Project Flex
Project Flex, through FlexOnyx, is positioning itself as a leader in advanced recycling, applying tried-and-true refining technologies to a modern environmental challenge. While mechanical recycling remains necessary for specific plastic types, advanced recycling methods like FlexFEED™ are critical for managing today’s complex waste streams. With continued innovation, FlexOnyx and Project Flex aim to create a future where plastic waste is continually renewed, reused, and transformed rather than ending up in landfills or oceans.
In the years ahead, initiatives like FlexOnyx will likely become integral to the plastics lifecycle. By advancing refining technology and fostering sustainable practices, Project Flex is helping to build a resilient circular economy—one where plastic waste no longer poses an environmental burden but instead serves as a resource for new products and fuels.
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