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CURTAILED AMBITIONS CLOSING THE LOOP
Orlen scales down key petrochemical project Covestro setting up pilot plant for recycling

as costs balloon of elastomers

Polish oil and gas company Orlen “This is the best one of the bad German polymer fi rm, Covestro, Covestro’s Elastomers business entity.
has decided to cut down its biggest petro- decisions we could make,” Orlen’s CEO has announced plans to invest a “dou- Covestro customers use Vulkollan sys-
chemicals investment after construction Mr. Ireneusz Fafara told a press confe- ble-digit million euro” amount to build tems to mould parts for many applica-
costs jumped more than six-fold, down- rence. Its revamped plan, dubbed “New a pilot plant for recycling of elastomers tions with a high demand for durability
sizing the project to one based largely on Chemistry”, sets the total cost at 34-bn at its site in Leverkusen, Germany. The and performance. Typical applications
already built infrastructure. zlotys, down from 45-51 bn zlotys construction is estimated to take about for parts made of Vulkollan are wheels
expected previously, Orlen said in a state- one year until technical completion. for forklifts, bumper elements in rail-
The decision comes amid a review ment. The company will use already-built ways and vibration control elements
by the state-controlled company’s new break with its predecessors who were infrastructure to pursue a new ethylene The plant will seek to scale the tech- and jounce bumpers in cars. Due to
managers as they seek to rein in spend- routinely accused of focusing on political unit, which is set to start operating no nology to recycle the company’s Vulkollan paving the way for the development of a the high yield of the recycling process,
ing planned by their predecessors, who goals. earlier than 2030, six years later than branded elastomers. The technology larger commercial recycling plant in the end-of-life Vulkollan materials can
turned Orlen from an oil refi ner and originally planned. could help to not only recycle a mass future. be re-introduced into new automotive
retailer into a sprawling national energy Begun in 2021, costs of the petro- fraction of more than 90% of the end-of- jounce bumpers and forklift tires via a
champion with side businesses such as chemicals project were on course to The company added that the revamp life material like forklift tyres, but also “With the successful scale-up of this mass balancing approach.
running newspapers. reach six times original estimates with will free up 15-bn zlotys for investment to reduce the carbon footprint by up to new recycling process we address the
the company having spent 12.6-bn zlotys that will help the refi ner increase its two thirds compared to virgin material. demand of our customers for end-of-life “The new chemical recycling pro-
The new management of Orlen, ap- ($3.10-bn) as of the end of September. competitiveness. Orlen now plans to hold talks solutions and carbon footprint reduction cess is a game-changer for the elastomers
pointed after the 2023 parliamentary The facility was initially seen costing with contractors in the coming months to The pilot plant will play a crucial while assuring the high quality of our industry. Unlike mechanical recycling
elections, has pledged to respect minority 8.3-billion zloty. Delays have prompted lay out a revised timetable for the project, role in refi ning the recycling process elastomer products. At the same time, methods, this approach breaks down
shareholders as well as focus on profi t- several write-downs and a state audit with a new schedule and budget to be beyond lab scale, testing the process with this pilot plant is an invitation for players elastomeric end-of-life material into its
ability and core operations, making a clean revealed heavy losses. published by the end of next September. various waste streams and with various along the value chain to cooperate on chemical building blocks, to obtain puri-
end-of-life materials. It will also serve as developing a circular setup and the fi ed monomers that can be re-used for
BATTERY MATERIAL a platform for Covestro to engage with reverse value chain for end-of-life mate- these materials with known and proven
Rio Tinto plans $2.5-bn investment in Argentinean potential project partners and customers, rials,” stated Dr. Thomas Braig, Head of quality,” the company said

lithium project PROJECT UPDATE
Emirates Biotech licenses Sulzer technology

Global metal and mining giant, Rio effl uents, and produces lithium car-
Tinto, has approved $2.5-bn to expand bonates more consistently than other for its UAE polylactic acid project
lithium carbonate production at its methods.
Rincón de Salta project in Argentina, Middle East bioplastics fi rm, Emirates in a press note. Emirates Biotech
the company’s fi rst commercial scale Rincon’s mine life is expected to Biotech, has announced the selection of will leverage Sulzer’s PLA tech-
lithium operation. be 40 years, with construction of the Sulzer as the technology provider for its nology to manage all production
expanded plant scheduled to begin in upcoming Polylactic Acid (PLA) pro- steps from a single location, in-
The development follows the com- mid-2025, subject to grant of permis- duction plant in the United Arab Emirates cluding lactide production, puri-
pany’s acquisition of US-based Arca- effl uent facilities, along with its asso- sions. First production is expected in (UAE), touted to be the largest of its kind fi cation and polymerisation. The
dium Lithium in a transaction worth ciated infrastructure. The total produc- 2028 followed by a three-year ramp globally. facility will also use lactic acid,
$6.7-bn. The deal had made Rio the tion capacity is 60-ktpa of high-quality up to full capacity, the company said a plant-based feedstock, to pro-
world’s third largest miner of lithium, lithium carbonate for batteries. That in a press note. Rio Tinto’s CEO, The facility will be constructed in two duce PLA bioplastics at scale,
used extensively in electric vehicle fi gure includes an initial 3-ktpa plant Mr. Jakob Stausholm, said, “This invest- phases, each with a capacity of 80-ktpa, positioning the Middle East as a
batteries. and a 57-ktpa expansion plant. ment alongside our proposed Arcadium resulting in a total production capacity of climate change, this volume of bioplastic key player in the bioplastics industry.
acquisition ensures that lithium will 160-ktpa. material is enough to replace approxi-
The Rincón project involves the The project uses direct lithium ex- become one of the key pillars of our mately 3.2-billion plastic bottles and will The plant construction is set to com-
extraction of brine through a series of traction (DLE) technology, a process commodity portfolio for decades to “Supporting regional and global reduce CO emissions by over 300,000 mence in 2025, with commissioning
2
production wells and processing and that helps conserve water, reduces come.” efforts to combat plastic pollution and tonnes annually,” the company informed scheduled for early 2028.

154 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 155

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