Aramco, TotalEnergies, and SABIC have successfully converted oil derived from plastic waste into ISCC+ certified circular polymers for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa.
The plastic pyrolysis oil, also called plastic waste derived oil (PDO), was processed at the SATORP refinery jointly owned by Aramco and TotalEnergies, in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. It was then used as a feedstock by PETROKEMYA, a SABIC affiliate, to produce certified circular polymers.
The project's objective is to establish a local value chain in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that enables advanced recycling of plastics into circular polymers. The process allows the use of non-sorted plastics, which can be difficult to recycle mechanically, and consequently contributes to solving the challenge of end-of-life plastics.
The project achieved a significant initial goal by acquiring ISCC+ certification, which ensures transparency and traceability of the recycled source of feedstock and products. Three industrial plants were involved in the process: SATORP refinery, Aramco’s Ju'aymah NGL Fractionation Plant and PETROKEMYA. All successfully obtained the ISCC+ certification, enabling the production of circular materials.
Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies, commented: “This advanced plastic recycling initiative reflects TotalEnergies’ ambition to concretely contribute to addressing the challenge of end-of-life of plastics.
Several other circular economy projects are being studied, leveraging the partners’ technical expertise and experience to further contribute to plastics recycling. It is a major pathway towards TotalEnergies’ target to produce 30% of circular polymers by 2030, and its strategy to build a multi-energy company with the ambition to get to net zero by 2050, together with society.”
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