Viktor Varadi (right), CEO of New Energy, shows Dr. Christian Lach, project lead ChemCycling at BASF, waste tires that New Energy is turning into pyrolysis oil in their plant in Budapest, Hungary.
BASF SE signs an uptake supply agreement with New Energy, a technology company specializing in the pyrolysis of waste tires, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. According to the agreement, New Energy will supply BASF with up to 4,000 metric tons of pyrolysis oil per year derived from waste tires. In a pilot phase, first volumes of the pyrolysis oil have already been utilized successfully in BASF’s integrated chemical production site (Verbund) in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The two parties have also signed an agreement for a feasibility study that targets the adaption of New Energy’s proprietary pyrolysis technology to the conversion of other plastic waste streams.
The agreement is part of BASF’s ChemCycling project, which was started in 2018 and focusses on chemically reprocessing post-consumer plastic waste on an industrial scale. Since 2020, first commercial products are in the market.
The project focus remains the use of mixed plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfill or incineration. In addition, BASF reportedly sees an opportunity to increase recycling rates for end-of-life tires.
“So far, there was no technology that allowed the recycling of pyrolysis oil from tires into high value applications. By further broadening our raw material base to waste tires, we can create a new circular value stream. Moreover, we establish a second recycled feedstock in our ChemCycling project with which we can manufacture high-performance products for our customers’ demanding applications,” says Dr. Christian Lach, project leader, ChemCycling at BASF. Waste tires fall within the definition of post-consumer plastic waste according to DIN EN ISO 14021:2016-07.
For information, visit: www.basf.com
