Chemical recycling consortium R Plus Japan (RPJ) and Anellotech, Inc. (Pearl River, N.Y.) announced that Plas-TCat, an innovative catalytic cracking technology that transforms mixed plastic waste directly into the base chemicals used to produce new plastics, is moving toward its commercialization phase. The technology has been successfully vetted through more than 2,000 hours of plant operation at Anellotech’s 200,000 kg/year TCat-8 semi-commercial facility in Silsbee, Texas.
The recent milestone leading to completing a site-neutral Plas-TCat Process Design Package was supported by Technip Energies. It marks the culmination of a successful joint development effort between RPJ and Anellotech that began in 2020.
“Together, RPJ and Anellotech have shown that it’s possible to deliver a scalable, next-generation solution that truly advances circularity for plastic waste,” said Atsushi Ohtake, CEO of R Plus Japan. “This milestone highlights the strength of cross-national collaboration in addressing global sustainability challenges. We’re excited to begin the path to commercialization in Japan and beyond.”
Plant trials at TCat-8 demonstrated the operational robustness, scalability, and on-stream performance of Plas-TCat. The technology uses a proven catalytic system to convert unsorted and untreated plastic waste – including PE, PP, PET, PS, PU,PC, ABS, and nylon – into high-value light olefins and aromatics, such as benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX), ethylene, and propylene, amongst other products to support the circular economy. Future plants may have pretreatment units to address halogenated feedstocks.
“Our painstaking development program tackled the well-known challenges of recycling real-world plastic waste,” said Anellotech CEO Dave Sudolsky. “At Anellotech, ‘mixed plastic waste’ does not mean mixing different colors of pure polyolefins. We combined and tested feedstocks sourced from U.S. waste management firms to mirror the composition of aggregated plastic waste found in most countries. Included are rigid and flexible plastics, with contained typical fillers like calcium carbonate and fiberglass. To further simulate realistic conditions, we added extra paper waste as well. Throughout this, our HSE staff ensured the process was safe, practical, and aligned with chemical industry best practices.”
Commercial plant discussions are now underway with motivated feedstock, offtake, and operating partners.
Plas-TCat offers a compelling and cost-effective pathway to circular plastics. Anellotech and RPJ are now focused on the early commercialization phase. Product samples are available for customer evaluation. Interested customers and partners are encouraged to tour the TCat-8. Both organizations welcome inquiries from parties interested in scaling this next-generation solution to support sustainable, global, plastic waste management.