Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) and Recycling Technologies Ltd. (RT) announced their collaboration on the development of technology and manufacturing of RT’s advanced waste plastic recycling machine, the RT7000.
RT’s innovative technology, the RT7000, turns hard-to-recycle plastic, such as films, bags, laminated plastics into a hydrocarbon feedstock, called Plaxx, which can be used as a feedstock for new plastic production. The RT7000 is modular and small-scale, designed to fit easily onto existing waste treatment and recycling sites, providing a scalable solution to recycle waste plastic anywhere in the world.
SFW has a long history of delivering complex energy technology solutions and projects across the globe. SFW’s energy solutions range from its world leading CFB and gasification technologies to carbon capture, long duration energy storage, and energy from waste technologies. To support the engineering, fabrication, and delivery of energy projects worldwide, SFW has developed a global delivery and manufacturing network, including its own manufacturing workshops in Poland, China, Thailand, and the Nordics that are particularly well suited to fabricating and assembling modular equipment to oil and gas standards. This engineering, fabrication and assembly capability has more recently been brought to bear in the development of a modular Energy from Waste plant that SFW is bringing to market globally.
SFW and RT’s collaboration includes the exploration of:
- a manufacturing partnership between SFW and RT for the RT7000 that could meet RT’s ambition to mass produce about 200 machines per year by 2029.
- harnessing the combined engineering expertise of SFW and RT to improve the efficiency and increase the yields of the RT7000, lower its carbon footprint to chemically recycle waste plastic and reduce manufacturing costs harnessing SFW’s engineering and manufacturing expertise in fluidized bed technology and modular energy systems.
- using SFW’s global footprint to assist sales of the RT7000 globally, and
- incorporating the RT7000 into SFW’s waste to energy plant as an optional value-added alternative to recover waste plastic streams, previously incinerated.
“The global plastic production is predicted to increase to one billion tons p.a. by 2050 and we believe that chemical recycling will have an important role in making this more circular. The collaboration with RT supports SFW’s strategy to become part of this development and we are looking forward to working with RT on these issues,” said Frank Ligthart, Vice President, Strategic Business Development, Waste to Value.
“This collaboration represents an important milestone in RT’s strategy to mass produce our RT7000s, reduce their manufacturing costs, improve their efficiency and expand our global marketing and sales channels. These steps will speed up our goal to make plastic more sustainable through innovation, technology and determination,” said Adrian Griffiths, CEO, Recycling Technologies.