Project CLEAN (Catalytic Low-temperature Efficiency for Advanced Decontamination), a four-year research project involving BlueAlp (Eindhoven, the Netherlands; www.bluealp.nl), Renewi plc (Milton Keynes, U.K.; www.renewi.com), Shell (London, U.K.; www.shell.com) and the University of Utrecht (Utrecht, the Netherlands; www.uu.nl), has been awarded €1.5 million in funding from the Dutch Government’s National Growth Fund initiative via Circular Plastics NL (CPNL).
The real opportunity for project CLEAN lies in improving efficiency, both in cost and sustainability, by better managing the unwanted components present in mixed plastic waste. The key bottleneck is the presence of unwanted components—contaminants in the waste stream that cannot become part of a circular product. These materials must be removed somewhere in the process, and the challenge is to combine novel technologies and identify the most effective points in the value chain to do so.
This aim of Project CLEAN is to design, develop and test novel low-temperature adsorbents and catalysts for the dewatering, decontamination and depolymerization of plastic waste, with a specific focus on polyolefin films to be further used for chemicals production via thermal pyrolysis. This is done by spanning the entire value chain from plastic waste collection and sorting, the subsequent making of pyrolysis oil up to the use of this pyrolysis oil to produce chemicals. To realize this value chain, CLEAN brings together the expertise of (a) polyolefins films separation, sorting and densification (Renewi), (b) plastic waste thermal pyrolysis technology (BlueAlp), (c) pyrolysis oil conversion into chemicals (Shell) and (d) materials development for adsorption and catalysis (Utrecht University).
Valentijn de Neve, CEO of BlueAlp, said, “Chemical recycling is happening at scale with our technology. We are now looking at the next challenge that comes with scale. Managing contaminants in an even more efficient way by looking across the value chain. I am proud of this consortium where BlueAlp will work with Renewi, Shell and University of Utrecht to bring new solutions to this space.”
BlueAlp’s technology currently achieves high oil purity while reducing energy consumption compared to traditional pyrolysis methods, supporting decarbonization by replacing virgin fossil feedstocks. BlueAlp’s scalable, licensable technology positions it as a critical enabler of providing circular plastics for example in food packaging and a pathway to reduce plastic pollution and advance circular economy goals.