Converting Waste Plastic to Naphtha... Hanwha Solutions Leads National Project

Schematic diagram of the plastic circular economy through PTC technology. Photo by Hanwha Solutions

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hanwha Solutions announced on the 27th that it has been selected as the lead company for a government-funded project to develop technology for chemically recycling plastics by 2024.

This project, "Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Oil-Based Naphtha Production Technology," conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as part of the Materials and Components Technology Development Program, aims to reduce carbon emissions from plastic waste and production processes. Participants include the Korea Energy Technology Research Institute, which signed a business agreement with Hanwha Solutions in January, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Chonnam National University, and Hanwha Total. The public and private sectors have agreed to invest a total of 12.3 billion KRW.

The project aims to develop technology that removes impurities and alters the molecular structure of pyrolysis oil, produced by decomposing waste plastics at high temperatures, to produce naphtha. The company explained that by producing naphtha from waste plastics and then using a naphtha cracking center (NCC) to convert it back into basic plastic raw materials such as ethylene and propylene, a circular economy enabling repeated use of plastics can be established. Global chemical companies, including BASF, the world's largest chemical company based in Germany, are also entering similar technology development efforts.

Hanwha Solutions will oversee catalyst and process development, while Hanwha Total will verify the commercialization feasibility of the naphtha. After a pilot project with a daily capacity of 1 ton by 2024, they plan to design a commercial process capable of producing about 30,000 tons of naphtha annually from waste plastics. Son In-wan, head of Hanwha Solutions' Future Technology Research Center, stated, "We will focus on the commercialization of various future technologies to solve environmental issues, such as biodegradable materials and bioplastics technology."