SK Geocentric to Build Plastic Recycling Plant in Ulsan

Agreement with US PureCycle Technologies
Producing 60,000 tons of recycled PP annually from 2024

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] SK Geocentric, the eco-friendly chemical business subsidiary of SK Innovation, is partnering with PureCycle Technologies in the United States to establish a new factory in Ulsan.

On the 10th, SK Innovation announced that Vice Chairman Kim Jun and PureCycle Technologies CEO Mike Otworth met at CES2022 held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) to establish a polypropylene (PP) recycled plastic production plant in Ulsan.

With this HOA, construction of Asia’s first recycled PP plant in Ulsan will begin within this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2024. The plant is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tons per year of recycled PP chemically recycled from waste plastic.

PP is a plastic material widely used in various colors and forms for automotive interior materials, home appliances, food packaging containers, toys, and household goods, accounting for 25% of total plastic demand. Due to the nature of PP being mixed with other materials and additives, it is difficult to remove odors, colors, and impurities through conventional physical recycling methods, so most of it is incinerated or landfilled.

PureCycle uniquely possesses chemical recycling technology that uses solvents to remove contaminants, odors, and colors from waste plastic to produce Ultra Pure Recycled PP. They are also establishing factories in Ohio and Georgia in the United States. According to the industry, demand for recycled resin is gradually increasing due to global environmental regulations, and it is predicted that more than 20 million tons of recycled PP will be needed by 2030.

With the establishment of this recycled PP plant, SK Geocentric has secured the “three core competencies” of plastic chemical recycling: △ pyrolysis oil technology that heats waste vinyl to obtain raw materials such as naphtha, and △ depolymerization technology that chemically breaks down contaminated PET bottles and clothing for recycling. This foundation accelerates SK Geocentric’s financial story of “recycling 100% of the 2.5 million tons of global plastic production by 2027.”

SK Innovation Vice Chairman Kim Jun stated, “Along with the battery business, SK Geocentric will play a key role in executing carbon neutrality (Net Zero) under SK Innovation’s Carbon to Green strategy,” and emphasized, “We will continue to innovate existing business models while expanding cooperation with global companies possessing eco-friendly technologies to build a plastic circular economy.”