SK Innovation Recycles Jet Fuel Production Waste as Cement Raw Material

Annual Reduction of Up to 550 Tons of Landfilled Industrial Waste
Targeting 85% Waste Recycling Rate by 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] SK Innovation has succeeded in recycling waste generated during the production of aviation fuel. It is expected to reduce up to 550 tons of industrial waste landfilled annually.

SK Innovation announced on the 24th that it is recycling all waste generated in the aviation fuel production process at its Ulsan complex.

In the aviation fuel production process (SBM), filtering kerosene that is not operated, called light kerosene, is an important step, and the company is recycling spent clay, a waste generated during this process.

Until now, all spent clay was landfilled, but the treatment process has been improved to recycle it to the level of waste adsorbent that can be used as raw material for cement and other uses.

In particular, it is necessary to reduce residual hydrocarbons and lower odor levels, and Ulsan CLX introduced a steam purge method to remove residual substances with steam for this purpose. Steam purge is a method of removing residual substances such as hydrocarbons or explosive gases contained in a sealed space or device using steam.

Through this, the company expects to simultaneously create social value contributing to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and economic value by reducing landfill waste disposal costs. By March of this year, about 250 tons of spent clay were recycled to the level of waste adsorbent and reused as raw materials for cement and others. Landfill waste disposal costs are also expected to decrease, resulting in an annual cost reduction effect of up to 50 million KRW.

SK Innovation has set a mid-to-long-term goal of achieving an 85% recycling rate of business site waste by 2025. The average waste recycling rate of SK Innovation affiliates rose from 60% in 2017 to 83% in 2021. Last year, the total waste generated by SK Innovation affiliates was 118,192 tons, of which 98,761 tons were recycled waste.

An SK Innovation official said, "Recycling SBM process waste was achieved by improving work methods without introducing new equipment or changing raw materials," adding, "We will explore various ways to expand waste recycling from an ESG perspective."