Pyrolysis Oil from 10,000 Tons of Waste Plastic Processed for Resource Circulation
Approved by Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Full-Scale New Energy Project
Producing Products with Lower Carbon Intensity than Petroleum Product
A project to recycle waste plastic into gasoline is underway.
S-OIL has embarked on a new project to recycle waste plastic, which was previously incinerated or landfilled, into petrochemical products. This marks the beginning of S-OIL's (CEO Anwar Al Hizazi) low-carbon, eco-friendly new energy business.
On the 6th, S-OIL announced that it has applied for and received approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology for a regulatory sandbox to conduct a pilot project aimed at producing low-carbon, eco-friendly products by inputting pyrolysis oil derived from waste plastic into petroleum refining processes.
Following the sandbox approval, S-OIL plans to officially launch a demonstration project that processes pyrolysis oil made from domestic and international waste plastic together with crude oil in the existing refining and chemical processes at the Onsan plant, producing petrochemical products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, naphtha, and polypropylene.
S-OIL intends to proceed with the new energy business in earnest after stabilizing the process through initial raw material input tests.
An S-OIL representative explained, “During the two-year demonstration period, up to 10,000 tons of pyrolysis oil will be input into the existing refining and chemical processes to produce resource-circulating products.”
S-OIL plans to expand the production volume of eco-friendly products by adjusting the mixing ratio of waste plastic pyrolysis oil and crude oil, evaluating the overall product yield changes and process impacts.
Since waste plastic, which was mainly incinerated or landfilled, is being recycled again, it is expected to have excellent crude oil substitution and resource circulation effects, as well as contribute to reducing carbon dioxide and waste.
Through trial operations, S-OIL plans to commercialize pyrolysis oil containing many impurities using existing facilities, then apply for the international sustainability certification (ISCC PLUS) to concretize carbon emission reductions and contribute to a low-carbon circular economy.
More than 85% of waste plastic can be recycled. It is known that recycling 1 ton of waste plastic reduces about 1.2 tons of carbon dioxide compared to incineration.
Currently, under the domestic Petroleum Business Act, only petroleum and petroleum products are allowed as refining raw materials, making it impossible to input waste plastic pyrolysis oil into petroleum refining processes as a raw material.
To resolve this issue, S-OIL applied for a regulatory sandbox for activating the circular economy through the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology in March this year.
S-OIL stated, “We will actively promote low-carbon, circular new energy-related businesses to realize the company’s vision of being the ‘most competitive and creative eco-friendly energy chemical company,’ and continuously strive to achieve social value and keep pace with eco-friendly trends.”
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