TotalEnergies: New chemical plastic recycling plant starts operations in France

TotalEnergies has commissioned what it says is France’s first advanced plastic recycling plant at its Grandpuits site southeast of Paris. The facility has an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes. Its start-up is part of the conversion of the former refinery into a so-called “zero-crude” platform, meaning a site where no crude oil is processed.

According to the company, the new plant is designed to treat plastic waste from French households that has so far been difficult or impossible to recycle mechanically and is therefore often landfilled or incinerated. The plant uses a technology supplied by Plastic Energy in which this waste is converted into a synthetic oil through a pyrolysis process carried out at high temperatures, under pressure, and in an oxygen-free environment. This process is classified as chemical recycling and is intended to recover waste streams that are unsuitable for mechanical recycling.

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The synthetic oil produced is then used as a petrochemical feedstock, replacing fossil-based inputs. On this basis, plastics can be manufactured that, according to TotalEnergies, have the same properties as virgin material. In particular, the company cites applications with high regulatory requirements, such as food-contact and medical uses.

To supply the plant with suitable plastic waste, TotalEnergies had already signed agreements in 2023 with the French companies Citeo and Paprec. These agreements are intended to secure the site’s long-term feedstock supply.

With the commissioning of the plant, TotalEnergies is expanding Grandpuits’ activities in alternative feedstock use and the circular economy. According to the company, the site is to be developed into a new industrial hub for plastic recycling in France.

More information: totalenergies.com

TotalEnergies, Paris, France