Sulzer: PyroCon technology selected for new plastic recycling plant by Vitol subsidiary WPU

Waste Plastic Upcycling (WPU), a subsidiary of energy and commodities company Vitol, will use Sulzer's "PyroCon" technology and engineering services for a new chemical plastic recycling plant in the Netherlands. The facility will be built at Vitol's existing refinery site in the Port of Rotterdam and will be designed to process up to 80,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste per year.

In the recycling process, plastic waste is first converted into gaseous products using WPU's proprietary pyrolysis technology. The resulting vapors are then rapidly cooled and condensed using Sulzer's "PyroCon" technology. This produces a liquid feedstock that can be used as a raw material for manufacturing new plastics.

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In addition to the process technology, Sulzer will provide engineering services for project implementation as well as a modular skid-mounted unit. The engineering phase was completed in the first quarter of 2026, with delivery of the first skid modules scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

The plant is designed to process a broad range of plastic waste streams with varying levels of contamination. According to Sulzer, the rapid cooling and condensation of the pyrolysis gases ensure consistent quality of the resulting feedstock. The technology is also designed to be flexible enough to accommodate changing operating conditions and future capacity expansions.

With this project, Sulzer and Vitol are expanding their activities in chemical plastic recycling. The objective is to return difficult-to-recycle plastic waste to the raw materials cycle and produce pyrolysis oil as a feedstock for the manufacture of new plastics.

More information: www.sulzer.com, www.vitol.com, www.vitol.com/wpu

Sulzer Management Ltd, Winterthur, Schweiz