Refinery Runs Liquified Waste Plastic to Produce Feedstock Material

Neste, a Finnish oil company, has concluded a series of processing runs with liquefied waste plastic at its refinery in Porvoo. The purpose of the runs is to better characterize the behavior of the liquefied waste plastic through the chemical recycling process. The end product, called Neste RE, is a raw material for production of new plastic and a replacement for fossil-based material.

 Neste announced the program in 2018, and completed the first processing run in 2020. In all, the company has processed nearly 3,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic. The waste plastic was sourced from multiple suppliers including Alterra Energy and Wastewise Group.

Neste wants to transition from individual runs to continuous production, aiming to build capacity at the Porvoo site to 400,000 ton/yr of liquefied waste plastics. The company has set a goal of processing over one million ton/yr by 2030. 

The chemical recycling program is part of a strategic study by Neste of transitioning the Porvoo refining facility to a renewable and circular solutions site, possibly ending crude oil refining operations there by the mid-2030s.