The plant will be built on land at the Port of Sunderland and forms part of Quantafuel’s plans to build “a series of plastic recycling plants across the UK”.
Quantafuel says that construction is expected to get underway later this year, with the plant opening in 2025.
The company added the plant will accept material such as soft food packaging and a variety of domestic and industrial plastics, and will produce an oil which will be shipped to customers in the petrochemical industries to make new plastic products.
‘Thrilled’
Leader of Sunderland city council, Councillor Graeme Miller, who is also chair of Port of Sunderland, said: “I’m thrilled the council has given permission for Quantafuel to build its first UK plastics recycling operation right here in Sunderland.
“This major investment from Quantafuel demonstrates what we have to offer global companies, and our transition to becoming a key investment hub for innovative businesses in the sustainable technologies and green industries.
“We look forward to working with Quantafuel in the months and years ahead as it brings these exciting plans to life.”
Process
Quantafuel has said the pyrolysis process will involve heating the plastic in a gas-tight reactor with no oxygen, which will cause the plastic to melt and become a gas.
The gas will then “pass through a number of processes to clean and separate the different oil fractions, turning it back to a liquid state,” the group said.
The resulting oil, according to Quantafuel, “can be used in the production of high quality plastics”.
A distillation tower to be built on the site will separate the oils into light medium and heavy fractions, before they are shipped. Gases produced from the process will be used to power the facility, the company added.
We’re happy to have secured planning permission and thank council members for sharing our ambition
- Lars Rosenløv, Quantafuel
‘Ambition’
Lars Rosenløv, chief executive of Quantafuel, said: “We’re very happy to have secured planning permission and thank council members for sharing in our ambition to create a long-term, sustainable alternative to incineration and landfill for dealing with plastics.”
“We’re planning to build similar plants across the UK but chose Sunderland as our first development site as the port provides an ideal location and the city has a good, skilled workforce that we can draw on. We thank the city council for its welcoming and forward-thinking approach to our proposal and look forward to working with both the council and the local community as we create a plant we hope will become a key part of Sunderland’s future ambitious growth and net zero plans.”
Technology
Quantafuel is one of many companies which have tried to create plastic to oil facilities in the UK, but the success of such facilities has been limited.
One of the most high-profile cases was Recycling Technologies, which went into administration last year after struggling to get its plant off the ground, with debts of £22 million (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, Quantafuel, which owns a 40% stake in Geminor, has similar proven sites in Scandinavia and will therefore hope its expertise in the field will see its facilities be a success in the UK.
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