Start of basic design for commercialization of used plastic recycling business - Start of consideration of business alliance for raw material procurement, construction of chemical recycling system -

Image diagram of the chemical recycling system in this project

In recent years, efforts have been made to address issues such as marine plastic waste, climate change, and the tightening of waste import regulations in other countries, as well as the enactment of the ``Act on Promotion of Plastic Resources Recycling.'' The importance and social needs of further promoting plastic Resources circulation are increasing.
On the other hand, in Japan, currently only about 20% of the approximately 8.2 million tons of used plastic per year is used for recycled products, and more than 50% of used plastic is difficult to recycle. Currently, it is turned into fuel through thermal recycling. Under these circumstances, unprecedented and innovative chemical recycling technology is required to meet the expanding needs for recycled plastics.

This project will use a plastic oil converting equipment (HiCOP technology ^*1) by Chiba Complex, to convert oil obtained from used plastics into oil refining and petrochemical facilities within the same office. Refined, decomposed, and resynthesized to produce "renewable chemicals."

Our company and Kankyo Energy Company have been working together to develop oil-based chemical recycling technology for used plastics since fiscal 2019, and have been conducting demonstration studies since 2021. Now that we have a prospect for the technological development necessary for the construction of commercial facilities, we will now undertake basic design with a view to commencing commercial operations in 2025.

Regarding the procurement of used plastics as raw materials, we are conducting a joint investigation with Ichikawa Kankyo Holdings and Maeda Sangyo, major recyclers in the Tokyo and Chubu areas, and have begun considering the establishment of a specific procurement system. agreed.
By commercializing this business, we aim to build a plastic Resources recycling production system (chemical recycling system) that effectively utilizes our existing facilities, and we are also considering expanding the business to group Refinery across the country.

In this project, we will convert existing manufacturing bases into new low-carbon, Resources-recycling energy hubs by making effective use of Refineries/Complexes equipment as a plastic Resources recycling base called the CNX ^*2 Center. We aim to achieve Energy/material transition to a carbon neutral/circular society.

■Business overview

place

Idemitsu Chiba Complex Area

processing power

20,000 tons/year (used plastic weight)

Production start date

FY2025 (planned)

■Role of each company

Idemitsu Kosan Environmental Energy Company

Establishment of technology and basic design of oil converting equipment

Idemitsu Kosan

Collection and re-refining of produced oil

Ichikawa Kankyo Holdings, Maeda Sangyo

Sourcing used plastics

*1 HiCOP technology: This refers to a catalytic cracking method, a patented technology invented by Manager Fujimoto of the HiBD Research Institute (Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and the University of Kitakyushu).

*2 CNX: Carbon Neutral Transformation

(reference)
Chiba Complex begins Japan's first demonstration study of waste plastic recycling, including mixed plastics
https://www.idemitsu.com/jp/news/2021/210507_2.html