Recycling Projects are on the Rise

November 6, 2019

More and more, recycling projects are on the rise, and Zeton has seen a clear trend in recent years. The reuse of waste materials is a high priority for many governments, and companies are doing their part by actively working to make this a reality. Innovative research is being funded to contribute to a circular economy, where eliminating waste and the reuse of resources are two central goals.

The ReOil recycling plant from OMV is an example of such a project. Many years ago, OMV developed and patented worldwide the ReOil® process which is based on thermal cracking, a proven refining technology, whereby long-chain hydrocarbons are cracked into shorter-chain light hydrocarbons. This unique process uses a solvent to decrease the viscosity of the plastic feed, and improve the overall heat transfer.

As a next step in developing the process OMV invested in the construction of a pilot plant at the Schwechat Refinery in Austria. Beginning with a Basic Engineering Study, Zeton assisted OMV in realizing the ReOil recycling plant, which produces synthetic crude oil from plastic waste. This pilot plant, which processes 100 kg/h of waste plastics, will generate all the data required to enable the scale-up to a commercial-scale installation.

Since this plant operates at very high temperatures, and includes solid plastic handling, it certainly wasn’t a straightforward design-build project.
This is only one of the recycling projects to which Zeton has been able to contribute recently. We are proud that our customers have chosen Zeton as their design-build partner, and that we are able to contribute to the circular economy together.

For a closer look at OMV’s recycling plant, please go to https://www.omv.com/en/sustainability/our-approach/our-strategy