American Chemistry Council: Plastics-to-Oil Offers Big Opportunities in U.S.

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Disposing of unwanted plastic can be an economic challenge, but converting it to synthetic oil could create thousands of new jobs in the U.S. and spark billions of dollars in capital investments, according to a newly released study by the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

Using emerging technology, a massive ramp-up of plastics-to-oil plants could lead to $6.6 billion in capital investments and support nearly 39,000 jobs, according to the ACC.

Industrial Info is tracking four plastics-to-oil plants, including three in the U.S.

Vadxx Energy LLC's (Cleveland, Ohio) Grassroot Material Recovery Facility (MRF) & Synthetic Oil Plant in Akron, Ohio, has a total investment value of $20 million. It would take 12,000 tons per year of plastic and convert it to 3,000 barrels per day of synthetic oil. Vadxx expects its general contractor, Geis Companies (Cleveland), to complete the plant building in the fourth quarter of this year.

The company says it converts plastic waste-to-energy products by cooking the plastic, which melts and turns into a vapor that is then cooled and condensed back into a liquid.

View Project Report - 300043282

The ACC report, "Economic Impact of Plastics-to-Oil Facilities in the U.S.," notes plastics recycling has continued to grow during the past few decades in the United States. A total of 2.8 million tons of plastics were recycled in 2012, it said.

"While reuse and recycling are the preferred methods of plastics recovery, it is not always economically feasible--or even possible--for all plastics to be recycled, illustrating the opportunity for other economical means of recovering plastics," according to the report. "Because they are derived from hydrocarbons, plastics have a high energy content that can be converted to crude oil and fuels, synthetic gas, and recycled feedstocks for new plastics and other products of chemistry."

The report continues: "Using the conservative assumption that 20% of the amount of post-consumer NRP [non-recycled plastic] landfilled each year could be diverted to PTO [plastics-to-oil] facilities, we estimate that the U.S. could support between 350 and 600 PTO facilities, depending on the production characteristics and size of the facility."

Such facilities could produce 42,500 barrels of synthetic crude oil per year, eliminate the landfilling of 6.5 million tons of non-recycled plastic each year, and create as many as 8,800 direct jobs and 30,100 indirect jobs, according to the report.

Industrial Info is tracking two other U.S. plastics-to-oil projects, including GenAgain Technologies Incorporated's (Lithia Springs, Georgia) plant in Houston, Texas, with a total investment value of $8 million; and Natural State Research Incorporated's (Stamford, Connecticut) grassroot plant in Santa Ana, California, with a total investment value of $5 million.

View Project Report - 300095291 300018981

In the U.K., Industrial Info is tracking the $74 million Bristol Grassroot Eco Park Waste Plastic-to-Diesel Plant by SITA UK Limited (Maidenhead, England).

View Project Report - 300023468

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.