KBR said it has signed a contract with Hyundai Engineering to supply proprietary equipment for the first Hydro-PRT modular plant that will be installed for LG Chem at a new advanced recycling plant planned as part of LG's Chronos project in Dangjin, South Korea.
Under the terms of the contract, KBR will supply its proprietary modular solution to Hyundai for the 20,000-t/y advanced plastics recycling facility. This award follows LG Chem's licensing of KBR's Hydro-PRT technology last year.
The Hydro-PRT technology was developed by Mura Technology and is licenced exclusively by KBR. Utilising supercritical steam, this technology employs a unique patented process to convert a wide range of single-use and other plastics into commercial raw materials that are used to produce virgin-quality new plastics.
"We are honoured that LG Chem has selected our modular solution for the Hydro-PRT unit at Dangjin," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. "Our proprietary modularization solutions deliver inherent cost, scalability, schedule, and safety advantages and we look forward to a successful implementation to help LG Chem accelerate attainment of its ESG objectives.”
KBR and Mura's Hydro-PRT process converts waste plastics into raw materials for virgin-quality new plastics. A recent report published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre shows this proprietary technology to be the best performing for resource use across mechanical, chemical and energy recovery processes and produced the highest yield of hydrocarbon products to displace virgin fossil equivalent.
The LCA report reviewed recycling solutions for different plastic waste streams and benchmarked various advanced plastic recycling technologies against mechanical recycling and energy recovery via waste incineration.
It concluded that Hydro-PRT is a sustainable alternative to waste incineration and that it is not only complementary to mechanical recycling but also presents a significant environmental advantage, with approximately a 50% lower global warming potential over other chemical recycling processes.