LG Chem’s factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. (image: LG Chem)
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical producer, said Tuesday it is building its first plastic recycling plant in South Korea that will process used plastics using high-temperature steam, accelerating its push for clean materials.
The plant, to be built in the southwest city of Dangjin by the first quarter of 2024, will have an annual capacity of 20,000 tons to produce oil from plastic waste using a process known as supercritical pyrolysis, the company said in a press release.
Supercritical pyrolysis is a technology that decomposes used plastic with steam at high temperature and pressure beyond a critical point and converts them into fossil-replacement oils and chemicals that can be reprocessed into new plastics.
It will work with U.K.-based Mura Technology, which LG Chem has invested in for its proprietary supercritical pyrolysis technology, for the new Dangjin plant.
More than 80 percent of the plastic waste from the new plant will be converted into renewable oils that can replace fossil fuels, with the remaining 20 percent of by-product gases expected to be reused as an energy source for operating relevant facilities, the company said.
(Yonhap)
