BASF and ARCUS sign agreement on the production and procurement of pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste

BASF has concluded a framework agreement for the purchase of pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste with ARCUS Greencycling Technologies GmbH.

The agreement aims to show how the two companies want to contribute their respective expertise to the value chain in order to return plastic waste that is not recycled mechanically in the sense of a circular economy and reduce CO2 emissions. ARCUS will supply BASF with pyrolysis oil and expand its capacities in the coming years. BASF will use the oil in its production plants as a raw material for the production of Ccycled products.

The ARCUS process demonstration unit in Frankfurt is the first of its kind on a commercial scale in Germany. There pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste that is not recycled mechanically is produced.

ARCUS Chief Operating Officer Daniel Odenthal said: “With the guaranteed purchase of the oil produced, ARCUS can build further plants with higher capacity and thus make a significant contribution to closing material cycles together with BASF.”

An increase of up to 100,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil per year has been estimated.

Christoph Gahn, Vice President Chemical Recycling Business and Technologies at BASF, added: “The collaboration with ARCUS underscores BASF’s commitment to conserving resources by using recycled raw materials in the chemical industry and to drive the transition to a circular economy. Partnerships with agile, innovative companies are key to achieving these goals.”

The agreement is another expansion of BASF’s ChemCycling business, which focuses on the chemical recycling of non-recycled post-consumer plastic waste on an industrial scale. BASF will feed the pyrolysis oil supplied by ARCUS into its production network in Ludwigshafen, replacing fossil resources.