Pyrolysis involves intense heat and pressure to break down waste plastics into oil. The reclaimed oil can be used as a fuel or as a resource to manufacture various oil-based products. In November 2022, SK Geocentric partnered with Plastic Energy to construct a pyrolysis factory in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan by the second half of 2025. Plastic Energy's patented recycling technology would be used to turn difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into a raw material.
SK Geocentric said the company will build the second pyrolysis plant in Dangjin's foreign investment zone through a joint venture with Plastic Energy. The two groups will later determine detailed schedules for construction and operation. "Following Ulsan, operating a waste plastic pyrolysis plant in Dangjin will significantly contribute to establishing a circular economy system in Korea," SK Geocentric CEO Na Kyung-soo said in a statement on October 31.
"We will continue to make the best efforts to establish a circular economy for waste plastics in order to fulfill our goal to recycle an amount of plastic equivalent to what SK Geo Centric has produced by 2027," Na added. The accumulation of plastic waste has become a serious global problem. According to the United Nations data, the amount of plastic waste in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach 140 million tons by 2030.
SK Geocentric is also working with Canadian plastic technology firm Loop Industries SUEZ, a France-based water and waste management company, for the construction of a plastic recycling factory in Saint-Avold some 318.8 kilometers (198 miles) east of Paris. The factory with an annual recycled plastic production capacity of 70,000 tons will be completed in 2027.
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