SPONSORED FEATURE
igus supports recycling pioneer Mura Technology
Recycling pioneer Mura Technology is making great strides in building the world’s first HydroPRS plant, scheduled to go into operation in early 2023, recovering crude oil from plastic waste. Since 2020, motion plastics specialist igus has supported Mura Technology as an investor
B
ritish company Mura Technology will recover crude oil from plastic with its HydroPRS chemical process
to accelerate the circular economy of plastics. The fi rst HydroPRS plant for the chemical recycling of plastic waste is currently being built by Mura’s subsidiary ReNew ELP in Teesside. The recycling pioneer is making good progress on the build, and expects the plant to be operating at the beginning of 2023. In April 2021, the construction of the fi rst
HydroPRS plant to chemically recycle end- of-life plastic waste began at the Wilton International site in Teesside. The process enables the recycling of unsorted plastic waste with a low CO2
footprint. HydroPRS
is insensitive to organic contaminants such as paper and food scraps, making a wide range of plastic waste suitable as a starting material. The plastic waste material is shredded in Mura’s own material processing plant, and separated from impurities such as glass, stones and metals. In July, Mura began programming the
control software for the HydroPRS plant, which is likely to be completed soon. In the fi rst phase, the capacity of the plant is 20,000 tons, to rise to 80,000 tons after 12 months. By comparison, the world’s largest rubbish vortex, the Great Pacifi c Garbage Patch, which fl oats in the Pacifi c Ocean between Hawaii and California, currently consists of about
40 November 2022 | Automation
80,000 tons of plastic waste, according to researchers’ estimates. More HydroPRS plants are expected to be built worldwide. Several possible locations have already been identifi ed, and one is currently in development, expected to become operational by 2025. The planned plants in Germany have
a processing capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 tons per site. Mura Technology’s business model includes its own locations in the UK, Europe and the US, as well as worldwide licensing opportunities through its partner KBR. In the meantime, other partners such as Dow, Chevron Phillips Chemical and Mitsubishi Chemical have been added. igus has been Mura’s partner since 2020, investing €5 million in the project to date.
Working together The Mura is already working with suppliers to feed the HydroPRS plant in Wilton with plastic waste collected from households and towns. But Mura is going one step further and is actively driving the development of this new industry by working with policymakers and other stakeholders to promote plastic waste recycling. For example, to illustrate the positive environmental impact of its own HydroPRS plant at the Wilton site, Mura is working with Warwick Manufacturing Group (part of the University of Warwick) on a life-cycle analysis of the plant, due to be published this autumn.
“We understand the great potential of this breakthrough technology, and support Mura to help chemical recycling make a breakthrough,” says Frank Blase, Managing Director of igus Group. “Together, we want to promote the circular economy of plastics in order to conserve precious resources and raw materials.”
igus has invested heavily in a range
of recycling and carbon reduction activities. For over 50 years, it has been regranulating 99% of the plastic waste generated in its own production facilities, and in 2019 the company launched its own recycling program for end-of-life energy chains, called “Chainge”. igus’s fi rst products made of up to 100% recycled material were also launched this year: the cradle-chain and iglidur ECO plain bearings. In addition, igus launched the igus:bike project for sustainable, urban mobility. This concept is an all-plastic bicycle that is completely lubrication- and rust-free and whose frames and wheels can also be made from post-consumer plastic waste. With the igus:bike platform, igus also wants to promote knowledge about plastics in the global bicycle industry and drive support for this circular economy internationally.
CONTACT:
igus
www.igus.co.uk
automationmagazine.co.uk
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