Initial results from trials at the University of Hamburg on a new pyrolysis technique for feedstock recycling of mixed plastics waste are encouraging its UK developers to go ahead with commercial plans for a 500 kg/h pilot plant, to be on stream by April 2003. The technology has been developed by two chemical engineers, Roger Morton and Keith Freegard, who have formed Axion Recycling (GB-Stockport SK7 1JR; www.axionrecycling.com) with a view to establishing a series of plants around Europe, each capable of handling 5 t/h (30kt/y) of mixed plastics waste. Output from the fluidised bed pyrolysis process is a high quality naphtha material that can be fed into the refinery chain for subsequent production of feedstocks such as ethane and propane.

Axion says that plastics are lagging behind the recycling targets being established for other waste products and there is a gap in the market not occupied by collect-and-dump waste merchants and metal recyclers. Its research of existing pyrolysis technology found that many of the results were converging to the same conclusion, but new ideas were needed on how the process could be scaled-up. Interest in the process has increased in recent weeks since the EU´s clarification that feedstock recycling is equivalent to mechanical methods for recycling target purposes. Additional focus is provided by the growing pressure on the use and availability of landfill sites.

A consortium of companies and financial agencies will provide the funding for Axion´s pilot plant, which will be located in Liverpool. If it is successful the company will move immediately towards building commercial plants.