TotalEnergies launches France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant
Key takeaways
- TotalEnergies has started production at France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant in Grandpuits.
- The plant uses Plastic Energy’s technology to process hard-to-recycle plastics into oil.
- The plant, with an annual processing capacity of 15,000 metric tons, supports the conversion of the Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex.
TotalEnergies has begun production at France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant in Grandpuits. The move aims to support the conversion of the refinery into a zero-crude platform.
The new plant adopts recycling technology supplied by Plastic Energy, with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons.
Valérie Goff, senior vice president for Renewables, Fuels, and Chemicals at TotalEnergies, says: “The start up of the first advanced plastics recycling plant in France is an important milestone in the conversion of our Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex.”
“Alongside Plastic Energy, contributing its technology, and our partners Citeo and Paprec, we are supporting the emergence of a brand-new French plastic recycling activity.”
Converting hard-to-recycle plastics
The technology can turn hard-to-recycle plastic waste from French households, which TotalEnergies says is currently sent to landfill or incineration, into a synthetic oil through a pyrolysis process. The solution involves heating the waste to high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment and under pressure.
This advanced recycling process is said to be able to recycle waste that cannot be recycled mechanically.
The synthetic oil is treated as petrochemical feedstock, replacing fossil fuels. TotalEnergies says it can contribute to producing recycled plastics of “the same quality as virgin plastics, compatible with the strictest requirements for food contact and medical applications.”
In 2023, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with Citeo and Paprec. The collaborations with its French partners can secure the plant’s long-term supply of plastic waste.
Recently, TotalEnergies joined forces with Air Liquide to produce renewable hydrogen at La Mède in southeast France. A renewable hydrogen production unit was created to recycle coproducts from the TotalEnergies biorefinery. The hydrogen can be used in the biorefinery to produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
