PlasCred Circular commissions Calgary pilot plant
by Canadian Plastics staff
The plant was engineered for beta testing of PlasCred's waste plastic upcycling process
CALGARY – PlasCred Circular Innovations Inc., a Calgary-based company in the plastic waste management sector, has successfully commissioned its patent-pending Primus pilot plant.
In an Oct. 24 news release, PlasCred officials said the Calgary facility – which was designed in collaboration with Grey Owl Engineering Ltd. – was successfully commissioned and brought online in May, and has been engineered for beta testing of PlasCred’s upcycling process, which converts up to 80 per cent of dirty, mixed waste plastic into liquid for reuse.
PlasCred employs a patent-pending, three-step pyrolysis process: first, the plastic waste is heated, transforming it into a liquid state; second, the liquid then undergoes thermal degradation, producing a vapour; and third, the vapour interacts with specially selected catalysts, turning plastic waste into a zero-sulphur green condensate.
“To maximize flexibility, the process [at the Primus plant] was designed to function with or without catalysts, ensuring optimal and consistent system parameters,” the release said. “Initial tests, without utilizing catalysts, using polypropylene plastic beads as the primary material revealed outstanding results. The plant achieved yields of about 80 per cent, producing high-quality zero sulphur green condensate that meets industry specifications.”
PlasCred plans to carry out what it calls “rigorous testing” at the pilot plant over the next six months, incorporating a variety of mixed waste plastics and a proprietary blend of catalysts. The insights and data gathered will eventually be used to build a new PlasCred plant, which company officials said will be designed to produce between 2,000 and 10,000 barrels a day of zero sulphur green condensate and remove approximately 300 up to 1,300 metric tonnes a day of plastic waste from the environment while using minimal energy.
“Our progressive upcycling method…puts plastic waste back to its original molecules, [and] has vast potential as raw feedstock for refineries, conversion back to virgin plastic, and as a pipeline diluent,” said PlasCred CEO Troy Lupul. “This process negates the need for new oil wells being drilled and substantially cuts down on GHG emissions.”
