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MoReTec

 

Welcome to the future of plastic recycling

At LyondellBasell (LYB), we believe that plastic waste doesn't have to be the end of the story. 

We take hard-to-recycle plastics that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated and give them new life. Using our proprietary catalytic chemical recycling technology, MoReTec, we transform post-consumer plastic waste into high-quality materials for highly regulated applications, including medical and food packaging.

 

Connect with our MoReTec experts

Discover how MoReTec technology transforms plastic waste into valuable recycled materials for demanding applications.

Returning plastic waste to its molecular form

At LYB, we recognize the need to eliminate plastic waste in the environment. Our proprietary catalytic chemical recycling technology, MoReTec, breaks down difficult to recycle post-consumer mixed plastic waste and converts it into pyrolysis oil and gas for use as feedstock. This feedstock produces new plastic materials for various applications, including medical and food packaging. 

How MoReTec technology works

MoReTec technology uses pre-sorted and processed plastic waste, feeding the waste materials and a catalyst into a reactor. A catalytic reaction produces substitutes for fossil-based cracker feedstocks. These substitutes, pyrolysis oil and gas, then get fed into a cracker to produce monomers, such as ethylene and propylene. These monomers are used to produce polyethylene and polypropylene pellets with properties identical to fossil-based polymers. 

Advantages of MoReTec technology

This innovative technology offers several significant benefits. The process maximizes the plastic recycling rate while minimizing the loss of plastic waste to fuels. Lower temperatures reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the electrical heating design enables the process to be powered by renewable electricity, and the process can be scaled up to further increase efficiency. 

Applications served by MoReTec technology

The polymers produced with raw materials made from MoReTec technology can be used in a wide range of applications with high purity standards, including medical applications and food packaging.
MRT-1 commercial-scale recycling plant

Our first commercial-scale catalytic chemical recycling facility using our MoReTec technology, MRT-1, will be located at our site in Wesseling, Germany, and is designed to have an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year. It is designed to recycle the amount of plastic packaging waste generated by over 1.2 million German citizens per year into valuable raw materials to make new products.

MRT-1 commercial-scale recycling plant
If we continue the open and trustful dialogue between industry, politics and society, the continent could develop a strategically unique position to become the leader in a sustainable, circular economy with LYB steering the way.”
Peter Vanacker
Chief Executive Officer
Funded by the European Union

LYB has been selected to receive a €40 million grant from the European Union (EU) Innovation Fund to support our MoReTec–1 plant in Wesseling, Germany. This plant is one of the 41 projects selected in the EU Innovation Fund ‘Third Call for Large Scale Projects.’ The EU is committing EUR 3.6 billion as part of its efforts to fund innovative clean-tech projects to support decarbonization. We are honored that our advanced recycling technology has been recognized by the EU for its promise to address plastic waste and contribute to a circular economy.

Funded by the European Union
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