Enespa makes plastic-to-oil recycling assessable
Appenzell/Winterthur - Enespa from Appenzell in Switzerland is evaluating the economic viability of projects run by companies to recover oil from plastic waste. The basis of the investigations is a new Innosuisse study, for which Professor Joachim Vogt from Zurich University of Applied Sciences and his team developed 10 quantifiable metrics.
(CONNECT) Enespa has successfully completed a project in collaboration with Professor Joachim Vogt from Zurich University of Applied Sciences and his team, which was supported by the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse. The resulting study makes the economic, social and environmental aspects of plastic-to-oil recycling tangible and assessable, according to enespa. Ten corresponding key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed as part of the project.
With a focus on the circular economy of plastics, enespa experts can use the new key figures to advise companies that generate plastic waste. This involves analyzing whether the recovery of oil is economically viable and how companies can proceed in the most profitable way. "Since the circular economy is only really sustainable when it is also financially viable," writes enespa on its website.
In order to close plastic loops, the company, which is based in Appenzell, the main town in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, has developed a technology that can extract a pyrolysis oil from plastic waste. It has been producing the corresponding systems from its own development since 2022. The first was delivered to the waste disposal company Australian Paper Recovery in Melbourne. The development and approval of a plant for the pyrolysis of used tyres with an initial capacity of 72 tonnes per day is also reportedly underway.
The metrics developed in the Innosuisse study relate to the amount of plastic recycled annually, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. They also take into account the life cycle as well as the efficiency of waste management and water consumption. The type of plastic recycled, resource conservation, the impact on biodiversity, and pollution control are also included in the analysis.
“To analyze the entire value chain, we ploughed through criteria catalogues of evaluation companies that specialize in the oil industry, plastic production and plastic recycling,” Joachim Vogt, who now acts as a consultant for strategy and business development at enespa, is quoted as saying. “Our main focus was firmly on ESG criteria.” With these ten KPIs, the enespa experts can show on a project-specific basis how a customer benefits from plastic-to-oil recycling and how this has a positive impact on their ESG rating. ce/mm