IGE completes first phase of waste plastics-to-diesel fuels plant in Australia
Integrated Green Energy Ltd. (IGE), based in Chatswood, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has successfully completed the first phase of commissioning a commercial scale waste plastics-to-diesel fuels plant in Berkeley, Vale, NSW.
The AUD 4 million (USD 3.06 million) plant processes 50 tonnes per day (tpd) of non-recyclable household plastics.
The company has secured two contracts to supply 50 tonnes per day (tpd) of feedstock for the first three years’ of the plant’s operation through June 2018. The plan is to increase throughput from 50 to 200 tpd, following the installation of three more production units.
According to a press release, the second feedstock contract was obtained at “significantly better terms than the budgeted target cost of AUD 250 (USD 191) per tonne delivered.” The price declines each year as the volumes increase. Under the contract, waste plastics have to be delivered in a form relatively free of contaminants.
The contracts will be assigned to Foyson Resources Ltd., which has acquired the IGE facility in exchange for providing short-term funding for this project.
“Feedstock security is fundamental to the IGE business model, we will continue to search for strategic partners to aggregate feedstock in major population centres in line with our growth plans,” said IGE CEO Bevan Dooley.
The plant uses a catalytic restructuring process, which subjects plastic to a high temperature heat stream (above 400 degrees celsius) in the absence of oxygen. This causes the polymer to break down into smaller molecules forming gas and liquids, which resemble crude oil. The liquids are fractionated into hydrocarbons in the form of gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel. Foyson has acquired the license to utilize IGE’s technology on an exclusive basis in several countries.
