Canadian hydrochemolytic recycling technology developer reports advances in plans; Monoethylene glycol market seen expanding to $43 billion in 2027
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Canadian hydrochemolytic recycling technology developer reports advances in plans
Aduro, a company based in Sarnia, Ontario that has developed water-based technologies to chemically recycle plastics, reported in March 2023 advances in its strategic development plan after raising capital through a private placement and joining the Canadian chemical producers association.
“Our Hydrochemolytic (trademark) Technology offers a transformative chemical recycling solution to address the challenges of traditional recycling and move towards a circular economy,” said Abe Dyck, Head of Corporate Development at Aduro Clean Technologies.
Aduro´s work also includes “improving the characteristics of bitumen through a greener conversion process and increasing the economic value of renewable oils in scalable operations that can be implemented locally,” according to the CIAC, or chemical guild of Canada.
Aduro joined the CIAC in 2023. The company traces its origins to government-funded research in Canada.
On October 27, 2022, Aduro, in partnership with the University of Western Ontario, announced that its joint research project was awarded $1.15 million in funds by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council Alliance and Mitacs Accelerate Grants Program.
The funds are for the joint research project “Tuning Supercritical Fluids for Polymer Recycling to Monomers and Chemicals,” Aduro said.
The commercial aim is to develop efficient strategies that minimize the requirement for costly sorting and separation systems during pre-processing. The project is envisioned to further improve the Hydrochemolytic process for chemical recycling of post-consumer and post-industrial plastics, Aduro said in a February release.
The National Sciences Research Council Alliance is a federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada.
“Hydrochemolytic processes use water in either a near-supercritical or supercritical state (340 degrees Celsius and 200 bar pressure) to deconstruct carbon bonds. Unlike pyrolysis, which causes bond rupture, this approach breaks down bonds selectively, and the resulting oil does not need to be upgraded before use as a plastic feedstock,” according to information published separately by newrycorp.com, a company that according to its website advises B2B companies in technology intensive areas.
The technology developed by Aduro involves the use of a reactor, according to information in media reports from 2022.
“The reactor aims to advance Aduro’s plans of processing higher contaminated materials which are currently rejected by existing technologies,” according to a report from Oct. 2022 on Engineer Live.
Monoethylene glycol market seen expanding to $43 billion in 2027
Producers of mono ethylene glycol, which has final uses as engine coolant and antifreeze but is also a key intermediate for multiple other petrochemical products like polyester, may expand at an annual growth rate of about 6.6% during the next four years.
The global monoethylene glycol market may expand from $30.7 billion in 2022 to $33.4 billion in 2023 at an annual growth rate of 8.6%, said ReportLinker on March 1.
The report listed as top producers companies including BASF, Dow, LyondellBasell, Shell, ExxonMobil Corporation, and Formosa.
The monoethylene glycol market consists of sales of naphtha-based mono ethylene glycol and gas-based mono ethylene glycol but MEG can also be produced from methane, or from coal, according to the report.
Different applications include polyester fiber, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins, film, and the common antifreeze and engine coolant liquid. Different end-uses for ethylene as an intermediate include plastic textiles and leather, packaging, adhesives and sealants, paints, coatings, and other chemicals.
The rise in uses of this material in the packaging industry has already significantly contributed to demand, it said.
Strategic partnerships have emerged as the key trends gaining popularity in the mono ethylene glycol market, according to the report.
“For instance, in March 2022, Braskem, a Brazil-based petrochemical company, partnered with Sojitz Corporation, a Japan-based trading company. This partnership aims to increase the industrial production and sale of chemicals made from renewable sources,” the report said.
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