Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and supplier of biopolymers globally, announced its collaboration with Encina Development Group, a provider of solutions to produce renewable chemicals. The long-term partnership aims to enable the production of circular, recycled polypropylene (PP).

Encina’s technology produces renewable chemicals from post-consumer plastic. The company plans to break ground on a new facility in the second half of 2021. Once completed, it will convert 175,000 tons of plastic waste into more than 90,000 tons of recycled chemicals per year. The plant will be designed to expand to 350,000 tons of incoming plastic waste in future phases. Encina’s new facility will leverage its proprietary technology that economically extracts chemicals form plastic through catalytic pyrolysis. The process utilizes mixed plastics from post-consumer sources, which are currently costly to recycle and often destined for landfills.

As part of the collaboration, Braskem will work closely with Encina to develop the necessary logistics, product quality, and certifications for a recycled PP feedstock. Braskem will use the feedstock to produce recycled PP materials in applications such as food packaging and consumer and hygiene products. The parties announced their intent to develop a formal supply agreement prior to the project’s financing approval in 2021.

Mark Nikolich, Braskem America CEO, stated: “Encina’s technology and this important project will divert thousands of tons of hard-to-recycle plastic from landfills. As the North American leader in polypropylene, Braskem is actively looking to purchase sustainable propylene feedstock that will allow us to increase both recycled and renewable-sourced products in our portfolio — as stated in our new Circular Economy commitments. This agreement is an important step in our next phase of growth as a company, aimed at realizing our vision of a carbon-neutral circular economy and helping our clients meet their aggressive recycled content goals in the years to come,” said Nikolich.

Earlier this year Braskem became a founding member and funding partner of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an initiative of the Recycling Partnership. The coalition is focused on increasing US curbside recycling access for polypropylene and ensuring it is widely recovered and reused. Braskem is also a founding member of the alliance to End Plastic Waste.