Chevron Phillips Chemical successfully used commercial-scale chemical recycling technology to produce polyethylene, which can make a common form of plastic, and set a new target for producing a billion pounds of the product by 2030, the company said Thursday.
The chemical recycling process converts plastic waste to liquids that can become new petrochemicals. The process can convert a range of materials, including difficult-to-recycle plastics, into the building blocks necessary for new chemicals.
The Woodlands-based petrochemical giant, a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, said it is the first company in the U.S. to produce the “circular” polyethylene (named for the potential to repeatedly recycle plastics into new materials) on a commercial scale. The company tested production of the circular polyethylene product at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown this week.