Biffi ALGAS actuators have been selected and are going to be used in a new plastics recycling plant, which uses an innovative hydrothermal platform in the UK. Biffi is participating in the automation solution, providing an integrated control and safety system. The scope of this procedure is to transform end-of-life plastics back into their elementary form to produce new plastic products. The heart of this practice is a recycling process called Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling System (HydroPRS), by which the plant uses supercritical steam (high pressure and temperature) to convert waste plastics into valuable chemicals and oils.
This plant is expected to be operative at the end of 2022. From its beginning, it will be capable to handle 20,000 tons of plastic waste per year.
On completion, the plant will recycle 80,000 tonnes of waste plastic, including packaging items such as flexible films, pots, tubs, and trays which – until now – have been considered unrecyclable. They are currently incinerated, sent to landfill sites, or end up in the environment as plastic pollution. It is estimated that each year around 8 million tonnes of plastic waste find their way into the world’s oceans.
