Chemical recycling of colored plastic mixtures

Abstract

The present invention provides a process and facilities for using one or more PET-containing materials as feedstock for chemical recycling facilities, particularly solvolysis facilities. [Solution] The PET-containing material used as a raw material may include colored plastic-containing mixtures derived as products or co-products from plastic reclaimer facilities and / or municipal recycling facilities. Such mixtures are generally undesirable or unsuitable for use in mechanical PET recycling facilities and are typically sent to landfills and / or incinerators. However, the processes and facilities described herein utilize the PET and other plastics present in colored plastic-containing mixtures that are undesirable or unsuitable for use in these other ways.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001]

[0001] Waste materials, especially non-biodegradable waste materials, can have a negative impact on the environment if they are disposed of in landfills after a single use. Therefore, from an environmental standpoint, it is desirable to recycle as much waste material as possible. However, there are still streams of low-value waste that are virtually impossible or economically unfeasible to recycle with conventional recycling technologies. In addition, some conventional recycling processes themselves generate streams of waste that are economically unfeasible to recover or recycle, resulting in additional streams of waste that must be disposed of or handled in other ways. For example, plastic reclaimer facilities and municipal recycling facilities can generate significant amounts of waste plastic that are undesirable or unsuitable for use by consumers and mechanical recycling facilities. In particular, such facilities can generate large amounts of colored plastic-containing mixtures that are undesirable or unsuitable for use in these mixed forms, although they may contain some amounts of PET and other plastics that are otherwise desirable or usable. However, these colored plastic-containing mixtures are typically disposed of in landfills and / or incinerators. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0002]

[0002] Therefore, there is a need for a large-scale facility capable of chemically recycling in an economically viable manner various plastic-containing waste materials recovered from such sources, in particular colored plastic-containing mixtures from plastic reclaimer facilities and / or municipal recycling facilities that are otherwise undesirable or unsuitable for use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0003]

[0003] In one embodiment, the technology of the present invention relates to a method for recycling plastic waste. Generally, the method comprises (a) supplying a certain amount of PET-containing reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture separated from the plastic waste to a chemical recycling facility, and (b) depolymerizing at least a portion of the PET-containing reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture within the chemical recycling facility.

[0004]

[0004] In one embodiment, the technology of the present invention relates to the use of a PET-containing colored plastic-containing mixture as a raw material to be supplied to a chemical recycling facility. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0005] [Figure 1]

[0005] Figure 1 is a block flow diagram illustrating the main steps of a process and facility for chemically recycling waste plastics according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 2]

[0006] Figure 2 is a block flow diagram illustrating a separation process and zones for separating mixed plastic waste according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3]

[0007] Figure 3 is a block flow diagram illustrating the main steps of the process and facility for PET solvolysis according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 4]

[0008] Figure 4 is a block flow diagram illustrating typical rPET products and co-products derived from a PET reclaimer facility. [Figure 5]

[0009] Figure 5 is a block flow diagram illustrating the main steps of the PET reclaimer process, as well as the products generated and the co-products derived therefrom. [Figure 6]

[0010] Figure 6 is a block flow diagram illustrating an exemplary liquefaction zone of a chemical recycling facility shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 7]

[0011] Figure 7 is a block flow diagram illustrating the main steps of a pyrolysis process and facility for converting waste plastics into a pyrolysis product stream, according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 8A]

[0012] Figure 8A is a block flow diagram illustrating the main steps of an integrated pyrolysis process and facility, as well as a cracking process and facility, according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 8B]

[0013] Figure 8B is a schematic diagram of a cracking furnace according to an embodiment of the technology of the present invention. [Figure 9]

[0014] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a POx reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10]

[0015] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating various definitions of the term “separation efficiency” as used herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0006]

[0016] The inventors have discovered novel methods and systems for using one or more PET-containing materials from various sources as feedstock to chemical recycling facilities, particularly solvolysis facilities. More specifically, the inventors have found that PET-containing materials used as feedstock for chemical recycling or solvolysis may include colored plastic-containing mixtures derived from plastic reclaimer facilities and / or municipal recycling facilities. While these colored plastic-containing mixtures are generally considered undesirable or unsuitable for use in mechanical recycling facilities, the methods and systems described herein enable the use of such colored plastic-containing mixtures as feedstock sources in chemical recycling facilities and processes.

[0007]

[0017] When a numerical sequence is given, each number is modified identically to the first or last number in the sequence or sentence, for example, each number is "at least," "up to," or sometimes "less than or equal to," and each number is related by "or." For example, "at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75% by weight…" is equivalent to "at least 10% by weight, or at least 20% by weight, or at least 30% by weight, or at least 40% by weight, or at least 50% by weight, or at least 75% by weight," and "less than or equal to 90, 85, 70, 60…% by weight" is equivalent to "less than or equal to 90% by weight, or less than or equal to 85% by weight, or less than or equal to 70% by weight…," and "at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8% "%, 9% or 10% by weight..." has the same meaning as "at least 1% by weight, or at least 2% by weight, or at least 3% by weight...", and "at least 5, 10, 15, 20 and / or 99, 95, or 90 percent by weight or less" has the same meaning as "at least 5% by weight, or at least 10% by weight, or at least 15% by weight, or at least 20% by weight and / or 99% by weight or less, or 95% by weight or less, or 90 percent by weight or less...".

[0008]

[0018] All concentrations or quantities are given by weight unless otherwise specified. Overall chemical recycling facility

[0019] Referring here to Figure 1, the main steps of the process for chemically recycling waste plastics in the chemical recycling facility 10 are shown. It should be understood that Figure 1 represents one exemplary embodiment of the technology of the present invention. Certain features shown in Figure 1 may be removed, and / or additional features described elsewhere in this specification may be added to the system shown in Figure 1.

[0009]

[0020] As shown in Figure 1, these steps include a pretreatment step / facility 20, as well as a solvolysis step / facility 30, a partial oxidation (POX) gasification step / facility 50, a pyrolysis step / facility 60, a cracking step / facility 70, and an energy recovery step. The steps / facilities generally include at least one (or at least two or more) of the steps / facilities 80. Optionally, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, these steps may also include one or more other steps, e.g., direct sale or use, landfill, separation, and solidification, i.e., one or more of those represented in block 90 in Figure 1. While chemical recycling processes and facilities according to one or more embodiments of the technology of the present invention are shown to include all of these steps or facilities, it should be understood that at least two, three, four, five, or all of these steps / facilities for the chemical recycling of plastic waste, in particular mixed plastic waste, may be included in various combinations. Using chemical recycling processes and facilities as described herein, waste plastics can be converted into recycled component products or chemical intermediates used to form various end-use materials. The waste plastics supplied to the chemical recycling facility / process may be mixed plastic waste (MPW), pre-sorted waste plastics, and / or pre-treated waste plastics.

[0010]

[0021] As used herein, the term "chemical recycling" refers to a waste plastic recycling process that includes the step of chemically converting waste plastic polymers into lower molecular weight polymers, oligomers, monomers, and / or non-polymeric molecules (e.g., hydrogen and carbon monoxide) that are useful in themselves and / or as feedstocks for another chemical production process(es). A "chemical recycling facility" is a facility for producing a recycled component product through chemical recycling of waste plastics. As used herein, the terms "recycled component" and "r-component" mean a composition that is directly and / or indirectly derived from waste plastics or includes the same.

[0011]

[0022] As used herein, the term "directly derived" means having at least one physical component generated from waste plastics, while "indirectly derived" means having a specified recycled component that i) results from waste plastics but ii) is not based on having a physical component generated from waste plastics.

[0012]

[0023] A chemical recycling facility is not a mechanical recycling facility. As used herein, the terms "mechanical recycling" and "physical recycling" refer to a recycling process that includes the step of melting waste plastics and forming the melted plastics into a new intermediate product (e.g., pellets or sheets) and / or a new final product (e.g., bottles). Generally, mechanical recycling does not substantially change the chemical structure of the recycled plastics. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the described embodiments, the chemical recycling facilities described herein can be designed to receive and process waste streams from mechanical recycling facilities and / or waste streams that are not normally processable in mechanical recycling facilities.

[0013]

[0024] Although described herein as being part of a single chemical recycling facility, it should be understood that the pretreatment facility 20, the solvolysis facility 30, the pyrolysis facility 60, the cracking facility 70, the partial oxidation (POX) gasification facility 50, and the energy recovery facility 80, or any other facility 90, such as one or more of either solidification or separation, may be located at different geographical locations and / or operated by different commercial entities. Each of the pretreatment facility 20, the solvolysis facility 30, the pyrolysis facility 60, the cracking facility 70 , the partial oxidation (POX) gasification facility 50, the solidification facility, the energy recovery facility 80, and one or more other facilities 90, such as one or more of either separation or solidification, may be operated by different commercial entities.

[0014]

[0025] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the chemical recycling facility 10 may be an industrial-scale facility capable of processing significant amounts of mixed plastic waste. As used herein, the term “industrial-scale facility” means a facility having an average annual supply of at least 226.8 kilograms (500 pounds) per hour on average over a year. The average supply to the chemical recycling facility (or any one of the pretreatment facility 20, solvolysis facility 30, pyrolysis facility 60, cracking facility 70, POX gasification facility 50, energy recovery facility 80, and any other facility 90) is at least 340.19 kilograms (750 pounds), at least 453.59 kilograms (1,000 pounds), at least 680.39 kilograms (1,500 pounds), and at least 907.18 kilograms (2,000 pounds) per hour. ), at least 1,133.98 kg (2,500 pounds), at least 1,360.78 kg (3,000 pounds), at least 1,587.57 kg (3,500 pounds), at least 1,814.37 kg (4,000 pounds), at least 2,041.17 kg (4,500 pounds), at least 2,267.96 kg (5,000 pounds), at least 2,494.76 kg (5,500 pounds), at least 2,721.55 kg (6,000 pounds) 0 pounds), at least 2,948.35 kg (6,500 pounds), at least 3,401.94 kg (7,500 pounds), at least 4,535.92 kg (10,000 pounds), at least 5,669.9 kg (12,500 pounds), at least 6,803.89 kg (15,000 pounds), at least 7,937.87 kg (17,500 pounds), at least 9,071.85 kg (20,000 pounds), at least 10,205. 83 kg (22,500 lbs), at least 11,339.81 kg (25,000 lbs), at least 12,473.79 kg (27,500 lbs), at least 13,607.77 kg (30,000 lbs), or at least 14,741.75 kg (32,500 lbs) and / or not exceeding 453,592.37 kg (1,000,000 lbs) per hour, 340,194.28 kg (750,000 lbs) per hour, and 226,796.Under 18 kg (500,000 pounds), under 204,116.57 kg (450,000 pounds), under 181,436.95 kg (400,000 pounds), under 158,757.33 kg (350,000 pounds), under 136,077.71 kg (300,000 pounds), under 113,398.09 kg (250,000 pounds), 90,718 The maximum annual supply may be 0.47 kg (200,000 lbs), 68,038.86 kg (150,000 lbs), 45,359.24 kg (100,000 lbs), 34,019.43 kg (75,000 lbs), 22,679.62 kg (50,000 lbs), or 18,143.69 kg (40,000 lbs). If a facility includes two or more supply flows, the average annual supply is determined based on the combined weight of the supply flows.

[0015]

[0026] Furthermore, it should be understood that each of the pretreatment facilities 20, solvolysis facilities 30, pyrolysis facilities 60, cracking facilities 70, POX gasification facilities 50, energy recovery facilities 80, and any other facilities 90 may include multiple units operating in series or in parallel. For example, pyrolysis facility 60 may include multiple pyrolysis reactors / units operating in parallel, each receiving feed containing waste plastics. If a facility is made up of multiple individual units, the average annual feed to the facility is calculated as the sum of the average annual feeds to all equipment of common types within that facility.

[0016]

[0027] Furthermore, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the chemical recycling facility 10 (or pretreatment facility 20, solvolysis facility 3) may be further modified. The chemical recycling facility 10 (or any one of the pretreatment facility 20, solvolysis facility 30, pyrolysis facility 60, cracking facility 70, POX gasification facility 50, energy recovery facility 80, and any other facility 90) may operate in a continuous manner. In addition, or alternatively, at least a portion of the chemical recycling facility 10 (or any one of the pretreatment facility 20, solvolysis facility 30, pyrolysis facility 60, cracking facility 70, POX gasification facility 50, energy recovery facility 80, and any other facility 90) may operate in a batch or semi-batch manner. In some cases, the facility may include multiple tanks between a portion of a single facility and another portion, or between two or more different facilities, to deal with inventory and ensure a consistent flow rate to each facility or a portion thereof.

[0017]

[0028] In addition, two or more of the facilities shown in Figure 1 may also be jointly installed with each other. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, or all of the facilities may be jointly installed. As used herein, the term “jointly installed” means facilities in which at least a portion of the process flow and / or support equipment or services is shared between the two facilities. If two or more of the facilities shown in Figure 1 are jointly installed, the facilities may satisfy at least one of the following criteria (i) to (v): (i) the facilities share at least one type of non-residential utility service; (ii) the facilities share at least one type of service group; (iii) the facilities are owned and / or operated by parties sharing at least one site boundary; (iv) the facilities share at least one type of process material (e.g., solid, liquid supplied, used, or produced in the facilities) from one facility to the other. (i) to (v) are connected by at least one conduit designed to carry (and / or gases); and (v) the facilities are within 64.37 km (40 miles), 56.33 km (35 miles), 48.28 km (30 miles), 32.19 km (20 miles), 24.14 km (15 miles), 19.31 km (12 miles), 16.09 km (10 miles), 12.87 km (8 miles), 8.05 km (5 miles), 3.22 km (2 miles), or 1.61 km (1 mile) of each other, measured from these geographic centers. At least one, at least two, at least three, at least four, or all of the above descriptions (i) to (v) may be true.

[0018]

[0029] With respect to (i), examples of appropriate utility services include, but are not limited to, steam systems (cogeneration and distribution systems), cooling water systems, heat transfer fluid systems, air cooling systems for factories or equipment, nitrogen systems, hydrogen systems, non-residential power generation and distribution including distribution above 8000V, non-residential wastewater / sewer systems, storage facilities, transport systems, flare systems, and combinations thereof.

[0019]

[0030] With respect to (ii), examples of service groups and facilities include, but are not limited to, emergency service personnel (fire and / or medical), third-party vendors, state or local government monitoring groups, and combinations thereof. Examples of government monitoring groups include regulatory or environmental protection agencies, as well as city, county, and state-level municipal agencies and tax-related agencies.

[0020]

[0031] With respect to (iii), the boundary may be, for example, a fence line, a property boundary line, a gate, or a common boundary with at least one boundary of land or facility owned by a third party.

[0021]

[0032] (iv) With respect to the conduit, gases, liquids, solid / liquid mixtures (e.g., slurries), solid / gas mixtures (e.g., pneumatic conveying), solid / liquid / gas mixtures, or solids The transporter may be a fluid conduit (e.g., a belt conveyor). In some cases, two units may share one or more conduits selected from the above list. The fluid conduit can be used to transport process flows or utilities between two units. For example, the outlet of one facility (e.g., solvolysis facility 30) may be fluidly connected to the inlet of another facility (e.g., POX gasification facility 50) via a conduit. In some cases, an intermediate storage system may be provided for the material being transported in the conduit between the outlet of one facility and the inlet of another facility. The intermediate storage system may include, for example, one or more tanks, containers (open or closed), buildings, or containers designed to store the material being transported by the conduit. In some cases, the intermediate storage between the outlet of one facility and the inlet of another facility may be 90 days or less, 75 days or less, 60 days or less, 40 days or less, 30 days or less, 25 days or less, 20 days or less, 15 days or less, 10 days or less, 5 days or less, 2 days or less, or 1 day or less.

[0022] waste plastics

[0033] Referring again to Figure 1, the waste plastic stream 100 can be mixed plastic waste (MPW), which can be introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10. As used herein, the terms “waste plastic” and “plastic waste” refer to used, scrap, and / or discarded plastic materials, e.g., plastic materials that would normally be sent to landfills. Other examples of waste plastic (or plastic waste) include used, scrap, and / or discarded plastic materials that would normally be sent to incinerators. The waste plastic stream 100 supplied to the chemical recycling facility 10 may include untreated or partially treated waste plastic. As used herein, the term “untreated waste plastic” means waste plastic that has not been subjected to any automated or mechanized sorting, washing, or grinding. Examples of untreated waste plastic include waste plastic collected from roadside household plastic recycling bins or community-shared plastic recycling containers. As used herein, the term “partially treated waste plastic” means waste plastic that has been subjected to at least one automated or mechanized sorting, washing, or grinding step or process. Partially processed waste plastics may originate, for example, from a municipal recycling facility (MRF) or a reclaimer. When partially processed waste plastics are provided to the chemical recycling facility 10, one or more pretreatment steps may be omitted. The waste plastics may include at least one of industrially end-of-use (or pre-consumer) plastics and / or post-consumer plastics.

[0023]

[0034] As used herein, the terms “mixed plastic waste” and “MPW” refer to a mixture of at least two types of waste plastics, including, but not limited to, the following types of plastics: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one or more types of polyolefins (PO), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the MPW comprises at least two different types of plastics, each type of plastic present in an amount of at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, or at least 20 weight percent based on the total weight of plastics in the MPW.

[0024]

[0035] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the MPW is at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or less, based on the total weight of the plastic in the MPW. The MPW also contains at least 99% by weight of PET and / or at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, or at least 20% by weight of PO. In one or more embodiments, the MPW may also contain trace amounts of one or more types of plastic components other than PET and PO (and optionally PVC) in total, based on the total weight of plastics in the MPW, in amounts of less than 50%, less than 45%, less than 40%, less than 35%, less than 30%, less than 25%, less than 20%, less than 15%, less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 2%, or less than 1% by weight of PET and PO (and optionally PVC).

[0025]

[0036] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the MPW contains at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of PET, based on the total weight of the flow. Alternatively, or in addition, MPW may contain PET in amounts of 99.9% by weight or less, 99% by weight or less, 97% by weight or less, 92% by weight or less, 90% by weight or less, 85% by weight or less, 80% by weight or less, 75% by weight or less, 70% by weight or less, 65% by weight or less, 60% by weight or less, 55% by weight or less, 50% by weight or less, 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, or 5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the flow.

[0026]

[0037] MPW flow may contain non-PET components in amounts of at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, or at least 35 weight percent and / or 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, or 7 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the flow. Non-PET components may be present in amounts between 0.1 and 50 weight percent, 1 and 20 weight percent, or 2 and 10 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow. Examples of such non-PET components, but not limited to these, include iron and non-ferrous metals, inert materials (e.g., rocks, glass, sand, etc.), plastic inert materials (e.g., titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, etc.), olefins, adhesives, compatibilizers, biological sludge, cellulosic materials (e.g., cardboard, paper, etc.), and combinations thereof.

[0027]

[0038] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, all or part of the MPW may be of municipal origin or may include municipal waste. The municipal waste portion of the MPW may include, for example, PET in amounts of 45–95 weight percent, 50–90 weight percent, or 55–85 weight percent based on the total weight of the municipal waste flow (or part of the flow).

[0028]

[0039] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, all or part of the MPW may originate from a municipal recycling facility (MRF) and may contain, for example, PET in amounts of 65–99.9% by weight, 70–99% by weight, or 80–97% by weight, based on the total weight of the flow. The non-PET component in such a flow may include, for example, other plastics in amounts of at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, or at least 10 weight percent and / or 25 weight percent or less, 22 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 12 weight percent or less, or 10 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the flow, or such plastics may be present in amounts ranging from 1 to 22 weight percent, 2 to 15 weight percent, or 5 to 12 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, in particular, for example, when the MPW includes colored selected plastics, the non-PET component may include other plastics in amounts ranging from 2 to 35 weight percent, 5 to 30 weight percent, or 10 to 25 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow.

[0029]

[0040] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, all or part of the MPW may originate from a reclaimer facility and may contain, for example, PET in amounts of 85–99.9 weight percent, 90–99.9 weight percent, or 95–99 weight percent based on the total weight of the flow. Non-PET components in such a flow may include, for example, other plastics in amounts of at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, or at least 10 weight percent and / or 25 weight percent or less, 22 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 12 weight percent or less, or 10 weight percent or less based on the total weight of the flow, or such non-PET components may be present in amounts ranging from 1–22 weight percent, 2–15 weight percent, or 5–12 weight percent based on the total weight of the flow.

[0030]

[0041] As used herein, the term “plastic” may include any organic synthetic polymer that is solid at 25°C and 1 atmospheric pressure. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the polymer may have a number-average molecular weight (Mn) of at least 75, or at least 100, or at least 125, or at least 150, or at least 300, or at least 500, or at least 1000, or at least 5,000, or at least 10,000, or at least 20,000, or at least 30,000, or at least 50,000, or at least 70,000, or at least 90,000, or at least 100,000, or at least 130,000 Daltons. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of the polymer can be at least 300, or at least 500, or at least 1,000, or at least 5,000, or at least 10,000, or at least 20,000, or at least 30,000, or at least 50,000, or at least 70,000, or at least 90,000, or at least 100,000, or at least 130,000, or at least 150,000, or at least 300,000 Daltons.

[0031]

[0042] Examples of suitable plastics, but not limited to these, include aromatic and aliphatic polyesters, polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene, polytetrafluoroethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), cellulose-based, epoxide, polyamide, phenolic resins, polyacetal, polycarbonate, polyphenylene-based alloys, poly(methyl methacrylate), styrene-containing polymers, polyurethane, vinyl-based polymers, styrene-acrylonitrile, thermoplastic elastomers other than tires, urea-containing polymers, and melamine.

[0032]

[0043] Examples of polyesters include polyesters having repeating aromatic or cyclic units. Examples include those containing repeating terephthalate, isophthalate, or naphthalate units, such as PET, modified PET, and PEN, or those containing repeating furanate units. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is also a suitable example of a polyester. As used herein, “PET” or “polyethylene terephthalate” refers to a homopolymer of polyethylene terephthalate, or polyethylene terephthalate modified with one or more acids and / or glycol modifying factors, and / or containing residues or moieties other than ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, such as isophthalic acid, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, diethylene glycol, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (TMCD), cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), propylene glycol, isosorbide, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and / or neopentyl glycol (NPG).

[0033]

[0044] Similarly, the definitions of the terms "PET" and "polyethylene terephthalate" include polyesters having repeating terephthalate units (whether or not they contain repeating ethylene glycol-based units) and one or more residues or portions of glycols, such as TMCD, CHDM, propylene glycol, or NPG, isosorbide, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and / or diethylene glycol, or combinations thereof. Examples of polymers having repeating terephthalate units include, but are not limited to, polypropylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and their copolyesters. Examples of aliphatic polyesters include, but are not limited to, polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid, polycaprolactone, and polyethylene adipate. Polymers may include, for example, mixed aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters, including mixed terephthalate / adipate.

[0034]

[0045] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic may include at least one type of plastic having repeated terephthalate units, such plastic present in amounts of at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30 and / or 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the flow, or such plastic may be present in amounts of 1 to 45 weight percent, 2 to 40 weight percent, or 5 to 40 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow. Similar amounts of copolyesters having multiple cyclohexanedimethanol moieties, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol moieties, or combinations thereof may also be present.

[0035]

[0046] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic may include at least one type of plastic having repeated terephthalate units, such plastic present in an amount of at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, or at least 90 weight percent and / or 99.9 weight percent or less, 99 weight percent or less, 97 weight percent or less, 95 weight percent or less, 90 weight percent or less or 85 weight percent or less, or such plastic present in an amount of 30 to 99.9 weight percent, 50 to 99.9 weight percent, or 75 to 99 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow. It can exist within a certain percentage range.

[0036]

[0047] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic may contain terephthalate repeating units in an amount of at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, or at least 45 weight percent and / or 75 weight percent or less, 72 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, or 65 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the plastic in the waste plastic flow, or the waste plastic may contain terephthalate repeating units in an amount ranging from 1 to 75 weight percent, 5 to 70 weight percent, or 25 to 75 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow.

[0037]

[0048] Examples of specific polyolefins may include low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), atactic polypropylene, isotactic polypropylene, syndiotactic polypropylene, crosslinked polyethylene, amorphous polyolefins, and copolymers of any one of the polyolefins mentioned above. Waste plastics may include polymers containing linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polymethylpentene, polybutene-1, and their copolymers. Waste plastics may also include flash-spun high-density polyethylene.

[0038]

[0049] The waste plastic may include thermoplastic polymers, thermosetting polymers, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic may contain, based on the total weight of the flow, one or more thermosetting polymers in amounts of at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30 weight percent and / or 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2 weight percent or less, one or more thermosetting polymers, based on the total weight of the flow, or the thermosetting polymers may be present in amounts of 0.1 to 45 weight percent, 1 to 40 weight percent, 2 to 35 weight percent, or 2 to 20 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow.

[0039]

[0050] Alternatively, or in addition, waste plastics may contain, based on the total weight of the flow, at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30 weight percent and / or 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2 weight percent or less of cellulose material, or the cellulose material may be present in amounts ranging from 0.1 to 45 weight percent, 1 to 40 weight percent, or 2 to 15 weight percent, based on the total weight of the flow. Examples of cellulose material include cellulose acetate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose propionate acetate, cellulose butyrate acetate, and regenerated cellulose, such as viscose. Furthermore, the cellulose material may include cellulose derivatives having an acyl substitution degree of less than 3, 2.9 or less, 2.8 or less, 2.7 or less, or 2.6 or less and / or at least 1.7, at least 1.8, or at least 1.9, or 1.8 to 2.8, or 1.7 to 2.9, or 1.9 to 2.9.

[0040]

[0051] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Furthermore, waste plastics may include STYROFOAM® or expanded polystyrene.

[0041]

[0052] Waste plastics may originate from one or more of several sources. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastics may originate from plastic bottles, diapers, eyeglass frames, films, packaging materials, carpets (residential, commercial, and / or automotive), textiles (clothing and other fabrics), and combinations thereof.

[0042]

[0053] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) supplied to a chemical recycling facility may include one or more plastics having or derived from plastics having resin ID codes numbered 1 to 7 along with the Chasing Arrow Triangle established by SPI. The waste plastics may also include one or more plastics that are not generally mechanically recycled. Examples of such plastics, but not limited to, include plastics having resin ID code 3 (polyvinyl chloride), resin ID code 5 (polypropylene), resin ID code 6 (polystyrene), and / or resin ID code 7 (others). In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a plastic having resin ID codes 3-7, or 3, 5, 6, 7, or at least one, at least two, at least three, at least four, or at least five of these combinations may be present in the waste plastic in amounts of at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 12, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, or at least 40 weight percent and / or 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, or 35 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of all plastics.

[0043]

[0054] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, or at least 35 weight percent and / or 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, or 5 weight percent or less of the total plastic components in waste plastics supplied to a chemical recycling facility may include plastics that do not have resin ID codes 3, 5, 6, and / or 7 (for example, if the plastic is not classified). At least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, or at least 35 weight percent and / or 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, or 5 weight percent or less of the total plastic components in the waste plastics supplied to the chemical recycling facility 10 may include plastics that do not have resin ID codes 4 to 7, or it may be based on the total weight of the plastic components. It can be in the range of 0.1 to 60 weight percent, 1 to 55 weight percent, or 2 to 45 weight percent.

[0044]

[0055] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastics (e.g., MPW) supplied to a chemical recycling facility may include plastics not classified as resin ID codes 3-7 or ID codes 3, 5, 6, or 7. The total amount of plastics not classified as resin ID codes 3-7 or ID codes 3, 5, 6, or 7 in the waste plastics is at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, or at least 75 parts by weight, based on the total weight of plastics in the waste plastic stream. It may be 95% by weight or less, 90% by weight or less, 85% by weight or less, 80% by weight or less, 75% by weight or less, 70% by weight or less, 65% by weight or less, 60% by weight or less, 55% by weight or less, 50% by weight or less, 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less or 35% by weight or less, or it may be in the range of 0.1 to 95% by weight, 0.5 to 90% by weight, or 1 to 80% by weight, based on the total weight of plastic in the waste plastic stream.

[0045]

[0056] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW includes plastics having or derived from plastics having at least one, at least two, at least three, or at least four different types of resin ID codes in weight percent of at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent.

[0046]

[0057] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW comprises a multicomponent polymer. As used herein, the term “multicomponent polymer” means an article and / or particles comprising at least one synthetic or natural polymer combined with, bound to, or otherwise physically and / or chemically associated with, at least one other polymer and / or nonpolymeric solid. The polymer may be a synthetic polymer or plastic, e.g., PET, olefin, and / or nylon. The nonpolymeric solid may be a metal, e.g., aluminum, or other nonplastic solid as described herein. The multicomponent polymer may include metallized plastics.

[0047]

[0058] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW comprises a multi-component plastic in the form of a multilayer polymer. As used herein, the term “multilayer polymer” means a multi-component polymer comprising two or more physically distinct layers, PET and at least one other polymer, and / or a non-polymeric solid that is physically and / or chemically associated with them. A polymer or plastic is considered a multilayer polymer even if a transition zone exists between two layers, for example, if the transition zone exists within an adhesive-bonded layer or a co-extruded layer. Adhesives between two layers are not considered layers. A multilayer polymer may include layers comprising PET and one or more additional layers, at least one of which is a synthetic or natural polymer different from PET, or a polymer that does not have ethylene terephthalate repeating units, or a polymer that does not have alkylene terephthalate repeating units. It is a rimer ("non-PET polymer layer") or other non-polymeric solid.

[0048]

[0059] Examples of non-PET polymer layers include nylon, polylactic acid, polyolefin, polycarbonate, ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol, and / or other plastics or plastic films associated with PET-containing articles and / or particles, as well as natural polymers, such as whey protein. Multilayer polymers may include metal layers, such as aluminum, provided that at least one additional polymer layer is other than the PET layer. The layers may be bonded by adhesive bonding or other means, physically adjacent (i.e., articles compressed against the film), tackified (i.e., plastics heated and stuck together), co-extruded plastic films, or otherwise bonded to PET-containing articles. Multilayer polymers may also include PET films associated with articles containing other plastics in the same or similar manner. MPW may include multicomponent polymers in the form of PET and at least one other plastic, such as polyolefins (e.g., polypropylene) and / or other synthetic or natural polymers combined with a single physical phase. For example, MPW comprises a heterogeneous mixture containing a compatibilizer, PET, and at least one other synthetic or natural polymer plastic (e.g., a non-PET plastic) combined within a single physical phase. As used herein, the term “compatibilizer” refers to an agent capable of combining at least two otherwise immiscible polymers together in a physical mixture (i.e., blend).

[0049]

[0060] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW contains 20% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, or 0.1% by weight or less, based on the dry plastic. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW contains 0.01 to 20% by weight, 0.05 to 10% by weight, 0.1 to 5% by weight, or 1 to 2% by weight, based on the dry plastic.

[0050]

[0061] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW includes a multi-component plastic of 40% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less, based on the dry plastic. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW includes a multi-component plastic of 0.1 to 40% by weight, 1 to 20% by weight, or 2 to 10% by weight, based on the dry plastic. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW includes a multi-layer plastic of 40% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less, based on the dry plastic. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW includes a multi-layer plastic of 0.1 to 40%, 1 to 20, or 2 to 10% by weight, based on the dry plastic.

[0051]

[0062] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW feed material to the chemical recycling facility 10 in flow 100 contains, on a dry basis, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 12% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 8% by weight or less, 6% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 4% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of biological waste material, with the total weight of the MPW feed material being 100% by weight. MPW feedstocks, on a dry basis, contain 0.01–20, 0.1–10, 0.2–5, or 0.5–1 weight percent of biowaste material, with the total weight of MPW feedstocks being 100 weight percent. As used herein, the term “biowaste” refers to material of living or organic origin. Examples of biowaste material include, but are not limited to, cotton, wood, sawdust, food scraps, animals and animal parts, plants and plant parts, and fertilizers.

[0052]

[0063] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW feedstock comprises, on a dry basis, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 12% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 8% by weight or less, 6% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 4% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of manufactured cellulose products, based on 100% by weight of the total weight of the MPW feedstock. The MPW feedstock comprises, on a dry basis, 0.01 to 20%, 0.1 to 10, 0.2 to 5, or 0.5 to 1% by weight of manufactured cellulose products, based on 100% by weight of the total weight of the MPW feedstock. As used herein, the term “manufactured cellulose products” refers to non-natural (i.e., artificial or machine-made) articles containing cellulosic fibers, and their scraps. Examples of manufactured cellulose products, but not limited to, include paper and cardboard.

[0053]

[0064] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) supplied to a chemical recycling facility may contain, based on the total weight of plastics in the waste plastic supply, at least 0.001, at least 0.01, at least 0.05, at least 0.1, or at least 0.25 weight percent and / or 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 4 weight percent or less, 3 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, 1 weight percent or less, 0.75 weight percent or less, or 0.5 weight percent or less of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

[0054]

[0065] Furthermore, or alternatively, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) supplied to a chemical recycling facility may contain at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 2, at least 4, or at least 6 weight percent and / or 25 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2.5 weight percent or less of non-plastic solids. The non-plastic solids may include inert filler materials (e.g., calcium carbonate, hydrated aluminum silicate, alumina trihydrate, calcium sulfate), rocks, glass, and / or additives (e.g., thixotropes, pigments and colorants, flame retardants, inhibitors, UV inhibitors and stabilizers, conductive metals or carbon, release agents, e.g., zinc stearate, waxes, and silicones).

[0055]

[0066] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the MPW may contain at least 0.01, at least 0.1, at least 0.5, or at least 1 weight percent and / or 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2.5 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the MPW flow or composition. The amount of liquid in the MPW may be in the range of 0.01 to 25 weight percent, 0.5 to 10 weight percent, or 1 to 5 weight percent, based on the total weight of the MPW flow 100.

[0056]

[0067] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, MPW may contain liquids in an amount of at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, or at least 55 weight percent and / or 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, or 35 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the waste plastic. The liquids in the waste plastic may be in the range of 35 to 65 weight percent, 40 to 60 weight percent, or 45 to 55 weight percent, based on the total weight of the waste plastic.

[0057]

[0068] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the amount of fabric (including fabric fibers) in the MPW flow 100 of the line may be at least 0.1 weight percent, or at least 0.5 weight percent, or at least 1 weight percent, or at least 2 weight percent, or at least 5 weight percent, or at least 8 weight percent, or at least 10 weight percent, or at least 15 weight percent, or at least 20 weight percent of fabric or fabric fibers, based on the weight of the MPW. The amount of fabric (including fabric fibers) in the MPW in the flow 100 may be 50 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 8 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, 1 weight percent or less, 0.5 weight percent or less, 0.1 weight percent or less, 0.05 weight percent or less, 0.01 weight percent or less, or 0.001 weight percent or less, based on the weight of the MPW flow 100. The amount of fabric in MPW flow 100 can be in the range of 0.1 to 50 weight percent, 5 to 40 weight percent, or 10 to 30 weight percent, based on the total weight of MPW flow 100.

[0058]

[0069] The MPW introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10 may contain recycled textiles. Textiles may contain natural and / or synthetic fibers, rovings, yarns, nonwoven webs, cloths, fabrics and products made from or containing any of the above items. Textiles may include woven, knitted, knotted, sewn, fringed, and compressed fibers, for example, formed into felt, embroidered, laced, crocheted, braided, or nonwoven webs and materials. Textiles may include fabrics and fibers separated from textiles, or other products containing fibers, scraps or off-spec fibers or yarns or fabrics, or any other source of loose fibers and yarns. Textiles may also include short fibers, continuous fibers, yarns, tow bands, twisted and / or spun yarns, raw fabrics made from yarns, finished fabrics produced by wet processing of raw fabrics, and garments made from finished fabrics or any other fabrics. Textiles include clothing, interior furnishings, and industrial-type textiles. Textiles may include textiles that are industrially used after use (before consumer use) or after consumer use, or both.

[0059]

[0070] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, textiles can include garments, which can generally be defined as anything worn by a person or made for the body. Such textiles can include sports coats, suits, trousers and casual pants or work trousers, shirts, socks, sportswear, dresses, underwear, outerwear, e.g., rain jackets, winter jackets and coats, sweaters, protective clothing, uniforms, and accessories, e.g., scarves, hats, and gloves. Examples of textiles in the interior furniture category include upholstery and slipcovers for furniture, carpets and rugs, curtains, bedding, e.g., sheets, pillowcases, down comforters, duvets, mattress covers; linens, tablecloths, towels, washcloths, and blankets. Examples of industrial textiles include transport (automobile, airplane, train, bus) seats, floor mats, trunk liners, and Ceilings; outdoor furniture and cushions, tents, backpacks, travel bags, ropes, conveyor belts, calender roll felt, polishing cloths, rags, soil erosion control fabrics and geotextiles, agricultural mats and screens, personal protective equipment, bulletproof vests, medical bandages, sutures, tapes, etc.

[0060]

[0071] Nonwoven webs classified as textiles do not include the categories of wet-process nonwoven webs and articles made therefrom. While various articles with the same function can be produced by dry or wet processes, articles made from dry-process nonwoven webs are classified as textiles. Suitable articles that can be formed from dry-process nonwoven webs, as described herein, include articles for personal, consumer, industrial, food service, medical, and other end uses. Specific examples, but not limited to, include neonatal wipes, flushable wipes, disposable diapers, training pants, feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins and tampons, adult incontinence pads, underwear, or briefs, and PET training pads. Other examples include a variety of different dry or wet wipes, including those for consumer use (e.g., personal care or household) and industrial use (e.g., food service, healthcare, or professional). Nonwoven webs can also be used as pillow pads, mattresses, and upholstery, and as stuffing for quilts and bedding. In the medical and industrial fields, the nonwoven web of the present invention can be used for consumer, medical, and industrial face masks, protective clothing, caps, and shoe covers, disposable sheets, surgical gowns, drapes, bandages, and medical bandages.

[0061]

[0072] Furthermore, the nonwoven webs described herein can be used in environmental fabrics, such as geotextiles and tarps, oil and chemical absorbent pads, and building materials, such as soundproofing or insulation materials, tents, timber and soil covers and sheets. The nonwoven webs can also be used in other consumer end uses, such as carpet backing, consumer, industrial, and agricultural articles, insulation or soundproofing materials, and packaging in various types of clothing.

[0062]

[0073] The dry nonwoven webs described herein can also be used for a variety of filtration applications, including transportation (e.g., automotive or aviation), commercial, residential, industrial, or other specialized applications. Examples include nanofiber webs used for microfiltration, as well as filter elements for consumer or industrial air filters or liquid filters (e.g., gasoline, oil, water), including end uses such as tea bags, coffee filters, and dryer sheets. Furthermore, the nonwoven webs described herein, though not limited to these, can be used to form a variety of parts for automotive use, including brake pads, trunk liners, carpet tufting, and underpadding.

[0063]

[0074] Examples of textiles include single-type or multiple-type natural fibers and / or single-type or multiple-type synthetic fibers. Examples of textile fiber combinations include all natural, all synthetic, two or more natural fibers, two or more synthetic fibers, one natural fiber and one synthetic fiber, one natural fiber and two or more synthetic fibers, two or more natural fibers and one synthetic fiber, and two or more natural fibers and two or more synthetic fibers.

[0064]

[0075] Natural fibers include those of plant or animal origin. Natural fibers can be cellulose-based, hemicellulose-based, and lignin-based. Examples of plant-based natural fibers include hardwood pulp, softwood pulp, and wood flour; as well as wheat straw, rice straw, and abacus. Examples of plant fibers include ka, koir, cotton, flax, hemp, jute, bagasse, kapok, papyrus, ramie, rattan, climbing plants, kenaf, abaca, henecken, sisal, soybeans, grain straw, bamboo, reed, esparto grass, bagasse, sabaygrass, milkweed cotton fibers, pineapple leaf fibers, switchgrass, and other plant fibers, including plant fibers from lignin-containing plants. Examples of animal-derived fibers include wool, silk, mohair, cashmere, goat hair, horse hair, bird fibers, camel hair, angora wool, and alpaca wool.

[0065]

[0076] Synthetic fibers are fibers that are at least partially synthesized or derivatized or regenerated through chemical reactions, and include, but are not limited to, rayon, viscose, mercerized fibers or other types of regenerated cellulose (conversion of natural cellulose to soluble cellulosic derivatives and subsequent regeneration), e.g., lyocell (also known as TENCEL®), Cupro, Modal, acetate, e.g., polyvinyl acetate, polyamides including nylon, polyester, e.g., PET, olefin polymers, e.g., polypropylene and polyethylene, polycarbonate, polysulfate, polysulfone, polyether, e.g., polyether-urea known as Spandex or elastane, polyacrylate, acrylonitrile copolymer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, sulfopolyester fibers, and combinations thereof.

[0066]

[0077] Before entering the chemical recycling facility, textiles can be reduced in size by shredding, cutting, haloing, powdering, pulverizing, or cutting to produce reduced-size textiles. Textiles can also be densified (e.g., pelletized) before entering the chemical recycling facility. Examples of densification processes include extrusion (e.g., pelletizing), molding (e.g., briquetting), and agglomeration (e.g., by externally applied heat, heat generated by frictional force, or by adding one or more adhesive substances, which may themselves be non-virgin polymers). Alternatively, or in addition, textiles may be in any of the forms described herein and may be exposed to one or more of the previously described steps in the pretreatment facility 20 before being processed in the rest of the chemical recycling facility 10 shown in Figure 1.

[0067]

[0078] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and one or more polyolefins (PO) together constitute at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of the waste plastic (e.g., MPW) supplied to the chemical recycling facility of flow 100 in Figure 1. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can constitute at least 0.001, at least 0.01, at least 0.05, at least 0.1, at least 0.25, or at least 0.5 weight percent and / or 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 4 weight percent or less, 3 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, 1 weight percent or less, 0.75 weight percent or less, or 0.5 weight percent or less of the waste plastic, based on the total weight of plastic in the waste plastic introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10.

[0068]

[0079] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic is at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, and at least 4 based on the total weight of plastic in the waste plastic introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10. It may contain 0, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of PET.

[0069]

[0080] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the waste plastic may contain PO in amounts of at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40 weight percent and / or 95 weight percent or less, 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less or 35 weight percent or less, or PO may be present in amounts ranging from 5 to 75 weight percent, 10 to 60 weight percent, or 20 to 35 weight percent, based on the total weight of plastic in the waste plastic introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10.

[0070] Sources of waste plastics

[0081] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) introduced into a chemical recycling facility may be supplied from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, municipal recycling facilities (MRFs) or reclaimer facilities or other mechanical or chemical sorting or separation facilities, manufacturers or processing plants or commercial production facilities, or retailers or distributors or wholesalers who possess industrially used and pre-consumer recyclable materials, directly from homes / businesses (i.e., unprocessed recyclable materials), landfills, collection centers, convenience stores, or from ports or ships or warehouses thereon. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the sources of waste plastics (e.g., MPW) do not include state deposit return facilities where consumers can deposit certain recyclable items (e.g., plastic containers, bottles, etc.) and receive a refund from the state. However, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a source of waste plastic (e.g., MPW) may include a state deposit return facility where consumers can deposit certain recyclable items (e.g., plastic containers, bottles, etc.) and receive a refund from the state. Such return facilities are commonly found, for example, in grocery stores.

[0071]

[0082] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastics may be provided as a waste stream from another processing facility, e.g., a municipal recycling facility (MRF) or reclaimer facility, or as a plastic-containing mixture that includes waste plastics sorted by consumers and placed for collection at roadsides or major convenience stations. In one or more such embodiments, the waste plastic includes one or more MRF products or co-products, reclaimer co-products, sorted plastic-containing mixtures, and / or PET-containing waste plastics from a plastic article manufacturing facility, which include at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent of PET and / or 99.9 weight percent or less, 99 weight percent or less, 98 weight percent or less, 97 weight percent or less, 96 weight percent or less, or 95 weight percent or less of PET, or it may be in the range of 10 to 99.9 weight percent, 20 to 99 weight percent, 30 to 95 weight percent, or 40 to 90 weight percent of PET, based on the dry plastic. In one or more such embodiments, the waste plastic is based on the dry plastic The mixture contains a certain amount of PET-containing reclaimer co-product or plastic-containing mixture containing at least 1, at least 10, at least 30, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent and / or 99.9 weight percent or less, 99 weight percent or less, or 90 weight percent or less of PET, or it may be in the range of 1 to 99.9 weight percent, 1 to 99 weight percent, or 10 to 90 weight percent based on dry plastic.

[0072]

[0083] As described above, exemplary sources of plastic waste introduced into a chemical recycling facility may include co-products of PET-containing reclaimers (e.g., from PET reclaimer facilities), PET-containing products or co-products from municipal recycling facilities (MRFs), sorted plastic-containing mixtures, and / or PET-containing waste plastics from plastic article manufacturing facilities. Thus, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the technology of the present invention relates to a method of recycling plastic waste comprising the step of supplying at least a portion of one or more PET-containing materials, including co-products of reclaimers, PET-containing MRF products or co-products, sorted plastic-containing mixtures, and / or PET-containing waste plastics from plastic article manufacturing facilities, to a chemical recycling facility, wherein at least a portion of the co-products can be used as feedstock for a chemical recycling process, e.g., depolymerization, as described in more detail below. The chemical recycling facility may include, but is not limited to, solvolysis facilities, including alcohollysis facilities, methanolylysis facilities, glycolysis facilities, and / or hydrolysis facilities.

[0073]

[0084] One or more PET-containing materials may be supplied directly to the solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility, or they may be subjected to one or more pretreatment steps before being supplied to the solvolysis facility. For example, as shown in Figure 1, a stream of plastic waste 100 from one or more plastic waste sources may be introduced into a pretreatment facility 20 within the chemical recycling facility 10, which can be designed to produce a PET-rich stream 112 and a PET-depleted stream 114. The PET-rich stream 112 from the pretreatment facility 20 may be introduced into the solvolysis facility 30. Alternatively, or instead, a stream of plastic waste 100a from one or more plastic waste sources may be introduced directly into the solvolysis facility 30 (i.e., without being introduced into the pretreatment facility 20). Whether or not it is subjected to pretreatment, a certain amount of PET-containing material from one or more waste plastic sources is ultimately supplied to the solvolysis facility 30.

[0074]

[0085] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, at least a portion of one or more PET-containing materials is fed directly into a dissolver in a solvolysis facility 30, where the one or more PET-containing materials are mixed with solvent 212 and at least partially liquefied (see Figure 3). In one or more such embodiments, particularly when supplied directly to a dissolving machine, at least a portion of one or more PET-containing materials may include 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 2, or less by weight percent of nylon, polycarbonate, crosslinking agents (e.g., TMA), carpet adhesives, high filler component materials, non-reactive materials (i.e., materials that do not react in the solvolysis reactor or do not react to the extent that they form substantial reaction products), including non-reactive metal oxides (e.g., titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, and alumina), calcium carbonate, talc, silica, glass, glass beads, reactive metal oxides (which may be methylated or glycolated in the reactor), and / or materials that form azeotropic mixtures with water, methanol, and / or ethylene glycol. Corrosive components, e.g., hydroxide solutions or other corrosive solutions as defined herein. However, it may also be added to solvolysis facilities, such as solvolysis reactors and / or solvolysis reactor outlets.

[0075]

[0086] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, at least a portion of one or more PET-containing materials can be liquefied, for example, by melting and / or by one or more other liquefaction processes described herein, and subsequently supplied to reaction 210 in solvolysis facility 30 (see Figure 3). In such embodiments, at least a portion of one or more PET-containing materials may also be supplied to a melt extruder, where it is used as a feed system to the solvolysis facility reactor.

[0076]

[0087] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, one or more PET-containing materials described above may be the sole plastic-containing feedstock to the solvolysis facility 30 (i.e., the PET-rich stream 112 from the pretreatment facility 20 described herein does not feed one or more PET-containing materials to the solvolysis facility 30). However, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, one or more PET-containing materials may be supplied to the solvolysis facility 30 together with one or more other plastic-containing feedstocks (e.g., the PET-rich stream 112 from the pretreatment facility 20 described herein). One or more PET-containing materials to the solvolysis facility 30 may contain at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent of the plastic-containing feedstock.

[0077]

[0088] As described above, one or more PET-containing materials may be subjected to one or more pretreatment steps before being supplied to the solvolysis facility 30. The pretreatment step may include supplying one or more PET-containing materials to the pretreatment facility 20 described herein, and / or carrying out one or more of the processes described in the pretreatment section herein. In one or more embodiments, the pretreatment includes one or more of the following: (i) separating at least a portion of the PET from the PET-containing material using one or more density separation processes (e.g., buoyancy or centrifugal force); and / or (ii) drying the PET-containing material; and / or (iii) densifying (e.g., pelletizing) at least a portion of the PET-containing material.

[0078]

[0089] One or more types of PET-containing materials may be supplied to the chemical recycling facility 10 by various transport methods and in various forms. For example, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the PET-containing material may be transported to the chemical recycling facility by truck, rail, and / or transport in the form of whole articles, particles, bundled bales, unbundled articles, containers, and / or piles. For example, the PET-containing material can be supplied to the chemical recycling facility 10 directly from a reclaimer facility and / or MRF facility using a transport system that interconnects the chemical recycling facility 10 with the reclaimer and / or city recycling facilities.

[0079]

[0090] The composition of one or more PET-containing materials varies depending on the specific source of the material, as described in more detail below. However, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a portion of the PET-containing material may contain at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent of PET on a dry basis. A portion of the PET-containing material may contain 10 weight percent or less, 8 weight percent or less, or 6 weight percent on a dry basis. It may contain less than 1 cent, less than 4 weight percent, less than 2 weight percent, or less than 1 weight percent of halogens. The PET-containing portion may contain less than 90 weight percent, less than 80 weight percent, less than 70 weight percent, less than 60 weight percent, less than 50 weight percent, less than 40 weight percent, less than 30 weight percent, less than 20 weight percent, less than 10 weight percent, less than 5 weight percent, or less than 1 weight percent of polyolefins on a dry basis.

[0080] Selected plastic-containing mixture

[0091] As more municipalities increasingly promote or mandate the recycling of a variety of materials, including plastics, the supply of PET-containing sorted plastic-containing mixtures is growing. As used herein, the term “sorted plastic-containing mixture” refers to a certain amount of mixed plastic waste sorted by consumers and placed at roadsides or major convenience stations for collection, and may include clear and / or colored plastic articles, or may be sorted by garbage trucks or municipalities. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, sorted plastic-containing mixtures do not include waste plastics from state deposit return facilities as described above. However, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, sorted plastic-containing mixtures may include waste plastics from state deposit return facilities. Sorted plastic-containing mixtures typically require further processing and / or purification before the plastic material can be used in mechanical recycling processes, although this need is not always present.

[0081] PET-containing MRF products and / or co-products

[0092] The sorted plastic-containing mixtures are collected by public health providers and transported to municipal recycling facilities (also known as material recovery facilities or MRFs) where at least several attempts are made to separate the mixture into certain amounts of similar materials. Often, at least some initial aspects of this sorting are carried out manually. In other aspects, equipment including optical separators, magnetic separators, and eddy current separators is used to perform more sophisticated sorting and removal of various materials present in the plastic-containing mixtures. For example, colored plastics can be separated from clear plastics. Generally, "clear plastics" are considered to be plastics that appear colorless to the average human observer but are generally transparent to light in the visible spectrum. "Colored plastics" are generally considered to be any plastic that is not transparent. Glass, paper, and metals can also be separated from plastics.

[0082]

[0093] PET-containing plastics can be separated from other types of plastics to form plastic materials that are rich in a certain amount of PET. Any other materials from the MRF (i.e., products other than PET-rich products) can be recovered from the MRF co-products. However, one or more types of MRF co-products generally contain some amount of PET. The MRF products and / or co-products may be in the form of whole articles, particles (e.g., pulverized, pelletized, fibrous plastic particles), bundled bales (e.g., whole articles compressed and tied together), unbundled articles (i.e., not in bales or packaged), containers (e.g., boxes, sacks, trailers, wagons, loader buckets), piles (e.g., on concrete slabs in buildings), and / or physically transported free material (e.g., particles on a conveyor belt) or pneumatically transported free material (e.g., particles mixed with air in a transport pipe).

[0083] Co-products of PET-containing reclaimers

[0094] Reclaimer facilities, particularly PET reclaimers, are typically operated by receiving plastic waste from, for example, MRFs, and producing r-PET containing at least 99 or at least 99.9 weight percent PET, which is then used in mechanical recycling facilities to produce r-PET products. Reclaimer facilities produce r-PET by subjecting plastic waste to various processes that separate PET from non-plastic components and non-PET plastic materials. However, these separation processes typically have less than 100% efficiency and result in some amount of PET that is normally present in the co-products. Reclaimer facilities may also include processes that produce reclaimer co-products of high purity PET (at least 99 or at least 99.9 weight percent) in forms undesirable for mechanical recycling facilities. As used herein, the term “reclaimer co-products” refers to any material, including colored rPET, that is separated or recovered by a reclaimer facility and not recovered as clear rPET products. The reclaimer co-products described above and below are generally considered waste products and can normally be sent to landfills and / or incinerators.

[0084] PET-containing waste plastics from plastic product manufacturing facilities

[0095] Another source of PET-containing waste plastic includes plastic article manufacturing facilities. These facilities can produce, for example, plastic bottles, plastic containers, plastic caps, plastic lids, plastic straws, plastic bags, plastic films, and a variety of standard and customized plastic articles. A variety of manufacturing methods can be used, but are not limited to, casting, rotational molding, injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming (vacuum forming), extrusion, and 3D printing. These processes may generate waste plastic due to errors in the process or as a result of process-specific factors. For example, waste plastic may include parts of defective plastic articles that have deformation, surface defects, and / or brittle parts. Waste plastic may also include other products of the molding process, such as intermediate molded parts, such as bottle pre-molded parts or sheets. Waste plastic may also be scrap plastic removed from plastic articles during the manufacturing process, such as edge trim from film or sheet plastic. These waste plastics may generally contain some amount (or more primarily) PET. Waste plastic may also be removed or discharged from manufacturing equipment used to produce plastic articles as part of the manufacturing start-up or end-up process.

[0085] PET Reclaimer Facility

[0096] As described above, one or more PET-containing materials used as feedstock for chemical recycling facilities, and in particular solvolysis facilities, may include one or more co-products from reclaimer facilities, and in particular PET reclaimer facilities. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a portion of the PET-containing material may include co-products of at least two PET-containing reclaimers.

[0086]

[0097] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary reclaimer facility 800 illustrating typical rPET products and co-products derived from the reclaimer facility 800. As shown, for example, a plastic feed 802 from the MRF may be fed into the reclaimer zone 810. The reclaimer zone 810 typically includes various separation processes (described below) to produce a substantially pure r-PET plastic stream 812 containing at least 99, or at least 99.9 weight percent, of PET relative to dry plastic. The reclaimer zone 810 may also produce one or more reclaimer co-products including wet granules 803, colored plastic 804, eddy flow rejects 805, flake sorter rejects 806, and / or dry granules 807.

[0087]

[0098] The r-PET plastic stream 812 may contain a certain amount of rPET plastic flakes, which can be recovered as an rPET flake stream 814. Alternatively, at least a portion of the r-PET plastic stream 812 may be fed into a densification (e.g., pelletization) zone 820. The densification zone 820 generally includes various processes (described below) for converting the rPET flakes from the stream 812 into desired rPET pellets 818. The densification zone 820 may also produce one or more reclaimer co-products including PET purging material 815, wet granules 816, and / or dry granules 817.

[0088]

[0099] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary reclaimer facility 800 illustrating some specific processing steps performed within the reclaimer facility 800 and the products produced and co-products derived therefrom. The processing steps are shown and described below in a specific order, but it should be understood that other reclaimer facilities may perform one or more processing steps in a different order than that shown in the figure and described herein, and / or may omit the shown and described processing steps, and / or may include additional processing steps that are not shown or described.

[0089]

[0100] As shown in Figure 5, a certain amount of baling plastic 801 is M The material is supplied from the RF facility to the reclaimer facility 800 and fed to the wire-cutting device 830 and / or the debaler 832 to produce a certain amount of free plastic waste. The wire-cutting device 830 avoids the risk of injury associated with manual wire cutting. The debaler 832 typically includes one or more broad blades that come into contact with the wire-cut bale and break it down into free plastic waste. The free plastic waste can then be transported 834 to a heavy waste removal process 836, for example, on a belt or pneumatic conveyor. The heavy waste removal 836 can use gravity and / or pneumatic conveyors to drop "heavier" components (e.g., densities greater than 2 g / cc) from the transported flow. Such heavier components may include metals, rocks, sand, etc. However, some amounts of PET and / or other plastic materials may also be intentionally or unintentionally removed along with heavier components, and thus the metals, plastics and other components removed at this stage may be recovered as a co-product 837 of a reclaimer containing heavier components (e.g., metal-containing).

[0090]

[0101] Next, the plastic waste from which heavier components have been removed is used for friction washers 83 The process can be turned to 8, where food or other substances adhering to the plastic waste are washed away with a stream of water and / or the plastic waste is brought into contact with a bumper to remove food or material from the plastic. In this and other steps, including the water washing or rinsing step, the resulting stream of water 839 can be filtered 840 separately from or together with the streams of water from the other steps described herein. The filter 840 is washed from time to time, and the removed solids may include PET. Further or alternately, the filtrate may contain some amount of PET and / or other plastic material. Either or both of the solids and / or PET-containing filtrate from the filtration process may be in the form of wet granules 841 and can be recovered as a co-product of the reclaimer. Where used herein, the terms “filter,” “filter,” and “filtered” refer to processes and / or apparatus for carrying out solid / liquid separation, which include, but are not limited to, the use of media, centrifugation, and / or precipitation.

[0091]

[0102] After friction washer 838, then plastic waste is one or more near-infrared Colored plastics and / or other plastic and non-plastic materials that were not recognized as PET-containing plastic materials by the sorting machine (manual or mechanical) can be removed by subjecting them to non-invasive (NIR), optical, and / or manual sorting steps. As shown, the process involves two NIR sorting machines 842, 844 and manual sorting steps 846, 848, resulting in four flows of colored plastic mixtures 843, 845, 847, 849 as reclaimer co-products. NIR and optical sorting machines typically reject anything that the sensors do not recognize as completely transparent PET material. This rejection may include PET bottles with labels and / or colored caps. However, certain NIR and / or optical sorting machines do not have the ability to "see" and may not reject black colored plastics, such as clamshell containers that are partially carbon black. Therefore, black colored plastics are often not rejected by these sorting machines. Furthermore, an air blower is located downstream of the sensor, and some amount of clear PET material may be rejected along with the colored PET material. Manual sorting machines typically "pull out" or reject any material that is clearly not clear PET bins or material, as well as PET bins containing liners or other known problematic components, for the downstream reclaimer process. Thus, the colored plastic mixtures derived from these processes typically contain some amount of PET and / or other plastic material in the form of colored plastic-containing mixtures, which can be recovered as co-products of the reclaimer.

[0092]

[0103] After NIR, optical, and / or manual sorting steps, then plastic The plastic waste is passed to an optional vortex separator 850 to remove any metals remaining with the waste plastic and protect downstream processes from damage. The vortex separator uses an electric field at the end of the conveyor belt to repel conductive, non-ferrous metals, such as aluminum, while remaining unaffected by non-conductive materials, such as plastics. As the flow of plastic waste approaches the end of the conveyor belt, the vortex alters the natural, gravity-induced trajectory of the non-ferrous metals, releasing them from the flow along a different trajectory than that of the non-conductive materials. A splitting plate is positioned between the paths defined by the two trajectories, separating the discharged and non-discharged components. During separation, some amounts of plastic articles and / or plastic flakes come into contact with the non-ferrous metal components and may be unintentionally discharged along the wrong trajectory. Thus, the separated non-ferrous metals may also contain some amounts of PET and / or other plastic materials, which can be recovered as a co-product of the metal-containing reclaimer 851. Furthermore, the vortex separator can also be coupled with a pulverizer 852 (upstream or downstream of the vortex separator 850), which may generate plastic granules, which can also be recovered as a by-product of the reclaimer.

[0093]

[0104] After the optional vortex separator 850 and / or grinder 852, then plus The plastic waste can be moved to a density separation stage 854, for example, a separation stage by buoyancy, in which the components with lower densities than PET (e.g., polyolefins) are separated from the plastic waste and mechanical dewatering process 856. As described above, the wastewater from such a process is filtered 840, 860, and the solid and / or filtrate can be recovered as a by-product of moist granules 841, 861, or other reclaimers (e.g., polyolefin stream 859).

[0094]

[0105] Next, the plastic waste is sorted by another NIR862 and / or optical sorting. The material can then be sent to a machine, where the sensors typically reject anything that they do not recognize as completely transparent PET. At this stage, the plastic waste is usually subjected to a micronization process, such as grinding, and the rejected material is generally in the form of plastic flakes (as defined below). This process removes PVC, such as labels, and other plastic materials that have a similar density to PET and were not removed during density separation. This is intended to be the case. However, as with previous NIR and optical sorters, rejected flakes may also contain some amount of PET, which can be recovered as co-product 863 of the flake rejection reclaimer.

[0095]

[0106] At this point, plastic waste typically has a high PET content (for example, at least The granules (which also have 99 or at least 99.9% by weight) can be dried 864 and prepared for packaging 870 as rPET flake product 814. If a dryer 864 is used, some amount of dried granules (as defined below) may be separated from the flake product in the dryer 864 or in the downstream conveyor 866 and / or dust collector 868. The dried granules also typically have a high PET content, which are undesirable as rPET feedstock for mechanical recycling facilities. However, the dried granules can be recovered as co-products 865, 869 of the dried granule reclaimer. It should be understood that the dryer and dust collector may be used elsewhere upstream or downstream within the reclaimer facility, and the dried granules recovered from these locations can also be recovered as co-products of the reclaimer.

[0096]

[0107] Some reclaimer facilities also use rPET flakes as desired rPET flakes. The process includes a densification process for conversion to rPET. As used herein, “densification” refers to the process of condensing, pelletizing, agglomerating, or partially melting a certain amount of plastic particles having a D90 particle size of less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to form solid particles (e.g., pellets) having a D90 particle size of 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch). The densification process generally includes an extruder 880 where the rPET flakes are melted and passed through an extrusion barrel. A pelletizer 882 is then operated to extrude the rPET to form pellets (typically having a D90 of 2.54 cm (1 inch) or less). The pellets are then rinsed (which may result in wet granules containing recyclable PET), dried (which may result in dry granules containing recyclable PET), and packaged 890 as rPEt pellet products 892 for shipment to a mechanical recycling facility. However, when the extruder is switched off, some of the molten rPET is purged and solidified into a large mass of PET material without being converted into pellets, for example. This purging material may be recovered as a co-product 881 of the PET purging material reclaimer. Furthermore, pelletization is usually carried out in water, and the solid from the filtrate and / or filtered water stream can be recovered as a co-product of the reclaimer (e.g., wet granules 883). Finally, the dryers 884 and conveyors 886, 888 used in the pellet packaging process are usually equipped with dust collectors, and the dried granules can also be recovered as a co-product 885, 887, 889 of the dried granule reclaimer.

[0097]

[0108] Composition of reclaimer byproducts and processing steps within the chemical recycling facility The details are described below. However, it should be understood that the following description may also describe, within the scope of the art of the present invention, other compositions and treatments of PET-containing materials (i.e., PET-containing MRF products or co-products, sorted plastic-containing mixtures, and / or PET-containing waste plastics from plastic article manufacturing facilities).

[0098] moist granules

[0109] As mentioned above, the moist granules of Reclaimer are plastic waste. They can be separated from and recovered from a filtration process, for example, as a filtrate and / or solid. As used herein, “moist fine particles of the reclaimer” means PET-containing plastic particles that have at least 2% by weight of moisture, based on the total weight of the moist fine particles of the reclaimer, and are less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) in size, separated from waste plastics within a reclaimer facility and initially isolated from waste plastics within a reclaimer facility. This refers to a stream or batch of plastic particles having D90. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a certain amount of wet granules of reclaimer is supplied to a chemical recycling facility, and at least a portion of the wet granules of reclaimer therein are depolymerized.

[0099]

[0110] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of moist granules in the PET-containing reclaimer may contain at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 weight percent of moisture. The amount of moist granules in the PET-containing reclaimer may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 weight percent of plastic particles having a D90 of less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch). The amount of moist granules in the PET-containing reclaimer may contain at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of PET on a dry basis (i.e., excluding moisture).

[0100]

[0111] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, prior to depolymerization, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight of water can be removed from the wet granules of the PET-containing reclaimer. The water may be removed by passive drying (e.g., by leaving it in storage) or by using a dryer or other active drying process. In one or more embodiments, prior to depolymerization, at least a portion of the plastic particles can be densified (e.g., agglomerated or pelletized) from the wet granules of the PET-containing reclaimer to form a certain amount of densified PET-containing particles having a D90 of 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 (1 inch). Prior to depolymerization, the certain amount of densified PET-containing particles can also be liquefied (e.g., dissolved or melted) to form a liquefied plastic material. One or more of the water removal, densification, and / or liquefaction can be carried out in or before supplying the certain amount of wet granules to the chemical recycling facility.

[0101]

[0112] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of wet granules of the PET-containing reclaimer (including the amount of high-density PET-containing particles and / or liquefied plastic material) may be supplied to a solvolysis facility within a chemical recycling facility where depolymerization occurs. The amount of wet granules of the PET-containing reclaimer (including the amount of high-density PET-containing particles and / or liquefied plastic material) may contain at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight of PET on a dry basis. The amount of wet granules of the PET-containing reclaimer (including the amount of high-density PET-containing particles and / or liquefied plastic material) may contain 10 percent or less by weight, 8 percent or less by weight, 6 percent or less by weight, 4 percent or less by weight, 2 percent or less by weight, or 1 percent or less by weight of halogen on a dry basis. The amount of wet granules in the PET-containing reclaimer (including the amount of high-density PET-containing particles and / or liquefied plastic material) may contain, on a dry basis, 50% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of polyolefin.

[0102] A mixture containing colored plastic.

[0113] As described above, colored plastic-containing mixtures are PET reclay. It may be separated from plastic waste and recovered at the MRF facility. Alternatively, the colored plastic-containing mixture may be separated and similarly recovered at the MRF facility. Where used herein, the term "colored plastic-containing mixture" means the following: Refers to: (a) plastic-containing material identified as colored plastic by the Reclaimer or MRF, or identified as opaque rPET by the Reclaimer or MRF; or (b) any plastic-containing material other than dry granules, wet granules, transparent rPET products of the Reclaimer, rock, biomass, metal, or fiber, separated by the Reclaimer or MRF. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a certain amount of PET-containing Reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture is supplied to a chemical recycling facility, where at least a portion of the PET-containing Reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture is depolymerized.

[0103]

[0114] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain, on a dry basis, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent and / or 99.9 weight percent or less or 99 weight percent or less of PET. The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain 1 to 99.9 or 50 to 99 weight percent of PET on a dry basis. The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain, on a dry basis, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, at least 80, at least 90, at least 95, at least 99, or at least 99.9 weight percent of opaque PET (e.g., green PET). The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain, on a dry basis, 10 weight percent or less, 8 weight percent or less, 6 weight percent or less, 4 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, or 1 weight percent or less of halogen. The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain, on a dry basis, at least 1, at least 2, at least 4, at least 6, or at least 8 weight percent and / or 90 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, or 10 weight percent or less of polyolefin. The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain 1 to 90, 2 to 70, 4 to 50, 6 to 30, or 8 to 10 weight percent of polyolefin on a dry basis. The amount of colored plastic-containing mixture may contain at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90 weight percent of opaque PET and / or other colored plastic material based on dry plastic.The amount of the colored plastic-containing mixture may include, on a dry basis, at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90 percent by weight of PVC, nylon, and / or copolyester.

[0104]

[0115] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, a certain amount of the colored plastic-containing mixture may be supplied directly to the solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility without being supplied to a pretreatment and / or separation facility, or without undergoing pretreatment and / or separation processes within or away from the chemical recycling facility. However, at least a portion of the colored plastic-containing mixture may be supplied to at least one density separation step before depolymerization, thereby generating a PET-rich flow to be supplied to the solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility. At least one density separation step may include at least two density separation steps.

[0105] Co-products of PET and metal-containing reclaimers

[0116] As mentioned above, metal components are, for example, heavy in the reclaimer facility. Separated from plastic waste in a desaturation process and / or eddy current separator, these metal components may contain some amount of PET material and may be recovered as a co-product of PET and metal-containing reclaimer. As used herein, the term “co-product of PET and metal-containing reclaimer” refers to material from a magnetic separator, eddy current separator, or other metal separator within a PET reclaimer facility that is not recovered as rPET product. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, some amount of PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product may be supplied to a chemical recycling facility, where at least a portion of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product may be depolymerized.

[0106]

[0117] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-products contains at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent of metal on a dry basis. However, the metal content supplied to the solvolysis facility for depolymerization may be limited. Thus, at least a portion of the metal, at least 90 weight percent, at least 95 weight percent, at least 99 weight percent, or at least 99.9 weight percent, may be separated and removed from the plastic before depolymerization, as described below. Separation or removal may be carried out as a continuous separation process (e.g., a solid / liquid separator) and / or as a batch separation process (e.g., a purging process), or may be carried out in a pretreatment facility and / or solvolysis facility (e.g., a pre-process of the solvolysis facility). Regardless of whether a separation step is used, the feedstock supplied to the solvolysis facility and / or depolymerization process may contain 10 weight percent or less, 8 weight percent or less, 6 weight percent or less, 4 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, or 1 weight percent or less of metal on a dry basis. The metal may consist of one or more types of metals, and may include iron and / or non-ferrous metals. The metal may consist of one or more non-ferrous metals, e.g., aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, titanium, zinc, and / or alloys thereof. The metal may consist of one or more ferrous metals, e.g., iron, steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, austenitic, martensitic, double-strand stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, and / or alloys thereof. The amount of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product may consist of at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, or at least 80 weight percent of PET on a dry basis.

[0107]

[0118] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-products, on a dry basis, includes plastic flakes and at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent of metal. As used herein, the term “plastic flakes” refers to plastic particles having a D90 particle size of 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch). At least a portion of the plastic flakes can be separated from the metal before depolymerization. This separation may be performed within a chemical recycling facility, for example, in a pretreatment facility and / or a solvolysis facility, or before the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-products are supplied to the chemical recycling facility. The separation may include supplying at least a portion of the reclaimer co-products to at least one density separation step to separate at least a portion of the plastic flakes from the metal. The separated portion of the plastic flakes may be supplied to a solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility. The metal may contain a portion of the plastic flakes separated from it, and may be supplied to a partial oxidation (POX) gasification unit.

[0108]

[0119] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Furthermore, the co-products of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer are not separated before being supplied to the chemical recycling facility. For example, both the metal and plastic flakes may be supplied to a solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility, where the metal may be removed by a solid / liquid separator (e.g., by filtration) and / or purged within the solvolysis facility. In addition, the unseparated metal, along with a portion of the plastic flakes, may be supplied to a POX gasifier.

[0109]

[0120] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product, on a dry basis, contains the plastic article and at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent of metal. As used herein, the term “plastic article” refers to bailing or debailing plastic material having a D90 particle size greater than 2.54 cm (1 inch). The plastic article may be in the form of a compressed bale. The plastic article may be processed, for example, by debailing, crushing, shredding, and / or pulverizing to produce a debailing amount of plastic article and metal, and / or by reducing the size of the plastic article to form a solid of plastic particles having a D90 particle size less than 2.54 cm (1 inch).

[0110]

[0121] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the plastic articles and / or plastic particle solids can be separated from the metal before depolymerization. This separation may be performed within the chemical recycling facility, for example, in a pretreatment facility and / or a solvolysis facility, or before the co-product of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer is supplied to the chemical recycling facility. The separation may include supplying at least a portion of the plastic articles and / or plastic particle solids to at least one density separation step for separating at least a portion of the plastic articles and / or plastic particle solids from the metal. The separated portion of the plastic articles and / or plastic particle solids may be supplied to a solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility. The metal, having a portion of the plastic articles and / or the plastic particle solids separated therefrom, may be supplied to a partial oxidation (POX) gasifier.

[0111]

[0122] Similar to plastic flakes, in one embodiment or as described herein In combination with any embodiment described herein, both the metal and the plastic article and / or plastic particle solid may be fed into a solvolysis facility within a chemical recycling facility, and the metal may be removed by filtration and / or purging within the solvolysis hydrolysis facility. Furthermore, the metal may be fed into a POX gasifier without separating any portion of the plastic article and / or plastic particle solid from it.

[0112]

[0123] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product, on a dry basis, contains plastic granules and at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent of metal. As used herein, the term “plastic granules” refers to plastic particles having a D90 particle size of less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch). At least a portion of the plastic granules may be densified (e.g., by agglomeration or pelletization) to produce densified PET-containing particles before depolymerization. Densification may be performed within the chemical recycling facility or before the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-product is supplied to the chemical recycling facility. The densified PET-containing particles may have a D90 particle size of 1–10 mm, 2–8 mm, or 3–5 mm. Densification separates all or part of the metal in the reclaimer product. This can be done without such a process, and thus the high-density PET-containing particles may contain at least a portion of the metal. The high-density PET-containing particles may be supplied directly to the solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility (i.e., without pretreatment or a separation process within or separate from the chemical recycling facility).

[0113]

[0124] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, metals separated from the plastic material of the PET and metal-containing reclaimer co-products (i.e., metals separated from plastic flakes, plastic articles, and / or plastic granules using any one or more of the pretreatment or separation methods described in this section or elsewhere in this application) may be recovered in a metal-containing stream, e.g., a metal-containing stream having a portion of the plastic flakes, plastic articles, and / or plastic granules or other plastic material, and supplied to a pyrolysis facility, and in one or more embodiments to a pyrolysis reactor within the pyrolysis facility.

[0114] Reclaimer Flake Rejection

[0125] As stated above, PET and PVC-containing reclamer flakes are rejected. The refractory material may be separated from the plastic waste in the PET reclaimer and recovered. As used herein, “reclaimer flake rejection” refers to a mixture of plastic waste containing at least PET and, on a dry basis, at least 0.1 weight percent of PVC from a reclaimer facility, and having a D90 particle size of 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch). In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a certain amount of PET and PVC-containing flake rejection is fed into a chemical recycling facility, where at least a portion of the PET and PVC-containing flake rejection is depolymerized.

[0115]

[0126] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Furthermore, the amount of reclaimer flake rejection in plastic waste is abundant in PVC and depleted in polyolefins. The amount of reclaimer flake rejection may contain at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, or at least 80 weight percent of PET on a dry basis. The amount of reclaimer flake rejection may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent of PVC on a dry basis. The amount of reclaimer flake rejection may contain at least 0.1, at least 1, or at least 5 weight percent and / or 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, or 10 weight percent or less of polyolefins on a dry basis. The amount of reclaimer flake rejection may contain 0.1 to 20, 1 to 15, or 5 to 10 weight percent of polyolefins on a dry basis.

[0116]

[0127] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the reclaimer flake rejects may be supplied to at least one density separation stage before depolymerization, and PET-rich and polyolefin-rich flows can be generated from the waste plastics stream containing the flake rejects. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the portion of the reclaimer flake rejects may be the sole plastic material in the waste plastics stream supplied to at least one density separation stage. However, in other embodiments, the portion of the reclaimer flake rejects may be mixed with one or more other plastic materials in the waste plastics stream supplied to at least one density separation stage. The PET-rich flow may be supplied to a solvolysis facility. The polyolefin-rich flow may be supplied to a partial oxidation (POX) gasifier. The polyolefin-rich flow may be supplied to a pyrolysis facility, or to a pyrolysis reactor within the pyrolysis facility. Furthermore, or alternatively, the polyolefin-rich flow may be supplied to an energy recovery facility.

[0117]

[0128] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the PET and PVC-containing reclaimer flake rejects may be supplied to a mechanical dehydrator before depolymerization. After mechanical dehydration, the remaining portion of the reclaimer flake rejects may then be supplied to a hot dryer.

[0118]

[0129] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the PET and PVC-containing reclaimer flake rejects may be supplied directly to the solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility (i.e., without pretreatment or a separation process within or separate from the chemical recycling facility).

[0119] Purge solidification material

[0130] As stated above, the purging solidification material is unsuitable or undesirable for use. Unsuitable liquefied plastic materials may be derived, for example, from PET (rPET) reclaimer facilities, PET product manufacturers (molding machines), and / or polymer manufacturing facilities, which can be solidified and recovered. As used herein, the term “solidified material for purging” refers to plastic waste removed from any molten polymer processing apparatus or its parts while the apparatus, including but not limited to extruders, filters, pelletizers, reactors, conduits, etc., is not producing the intended product (e.g., pellets, bottles, and other plastic articles), which was melted within the molten polymer processing apparatus but solidified outside the apparatus. The solidified material is generally amorphous and / or may not be pelletized, and may be in the form of large chunks of solid plastic (e.g., large chunks of plastic removed from an extruder barrel that did not pass through an extruder die). The solidified plastic material may also include intermediate molded articles. The solidified plastic material may include clear and / or colored plastics. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a certain amount of PET-containing purging solidification material is supplied to a chemical recycling facility, where at least a portion of the PET-containing purging solidification material is depolymerized.

[0120]

[0131] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of PET-containing purging solidification material may include at least 90, at least 95, at least 99, or at least 99.9% by weight of PET on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing purging solidification material may also include at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, or at least 80% by weight of copolyester on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing purging solidification material may also include at least 95, at least 98, at least 99, or at least 99.9% by weight of material (e.g., glass, metal, and other fillers) that is solid at the processing temperature of the molten polymer processing apparatus. The amount of PET-containing purging solidification material may also include 50% or less by weight, 40% or less by weight, 30% or less by weight, 20% or less by weight, 10% or less by weight, or 1% or less by weight of polyolefin on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing purging solidification material may include 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of PVC on a dry basis.

[0121]

[0132] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the PET-containing purging solidification material will be chemically recycled. It may be supplied directly to the solvolysis facility within the facility (i.e., without pretreatment or separation processes within or separate from the chemical recycling facility). At least a portion of the PET-containing purging solidification material may be reduced in size by, for example, a mechanical pulverization process. The mechanical pulverization process may include, before depolymerization, shredding (e.g., using a plastic shredder), chopping, grinding, guillotine cutting, dropping, and / or crushing the portion of the purging solidification material to form a certain amount of solid plastic particles.

[0122]

[0133] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the resulting solid plastic particles may have a D90 particle size of less than 15.24 cm (6 inches), 12.7 cm (5 inches) or less, 10.16 cm (4 inches) or less, 7.62 cm (3 inches) or less, 5.08 cm (2 inches) or less, or 2.54 cm (1 inch) or less. If a shredder is used, the solidified material for purging can yield solid plastic particles with a D90 particle size of less than 5.08 cm (2 inches) or less, or less than 2.54 cm (1 inch). In the pulverization process described above, or in the collection of the material for purging, a certain amount of dry granules, threads, strands, and / or fibrous material may be generated and recovered from the solidified material for purging. For example, if a shredder is used, this method may produce a certain amount of plastic granules. However, the use of a pulverizer can be avoided, and thus this method can produce less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of plastic granules. A certain amount of the recovered material can be densified into plastic particles with a D90 particle size ranging from 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch) before depolymerization. For example, a screener can be used to recover larger particles (above 2.54 cm (1 inch)) and finer particles (less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch)). The larger particles can be returned to the shredder. The finer particles can be densified as described above.

[0123] dry granules

[0134] As described above, the dried granules are processed (e.g., transport, drying, high These can be generated from densification, extrusion, packaging, centrifugal separation processes, and / or grinding, and / or conveying of plastic materials, and can be collected and recovered in a dryer or dust collector. As used herein, the term “dried granules” refers to waste plastic particles from PET reclaimer facilities and / or manufacturers of PET products having an average particle size of less than 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) and a water content of less than 2% by weight. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a certain amount of PET-containing dried granules is fed into a chemical recycling facility, where at least a fraction of the PET-containing dried granules are depolymerized.

[0124]

[0135] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the amount of PET-containing dry granules may contain at least 90, at least 95, at least 99, or at least 99.9% by weight of PET on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing dry granules may contain at least 0.1, at least 1, at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 60, or at least 80% by weight of copolyester on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing dry granules may contain 50% or less by weight, 40% or less by weight, 30% or less by weight, 20% or less by weight, 10% or less by weight, or 1% or less by weight of polyolefin on a dry basis. The amount of PET-containing dry granules may contain 20% or less by weight, 15% or less by weight, 10% or less by weight, 5% or less by weight, or 1% or less by weight of PVC on a dry basis.

[0125]

[0136] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the PET-containing dried granules are supplied directly to a chemical recycling facility (i.e., without pretreatment or separation processes within or separate from the chemical recycling facility). This can be achieved using a conveying system that interconnects the chemical recycling facility with PET reclaimer facilities, PET product manufacturers, and / or polymer manufacturing facilities. The dried granules may also be delivered in sacks or bags.

[0126]

[0137] Dry granules may pose some explosive risk. Dry granules are generally explosive. Although the dry granules do not arrive in this state, transporting them causes separation and exposure to the atmosphere, making them potentially explosive. Explosive concentrations may also be present in the storage pile. Therefore, the dry granules can be screened to remove and recover those with particle sizes less than 1000 μm, less than 800 μm, less than 600 μm, or less than 420 μm. At least a portion of the PET-containing dry granules recovered in the above screening or other processes can be densified (e.g., agglomerated or pelletized) to produce densified PET-containing particles before depolymerization, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of explosion. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the densified plastic particles have a D90 particle size of 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch). In one or more embodiments, the densified plastic particles may be supplied to a solvolysis facility within a chemical recycling facility.

[0127] Delivery of waste plastics

[0138] The chemical recycling facility 10 also includes, for example, trains, trucks, and / or To facilitate the delivery of waste plastics by any suitable means of transport, including ships, this may also include infrastructure for receiving waste plastics such as those described herein (e.g., co-products of PET-containing reclaimers, PET-containing products or co-products from municipal recycling facilities (MRFs), sorted plastic-containing mixtures, PET-containing waste plastics from plastic article manufacturing facilities, and / or other MPWs). Such infrastructure may include facilities to assist in unloading loads of waste plastics from transport, as well as one or more conveying systems for transporting waste plastics from storage facilities and unloading zones to downstream processing zones. Examples of such conveying systems include pneumatic conveyors, belt conveyors, bucket conveyors, vibratory conveyors, screw conveyors, cart-on-track conveyors, tow conveyors, trolley conveyors, front-end loaders, trucks, and chain conveyors.

[0128]

[0139] Waste introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10 (for example, PET-containing recycled materials) Co-products of the mer, PET-containing products or co-products of the city's recycling facility (MRF), sorted plastic-containing mixtures, PET-containing waste plastics from plastic article manufacturing facilities, and / or other MPWs) may take several forms, but are not limited to, whole articles, particles (e.g., finely ground, pelletized, fibrous plastic particles), bundled bales (e.g., whole articles compressed and tied together), unbundled articles (i.e., not in bales or packaged), containers (e.g., boxes, sacks, trailers, wagons, loader buckets), piles (e.g., on concrete slabs within buildings), solid / liquid slurries (e.g., plastic slurries in water, pumped in), and / or physically transported free material (e.g., particles on a conveyor belt) or by air pressure (e.g., particles mixed with air and / or inert gas in a conveying pipe).

[0129]

[0140] As used herein, the term “waste plastic particles” is defined in section 2.5 This refers to waste plastic having a D90 of less than 4 cm (1 inch). In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, waste plastic particles may be MPW particles. Waste plastic or MPW particles may include, for example, shredded or shaved, finely ground plastic particles or plastic pellets. When an entire article or nearly an entire article is introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10 (or pretreatment facility 20), one or more grinding or pelletizing steps may be used therein to form waste plastic particles (e.g., MPW particles). Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the waste plastic introduced into the chemical recycling facility 10 (or pretreatment facility 20) may already be in the form of particles.

[0130]

[0141] Each of the facilities that may exist within the chemical recycling facility shown in Figure 1 The overall configuration and operations are described in more detail below, starting with the pretreatment facility. Optionally, although not shown in Figure 1, at least one of the flows from the chemical recycling facility may be sent to an industrial landfill or other similar type of treatment or waste disposal facility.

[0131] Pre-treatment

[0142] As shown in Figure 1, untreated and / or partially treated waste plus A tick, for example, mixed plastic waste (MPW), may be initially introduced into a pretreatment facility 20 via flow 100. In the pretreatment facility 20, the flow is prepared for chemical recycling by undergoing one or more processing steps. As used herein, the term “pretreatment” refers to preparing waste plastics for chemical recycling using one or more of the following steps: (i) grinding; (ii) particleization; (iii) washing; (iv) drying; and (v) separation. As used herein, the term “pretreatment facility” refers to a facility that includes all the equipment, lines, and controls necessary for pretreatment of waste plastics. A pretreatment facility as described herein may utilize any method appropriate for preparing waste plastics for chemical recycling using one or more of these steps, which are described in further detail below.

[0132] Fine grinding and particle formation

[0143] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) may be provided in the form of bales or other large, aggregated forms of unsorted or presorted plastics. The bales or aggregated plastics undergo a first process to break them apart. The plastic bales may be sent to a debaler machine, for example, which includes one or more rotating shafts equipped with teeth or blades designed to break apart the bales, in some cases to finely chop the plastics that make up the bales. In one or more other embodiments, the bales or aggregated plastics may be sent to a guillotine cutting machine, where they are cut into smaller pieces of plastic. The debaled and / or guillotine-cut plastic solids can then be subjected to a sorting process, where various non-plastic, heavy materials, such as glass, metal, and rock, are removed. This sorting process can be carried out manually or by machine. The sorting machine may rely on optical sensors, magnets, eddies, pneumatic lifts or conveyors that separate based on drag coefficients, or sieves to identify and remove heavy materials.

[0133]

[0144] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the raw materials for waste plastic supply are larger than 2.54 cm (1 inch), 1.91 This includes plastic solids having a D90 greater than 1.27 cm (0.75 inches) or greater than 1.27 cm (0.5 inches), such as used containers. Alternatively, or in addition, the waste plastic feed material may also include multiple plastic solids having at least one dimension greater than 2.54 cm (1 inch) at some point, but the solids may be compacted, compressed, or otherwise aggregated into larger units, such as bales. In such embodiments where at least a portion or all of the plastic solids have at least one dimension greater than 2.54 cm (1 inch), greater than 1.91 cm (0.75 inches), or greater than 1.27 cm (0.5 inches), the feed material may be subjected to mechanical size reduction operations, such as crushing / granulation, shredding, guillotine cutting, chopping, or other pulverization processes, to obtain MPW particles having smaller sizes. Such mechanical size reduction operations may include size reduction steps other than crushing, compaction, or the formation of bales by the plastic.

[0134]

[0145] In one or more other embodiments, waste plastics are several The initial separation and / or pulverization processes have already been completed. In particular, the waste plastic may be in the form of particles or flakes and may be supplied in some kind of container, e.g., sacks or boxes. Depending on the composition of these plastic solids and the type of pretreatment they may be supplied with, the plastic feed material may bypass debulers, guillotine cutters, and / or heavy material removal stations and proceed directly to granulators for further size reduction.

[0135]

[0146] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the devalled or broken-up plastic solid may be sent to a grinder or granulator, where the plastic solid is ground, shredded, or otherwise reduced in size. The plastic material can be made into particles having a D90 particle size of less than 2.54 cm (1 inch), less than 1.91 cm (3 / 4 inch), or less than 1.27 cm (1 / 2 inch). In one or more other embodiments, the D90 particle size of the plastic material exiting the granulator is 0.16 cm (1 / 16 inch) to 2.54 cm (1 inch), 0.32 cm (1 / 8 inch) to 1.91 cm (3 / 4 inch), 0.64 cm (1 / 4 inch) to 1.59 cm (5 / 8 inch), or 0.95 cm (3 / 8 inch) to 1.27 cm (1 / 2 inch).

[0136] Washing and drying

[0147] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Furthermore, untreated or partially treated waste plastics provided to chemical recycling facilities may contain various organic contaminants or residues that may be present from the waste plastics' previous use. For example, waste plastics may contain food or beverage contaminants, especially if the plastic material was used for food or beverage packaging. Therefore, waste plastics may also contain microbial contaminants and / or compounds produced by microorganisms. Exemplary microorganisms that may be present on the surface of the plastic solids constituting waste plastics include Escherichia coli, Salmonella, C. difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, L. monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and P. fluorescein.

[0137]

[0148] Various microorganisms can produce compounds that cause unpleasant odors. (Example of an odor) Compounds that produce odors include hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, methanethiol, putrescine, cadaverine, trimethylamine, ammonia, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, propanoic acid, and / or butyric acid. Thus, it can be recognized that waste plastics may present concerns regarding odor-related hazards. Therefore, waste plastics should be kept in a sealed space, for example, in shipping containers, sealed railcars, or sealed containers until further processing is possible. It can be stored in a trailer. In certain embodiments, untreated or partially treated waste plastics can be stored in a sealed space for up to one week, five days, three days, two days, or one day, once they reach a site where the waste plastics will be processed (e.g., pulverized, washed, and sorted).

[0138]

[0149] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the pretreatment facility 20 also includes apparatus or steps for treating waste plastics with a chemical composition having antimicrobial properties, thereby forming treated particulate plastic solids. In some embodiments, this may involve treating the waste plastics with sodium hydroxide, a high pH salt solution (e.g., potassium carbonate), or other antimicrobial compositions.

[0139]

[0150] Furthermore, in one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In combination, waste plastics (e.g., MPW) can be optionally washed to remove inorganic, non-plastic solids, such as dirt, glass, fillers, and other non-plastic solids, and / or biological elements, such as bacteria and / or food. The resulting washed waste plastics can also be dried to a water (or liquid) content of 5% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, 0.5% by weight or less, or 0.25% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the waste plastics. Drying can be carried out by any suitable method, including the addition of heat and / or airflow, mechanical drying (e.g., centrifugal), or by evaporating the liquid over a specified time.

[0140] separation

[0151] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the pretreatment facility 20 or the steps of the chemical recycling process or facility 10 may include at least one separation step or zone. The separation step or zone may also be designed to separate the waste plastic stream into two or more streams rich in a particular type of plastic. Such separation is particularly advantageous when the waste plastic supplied to the pretreatment facility 20 is MPW.

[0141]

[0152] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the separation zone 22 of the pretreatment facility 20 (see Figure 2) may separate waste plastics (e.g., MPW) into a PET-rich flow 112 and a PET-depleted flow 114, as shown in Figure 2. As used herein, the term “rich” means having a concentration of a particular component greater than the concentration of that component in a reference material or flow (based on undiluted dry weight). As used herein, the term “depleted” means having a concentration of a particular component lower than the concentration of that component in a reference material or flow (based on undiluted dry weight). As used herein, all weight percentages are given based on undiluted dry weight unless otherwise specified.

[0142]

[0153] If the abundant or depleted component is a solid, the concentration is measured by the undiluted dry solid weight. The reference point is that if the abundant or depleted component is a liquid, the concentration is based on the weight of the undiluted dry liquid; and if the abundant or depleted component is a gas, the concentration is based on the weight of the undiluted dry gas. In addition, abundant and depleted can be expressed in terms of mass balance rather than as concentration. Thus, a flow that is abundant in a particular component may have a greater mass of that component than the mass of that component in the reference flow (e.g., feed flow or other product flow), while a flow that is depleted of a particular component may have a greater mass of that component than the mass of that component in the reference flow (e.g., feed flow or other product flow). It is possible to have a component with a mass lower than the mass of the other component.

[0143]

[0154] Referring to Figure 2, waste that has been separated from the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22) The PET-rich stream 112 of the waste plastic may have a higher concentration or mass of PET than the PET concentration or mass in the waste plastic supply stream 100 introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22). Similarly, the PET-depleted stream 114 that has left the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22) may have a lower concentration or mass of PET than the PET concentration or mass in the waste plastic introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22). The PET-depleted stream 114 may also be rich in PO and have a higher concentration or mass of PO than the PO concentration or mass in the waste plastic (e.g., MPW) stream introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22).

[0144]

[0155] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, when MPW flow 100 is supplied to the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22), the PET-rich flow may be concentrated in terms of PET concentration or mass compared to the concentration or mass of PET in the MPW flow or the PET-depleted flow, or both, on a solid-dry weight basis without dilution. For example, if the PET-rich flow is diluted with a liquid or other solid after separation, the concentration is based on the undiluted PET-rich flow and its concentration on a dry basis. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the PET-rich flow 112 is expressed as follows relative to the MPW feed flow (PET concentration %) relative to the feed, the PET-depleted product flow 114 (PET concentration %) relative to the product, or both:

[0145]

number

[0146] (In the formula, PETe is the concentration of PET in the PET-rich product stream 112 on an undiluted dry weight basis.) PETm is the concentration of PET in MPW feed stream 100 on a dry weight basis. PETd is the concentration of PET in the depleted product stream 114 on a dry weight basis. If determined by the above, it has a PET concentration percentage of at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 80, at least 100, at least 125, at least 150, at least 175, at least 200, at least 225, at least 250, at least 300, at least 350, at least 400, at least 500, at least 600, at least 700, at least 800, at least 900, or at least 1000%.

[0147]

[0156] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, when a flow containing MPW 100 is supplied to the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22), the PET-rich flow also affects the concentration or mass of halogens in the MPW supply flow 100, or the PET-depleted product flow 114, or both, for example, halogens such as fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (A). t), and / or halogen-containing compounds, e.g., rich in PVC. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the PET-rich flow 112 is used for the MPW feed flow 100 (feed-based PVC concentration %), the PET-depleted product flow (product-based PVC concentration %), or both, with formula:

[0148]

number

[0149] (In the formula, PVCe is the concentration of PVC in the PET-rich product stream 112 on an undiluted dry weight basis.) PVCm is the concentration of PVC in MPW feed stream 100 on an undiluted dry weight basis. PVCd is the concentration of PVC in the PET-depleted product stream 114 on an undiluted dry weight basis. If determined by the above, it has a PVC concentration percentage of at least 1, at least 3, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 80, at least 100, at least 125, at least 150, at least 175, at least 200, at least 225, at least 250, at least 300, at least 350, at least 400, or at least 500%.

[0150]

[0157] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described When MPW flow 100 is supplied to pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22), PET-depleted flow 114 is polyolefin-rich on an undiluted solid-dry basis relative to the concentration or mass of polyolefin in MPW feed flow 100, PET-rich product flow 112, or both. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, PET-depleted flow 114 is polyolefin-rich relative to MPW feed flow 100 (feed-based PO concentration %), or PET-rich product flow 112 (product-based PO concentration %), or both, by formula:

[0151]

number

[0152] (In the formula, POd is the concentration of polyolefin in the depleted product stream 114 of PET on an undiluted dry weight basis.) POm is the concentration of PO in MPW feed stream 100 on a dry weight basis. POe is the concentration of PO in the PET-rich product stream 112 on a dry weight basis) and when determined by, it is at least 10, at least 20, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 80, at least 100, at least 125, and at least It has a polyolefin concentrate percentage of at least 150, at least 175, at least 200, at least 225, at least 250, at least 300, at least 350, at least 400, at least 500, at least 600, at least 700, at least 800, at least 900, or at least 1000%.

[0153]

[0158] In one embodiment or in combination with any other embodiment, MPW flow When 100 is supplied to the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22), the PET-depleted flow 114 is also depleted of halogens, e.g., fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At), and / or halogen-containing compounds, e.g., PVC, relative to the concentration or mass of halogens in the MPW flow 100, the PET-rich flow 112, or both. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, the PET-depleted flow 114 is depleted of halogens, e.g., fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At), and / or halogen-containing compounds, e.g., PVC, relative to the MPW feed flow 100 (feed-based PVC depletion %) or the PET-rich product flow 112 (product-based PVC depletion %), by the formula:

[0154]

number

[0155] (In the formula, PVCm is the concentration of PVC in MPW feed stream 100 on an undiluted dry weight basis.) PVCd is the concentration of PVC in the PET-depleted product stream 114 on an undiluted dry weight basis. PVCe is the concentration of PVC in the PET-rich product stream 112 on an undiluted dry weight basis. If determined by the method, it has a PVC depletion percentage of at least 1, at least 3, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, or at least 90%.

[0156]

[0159] Flow 114, where PET has been depleted, is compared to MPW flow 100 and flow 1, which is rich in PET. 12, or both, is PET-depleted in terms of the concentration or mass of PET. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described, a PET-depleted flow 114 is given the formula: relative to the MPW feed flow 100 (feed-based PET depletion %) or the PET-rich product flow 112 (product-based PET depletion %).

[0157]

number

[0158] (In the formula, PETm is the concentration of PET in MPW feed stream 100 on an undiluted dry weight basis.) PETd is the concentration of PET in the depleted product stream 114 on an undiluted dry weight basis. PETe is the concentration of PET in the PET-rich product stream 112 on an undiluted dry weight basis. If determined by the method, the PET depletion percentage is at least 1, at least 3, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, or at least 90%.

[0159]

[0160] The concentration or depletion percentage in any of the above embodiments is per week The measurement can be a barrel, or an average over 3 days, or over 1 day, and the measurement can be performed to reasonably correlate a sample taken at the process outlet with the MPW bulk, taking into account the residence time during which the MPW flows from inlet to outlet when sampling MPW from this MPW bulk. For example, if the average residence time of MPW is 2 minutes, the outlet sample is taken 2 minutes after the sample input so that the samples correlate with each other.

[0160]

[0161] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the PET-rich flow escaping the separation zone 22 or the pretreatment facility 20 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, at least 97, at least 99, at least 99.5, or at least 99.9 weight percent of PET, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-rich flow 112. The PET-rich flow 112 may also be PVC-rich and may contain halogens including PVC in amounts of, for example, at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 5 weight percent and / or 10 weight percent or less, 8 weight percent or less, 6 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 3 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-rich flow, or halogens may be in the range of 0.1 to 10 weight percent, 0.5 to 8 weight percent, or 1 to 5 weight percent, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-rich flow. The PET-rich flow may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, at least 99, or at least 99.5 weight percent of the total amount of PET introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22).

[0161]

[0162] PET-rich flow 112 also contains PO and / or heavier plastics. Examples include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyamides (PA12, PA46, PA66), polyacrylamide (PARA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polycarbonate-polybutylene terephthalate blend (PC / PBT), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC), polyethersulfone (PESU), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyamideimide (PAI), polyethyleneimine (PEI), polysulfone (PSU), polyoxymethylene (POM), polyglycolide (poly(glycolic acid), PGA), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), thermoplastic styrene elastomer (TPS), amorphous thermoplastic polyimide (TPI), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), glass fiber reinforced PET, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polyphthalamide (PPA). Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), fluoroethylene propylene (FEP), polymonochlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), and perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) may be depleted, and any of these may contain carbon, glass, and / or mineral fillers, and have a higher density than PET and PVC.

[0162]

[0163] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the PET-rich flow 112 may contain PO in amounts of 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, or 0.5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-rich flow 112. The PET-rich flow 112 may contain 10% by weight or less, 8% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of the total amount of PO introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 (or separation zone 22). The PET-rich stream 112 may contain non-PET components in amounts of 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the PET-rich stream 112.

[0163]

[0164] Furthermore, or in alternative methods, PET-rich stream 112 is dry standard Adhesives may be included in amounts of 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, 0.5% by weight or less, or 0.1% by weight or less. Typical adhesives include carpet adhesives, latex, styrene-butadiene rubber, etc. Furthermore, PET-rich flow 112 may contain plastic fillers and solid additives in amounts of 4% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, 0.5% by weight or less, or 0.1% by weight or less, on a dry basis. Exemplary fillers and additives include silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate, talc, silica, glass, glass beads, alumina, and other solid inert substances, which do not chemically react with plastics or other components in the manner described herein.

[0164]

[0165] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the PET-depleted (or PO-rich) flow 114 escaping the separation zone 22 or pretreatment facility 20 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, at least 97, at least 99, or at least 99.5 weight percent of PO, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-depleted (or PO-rich) flow 114. The PET-depleted (or PO-rich) flow may also be PVC-depleted and may contain halogens, including chlorine in PVC, in amounts of, for example, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, 1 weight percent or less, 0.5 weight percent or less, 0.1 weight percent or less, 0.05 weight percent or less, or 0.01 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-depleted (or PO-rich) flow. A flow that is depleted of PET or rich in PO may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, at least 99, or at least 99.9 percent by weight of the total amount of PO introduced into the pretreatment facility 20 or separation facility 22.

[0165]

[0166] Flow 114, which is rich in PO, also contains PET and / or PVC. Other plastics may be depleted. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, a PET-depleted (or PO-rich) stream may contain 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, or 0.5% by weight or less of PET, based on the total weight of plastics in the PET-depleted or PO-rich stream. A PO-rich (or PET-depleted) stream 114 may contain 10% by weight or less, 8% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less of the total amount of PET introduced into the pretreatment facility.

[0166]

[0167] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the PET-depleted or PO-rich flow 114 may also contain components other than PO in amounts of 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the PET-depleted or PO-rich flow 114. The PET-depleted or PO-rich flow 114 may also contain adhesive in amounts of 4% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, 0.5% by weight or less, or 0.1% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the flow.

[0167]

[0168] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the PET-depleted or PO-rich flow 114 may have a melt viscosity of at least 1, at least 5, at least 50, at least 100, at least 200, at least 300, at least 400, at least 500, at least 600, at least 700, at least 800, at least 900, at least 1000, at least 1500, at least 2000, at least 2500, at least 3000, at least 3500, at least 4000, at least 4500, at least 5000, at least 5500, at least 6000, at least 6500, at least 7000, at least 7500, at least 8000, at least 8500, at least 9000, at least 9500, or at least 10,000 poise, as measured using a Brookfield R / S rheometer equipped with a V80-40 blade spindle operating at a shear rate of 10 rad / sec and a temperature of 350°C. Alternatively, or in addition, flows depleted of PET or rich in PO may have a melt viscosity (measured at 10 rad / sec and 350°C) of 25,000 poise or less, 24,000 poise or less, 23,000 poise or less, 22,000 poise or less, 21,000 poise or less, 20,000 poise or less, 19,000 poise or less, 18,000 poise or less, or 17,000 poise or less. Or flows may have a melt viscosity (measured at 10 rad / sec and 350°C) in the range of 1 to 25,000 poise, 500 to 22,000 poise, or 1,000 to 17,000 poise.

[0168]

[0169] Using any suitable type of separation device, system, or facility, waste disposal The plastic can be separated into two or more flows rich in a particular type of plastic, for example, a PET-rich flow 112 and a PO-rich flow 114. Examples of appropriate types of separation include mechanical separation and density separation, with density separation including buoyancy separation and / or centrifugal density separation. As used herein, the term “buoyancy separation” refers to a density separation process in which the separation of materials is primarily caused by flow or sedimentation in a selected liquid medium, while the term “centrifugal density separation” refers to a density separation process in which the separation of materials is primarily caused by centrifugal force. Generally, the term “density separation method” refers to at least partially the density of each material This refers to a method for separating materials into at least higher density products and lower density products based on density, and includes both buoyancy separation and centrifugal density separation.

[0169]

[0170] When buoyancy separation is used, the liquid medium may include water. Salts, sugars, etc. and / or other additives, in addition to the liquid medium, can, for example, increase the density of the liquid medium and adjust the target separation density in the buoyancy separation stage. The liquid medium may include a concentrated salt solution. In one or more such embodiments, the salt is sodium chloride. However, in one or more other embodiments, the salt is a non-halogenated salt, such as acetate, carbonate, citrate, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and / or sulfate. The liquid medium may include a concentrated salt solution containing sodium bromide, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium hydroxide, sodium iodide, sodium nitrate, sodium thiosulfate, potassium acetate, potassium bromide, potassium carbonate, potassium hydroxide, potassium iodide, calcium chloride, cesium chloride, iron chloride, strontium chloride, zinc chloride, manganese sulfate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, and / or silver nitrate. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the salt is a corrosive component. The salt may include sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and / or potassium carbonate. The concentrated salt solution may have a pH greater than 7, greater than 8, greater than 9, or greater than 10.

[0170]

[0171] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Furthermore, the liquid medium may contain sugars, such as sucrose. The liquid medium may also contain carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichlorobenzene, dimethyl sulfate, and / or trichloroethylene. The specific components and concentrations of the liquid medium can be selected according to the desired target separation density of the separation step. Centrifugal density separation methods can also improve separation efficiency at the target separation density by utilizing liquid media such as those described above.

[0171]

[0172] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the waste plastic separation method includes at least two density separation stages. In certain such embodiments, the method generally includes introducing waste plastic particles into a first density separation stage and feeding the output from the first density separation stage to a second density separation stage. The density separation stages can be any system or unit operation that implements the density separation method as defined herein. At least one of the density separation stages includes a centrifugal separation stage or a flotation / sinking separation stage. Each of the first and second density separation stages includes a centrifugal separation stage and / or a flotation / sinking separation stage.

[0172]

[0173] To generate a flow of PET-rich material, one of the density separation steps is The low-density separation step may be included, and otherwise it generally includes a high-density separation step. As defined herein, the low-density separation step has a target separation density lower than that of the high-density separation step. The low-density separation step has a target separation density lower than that of PET, and the high-density separation step has a target separation density higher than that of PET.

[0173]

[0174] As used herein, the term “target separation density” means a density higher than that density. The target separation density refers to the density below which a material subjected to a density separation method is preferentially separated into higher-density products, and below that density, the material is separated into lower-density products. The target separation density specifies a density value, and it is intended that all plastics and other solids with a density higher than this value will be separated into higher-density products, and all plastics and other solids with a density lower than this value will be separated into lower-density products. However, the actual separation efficiency of materials in density separation methods can depend on the residence time and the relative proximity of the density of a particular material to its target density separation value, as well as various factors related to the morphology of the particles, such as the area-to-mass ratio, degree of sphericity, and porosity.

[0174]

[0175] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the low-density separation stage has a target separation density of less than 1.35 g / cc, less than 1.34 g / cc, less than 1.33 g / cc, less than 1.32 g / cc, less than 1.31 g / cc, or less than 1.30 g / cc and / or at least 1.25, at least 1.26, at least 1.27, at least 1.28, or at least 1.29 g / cc. The high-density separation stage has a target separation density that is at least 0.01, at least 0.025, at least 0.05, at least 0.075, at least 0.1, at least 0.15, or at least 0.2 g / cc greater than the target separation density of the low-density separation stage. The target separation density in the high-density separation stage is at least 1.31, at least 1.32, at least 1.33, at least 1.34, at least 1.35, at least 1.36, at least 1.37, at least 1.38, at least 1.39, or at least 1.40 g / cc and / or 1.45 g / cc or less, 1.44 g / cc or less, 1.43 g / cc or less, 1.42 g / cc or less, or 1.41 g / cc or less. The target separation density in the low-density separation stage is in the range of 1.25 to 1.35 g / cc, and the target separation density in the high-density separation stage is in the range of 1.35 to 1.45 g / cc.

[0175]

[0176] Referring again to Figure 1, we see flow 112 which is rich in PET and flow which is rich in PO. Both stream 114 and 114 may be introduced into one or more downstream processing facilities within the chemical recycling facility 10 (or through one or more downstream processing steps). In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, at least a portion of the PET-rich stream 112 may be introduced into a solvolysis facility 30, while at least a portion of the PO-rich stream 114 may be introduced directly or indirectly into one or more of the pyrolysis facility 60, cracking facility 70, partial oxidation (POX) gasification facility 50, energy recovery facility 80, or other facilities 90, such as solidification or separation facilities. Additional details of each step and type of facility, as well as the general integration of each of these steps or facilities with one or more other steps or facilities according to one or more embodiments of the technology of the present invention, are discussed in further detail below.

[0176] Solvolysis

[0177] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least a portion of the PET-rich stream 112 from the pretreatment facility 20 may be introduced into the solvolysis facility 30. As used herein, the terms “solvolysis” or “ester solvolysis” refer to a reaction in which an ester-containing feed is chemically decomposed in the presence of a solvent to form a major carboxyl product and a major glycol product. A “solvolysis facility” is a facility that includes all the equipment, lines, and controls necessary for solvolysis of waste plastics and feed materials derived from waste plastics.

[0177]

[0178] If the ester subjected to solvolysis contains PET, the solvolysis will be carried out in a solvolysis facility. The solvolysis being performed may be PET solvolysis. As used herein, the term "PET solvolysis" refers to a reaction in which a polyester terephthalate-containing feedstock is chemically decomposed in the presence of a solvent to form a major terephthalyl product and a major glycol product. As used herein, the term "major terephthalyl" refers to the major or significant terephthalyl product recovered from the solvolysis facility. As used herein, the term "major glycol" refers to the major glycol product recovered from the solvolysis facility. As used herein, the term "glycol" refers to a component containing two or more -OH functional groups per molecule. As used herein, the term "terephthalyl" refers to the following groups:

[0178] [ka]

[0179] This refers to molecules that contain this substance.

[0179] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the main terephthalyl product includes terephthalyl, for example, terephthalic acid or dimethyl terephthalate (or its oligomer), and the main glycol includes glycol, for example, ethylene glycol and / or diethylene glycol. The main steps of the PET solvolysis facility 30 according to one or more embodiments of the technology of the present invention are generally shown in Figure 3.

[0180]

[0180] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the main solvents used in solvolysis include chemical compounds having at least one -OH group. Examples of suitable solvents are not limited to these, but may include (i) water (in which case solvolysis can be called "hydrolysis"), (ii) alcohols (in which case solvolysis can be called "alcolysis"), e.g., methanol (in which case solvolysis can be called "methylolysis") or ethanol (in which case solvolysis can be called "ethanololysis"), (iii) glycols, e.g., ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol (in which case solvolysis can be called "glycolysis"), or (iv) ammonia (in which case solvolysis can be called "ammonialysis").

[0181]

[0181] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvolysis solvent may contain, based on the total weight of the solvent stream, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least or at least 99 weight percent of the main solvent. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the solvent may contain, based on the total weight of the solvent stream, other solvents or components at 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, or 1 weight percent or less of other solvents or components.

[0182]

[0182] The solvolysis facility 30 uses glycol, for example, ethylene glycol, as the main solvent. When used as such, the facility may be called a glycolysis facility. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the chemical recycling facility of Figure 1 may include a glycolysis facility. In the glycolysis facility, PET can be chemically broken down to form ethylene glycol (EG) as the major glycol and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) as the major terephthalyl. If the PET contains waste plastic, both EG and DMT formed in the solvolysis facility may contain recycled components ethylene glycol (r-EG) and dimethyl terephthalate (r-DMT). When formed by glycolysis, EG and DMT may be present in a single product stream.

[0183]

[0183] When a solvolysis facility uses methanol as the main solvent, the facility is methanol This can be called a lysis facility. The chemical recycling facility in Figure 1 may include a methanolysis facility. In a methanolysis facility, one example is schematically shown in Figure 3, where PET is chemically broken down into ethylene glycol (EG) and tere glycol as the main glycols. Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) can be formed as phthalyl. If PET contains waste plastic, both EG and DMT formed in the solvolysis facility may contain recycled components ethylene glycol (r-EG) and dimethyl terephthalate (r-DMT).

[0184]

[0184] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the stream 154 of recycled component glycol (r-glycol) that has left the solvolysis facility 30 may contain at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of the major glycol formed in the solvolysis facility. The flow may also contain, based on the total weight of the flow, 99.9% by weight or less, 99% by weight or less, 95% by weight or less, 90% by weight or less, 85% by weight or less, 80% by weight or less, or 75% by weight or less of a major glycol (e.g., EG), and / or contain at least 0.5%, at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 12, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 25% by weight and / or other components other than major glycols in amounts of 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, or 15% by weight or less, or these may be present in amounts ranging from 0.5 to 45% by weight, 1 to 40% by weight, or 2 to 15% by weight, based on the total weight of the flow. r-glycol may be present in flow 154 in amounts ranging from 45 to 99.9 weight percent, 55 to 99.9 weight percent, or 80 to 99.9 weight percent based on the total weight of flow 154.

[0185]

[0185] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the stream 158 of major terephthalyl (r-terephthalyl) of the recycled components separated from the solvolysis facility may contain at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of major terephthalyl (e.g., DMT) formed in the solvolysis facility 30. This stream may also contain 99 weight percent or less, 95 weight percent or less, 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, or 75 weight percent or less of major terephthalyl based on the total weight of the stream, or the major terephthalyl may be present in amounts of 45-99 weight percent, 50-90 weight percent, or 55-90 weight percent. Furthermore, or in an alternative manner, the flow may contain, based on the total weight of the flow, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 12, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 25 weight percent and / or 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, or 15 weight percent or less of the main non-terephthalyl component. r-terephthalyl (or terephthalyl) may be present in flow 154 in amounts ranging from 45 to 99.9 weight percent, 55 to 99.9 weight percent, or 80 to 99.9 weight percent, based on the total weight of flow 154.

[0186]

[0186] Main glycol flow of recycled components, Main terephthalate of recycled components In addition to providing a flow of lyl, the solvolysis facility can also provide a flow of one or more solvolysis co-products, shown as flow 110 in Figure 1, which can also be diverted from one or more locations within the solvolysis facility. As used herein, the terms “co-product” or “solvolysis co-product” refer to the solvomolence component. This refers to any compound from the solvolysis facility that is neither the primary carboxyl (terephthalyl) product of the solvolysis facility, nor the primary glycol product of the solvolysis facility, nor the primary solvent supplied to the solvolysis facility. The solvolysis co-product stream may contain at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight of one or more solvolysis co-products, based on the total weight of the stream.

[0187]

[0187] The solvolysis co-product is either a heavy organic solvolysis co-product or a light organic solvolysis co-product. The flow of solvolysis co-products may be included. As used herein, the term “heavy organic solvolysis co-product” refers to a solvolysis co-product having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl product of the solvolysis facility, and the term “light organic solvolysis co-product” refers to a solvolysis co-product having a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl product of the solvolysis facility.

[0188]

[0188] If the solvolysis facility is a methanolysis facility, one or more methanolysis The metanolysis co-product may be released from the facility. As used herein, the term “methanolysis co-product” refers to any compound from the metanolysis facility that is not DMT, EG, or methanol. The metanolysis co-product stream may contain at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight of one or more solvolysis co-products, based on the total weight of the stream. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the metanolysis co-product stream may contain heavy organic metanolysis co-products or light organic metanolysis co-products. As used herein, the term “heavy organic metanolysis co-product” refers to a metanolysis co-product having a higher boiling point than DMT, and the term “light metanolysis co-product” refers to a metanolysis co-product having a lower boiling point than DMT.

[0189]

[0189] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvolysis facility may produce at least one stream of heavy organic solvolysis co-products. The stream of heavy organic solvolysis co-products may contain, based on the total weight of organic matter in the stream, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of organic compounds having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl (e.g., DMT) produced from the solvolysis facility 30.

[0190]

[0190] Furthermore, or in an alternative method, the solvolysis facility has at least one light A stream of solvolysis co-products of organic compounds can be generated. The stream of solvolysis co-products of light organic compounds may contain organic compounds having a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl (e.g., DMT) produced from the solvolysis facility 30 at a rate of at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight, based on the total weight of organic compounds in the stream.

[0191]

[0191] Referring again to Figure 3, during operation, it is introduced into the solvolysis facility (separately or The mixed plastic waste and solvent stream may first pass through an optional non-PET separation zone 208, where at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75 of the total weight of the non-PET components. At least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight are separated. The non-PET component may have a lower boiling point than PET and may be removed as vapor from zone 208. Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the non-PET component may have a density slightly higher or lower than PET and may be separated by forming a two-phase liquid flow, after which one or both non-PET phases may be removed. Finally, in some embodiments, the non-PET component may be separated as a solid from the PET-containing liquid phase.

[0192]

[0192] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent of the non-PET components separated from the PET-containing stream include polyolefins, such as polyethylene and / or polypropylene. As generally shown by the dashed lines in Figure 3, all or part of the non-PET separation zone 208 may be upstream of the reaction zone 210, while all or part of the non-PET separation zone 208 may be downstream of the reaction zone 210. Separation techniques, such as extraction, solid / liquid separation, decanting, cyclone or centrifugation, manual removal, magnetic removal, eddy removal, chemical decomposition, evaporation and degassing, distillation, and combinations thereof, can be used to separate the non-PET components from the PET-containing stream in the non-PET separation zone 208.

[0193]

[0193] As shown in Figure 3, the PET-containing flow escapes the non-PET separation zone 208. 138 may contain components other than PET (or its oligomeric and monomeric decomposition products) and solvents in amounts of 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, or 0.5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the PET-containing stream. The PET-containing stream 138 escaping the non-PET separation zone 208 may contain other types of plastics (e.g., polyolefins) in amounts of 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less. The PET-containing stream 138 escaping the non-PET separation zone 208 may contain 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, or 2% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the non-PET components introduced into the non-PET separation zone 208.

[0194]

[0194] Non-PET components are generally shown in Figure 3, including polyolefin-containing components. The product stream 140 may be removed from the solvolysis (or methanolysis) facility 30. The polyolefin-containing co-product stream (or decanter-olefin co-product stream) 140 may contain at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 92, at least 95, at least 97, at least 99, or at least 99.5 weight percent of polyolefins, based on the total weight of the co-product stream 140.

[0195]

[0195] The polyolefins present in the flow of polyolefin-containing co-products are mainly poly This may include ethylene, mainly polypropylene, or a combination of polyethylene and polypropylene. The polyolefin in the polyolefin-containing co-product flow contains at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 92, at least 94, at least 95, at least 97, at least 98, or at least 99 weight percent polyethylene, based on the total weight of polyolefin in the polyolefin-containing co-product flow 140. Alternatively, the polyolefin-containing co-product flow The polyolefin contained herein comprises at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 92, at least 94, at least 95, at least 97, at least 98, or at least 99 percent by weight of polypropylene, based on the total weight of polyolefin in the flow 140 of polyolefin-containing co-products.

[0196]

[0196] Flow of polyolefin-containing co-products: Flow of polyolefin-containing co-products 1 Based on the total weight of 40, it contains PET in amounts of 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, 1% by weight or less, 0.75% by weight or less, 0.50% by weight or less, 0.25% by weight or less, 0.10% by weight or less, or 0.05% by weight or less. Furthermore, the polyolefin-containing co-product stream contains, based on the total weight of the polyolefin-containing co-product stream 140, at least 0.01%, at least 0.05%, at least 0.10%, at least 0.50%, at least 1, or at least 1.5% by weight and / or non-polyolefin components in amounts of 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, or 2% by weight or less.

[0197]

[0197] Overall, the flow 140 of polyolefin-containing co-products is polyolefin-containing Based on the total weight of the co-product stream 140, it contains at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of organic compounds. The polyolefin-containing co-product stream 140 may contain at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 weight percent and / or 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, or 1 weight percent or less of inorganic components.

[0198]

[0198] Flow of polyolefin-containing co-products: Flow of polyolefin-containing co-products 1 Based on the total weight of 40, it may contain at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 1.5, at least 2, at least 2.5, at least 3, at least 3.5, at least 4, at least 4.5, at least 5, at least 8, at least 10, at least 12, at least 15, at least 18, at least 20, at least 22, or at least 25 weight percent and / or 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, or 2 weight percent or less of one or more nonreactive solids. Nonreactive solids refer to solid components that do not chemically react with PET. Examples of nonreactive solids, but not limited to these, include sand, dirt, glass, plastic fillers, and combinations thereof.

[0199]

[0199] Flow 140 of polyolefin-containing co-products is a flow of polyolefin co-products. Based on a total weight of 140, at least 100, at least 250, at least 500, at least 750, at least 1000, at least 1500, at least 2000, at least 2500, at least 5000, at least 7500 ppm by weight (or at least 1, at least 1.5, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 25 percent by weight) and / or 50 percent by weight or less, 45 percent by weight or less, 40 percent by weight or less, 35 percent by weight or less, 30 percent by weight or less, 25 percent by weight or less, 20 percent by weight or less The polyolefin-containing co-product flow 140 may contain the filler in amounts of 100 ppm to 50 ppm, 500 ppm to 10 ppm, or 1000 ppm to 5 ppm.

[0200]

[0200] Examples of fillers include, but are not limited to, thixotropic agents such as fumed silica and clay (kaolin), pigments, colorants, flame retardants such as alumina trihydrate, bromine, chlorine, borate, and phosphorus, inhibitors such as wax-based materials, UV inhibitors or stabilizers, conductive additives such as metal particles, carbon particles, or conductive fibers, release agents such as zinc stearate, wax, and silicone, calcium carbonate, and calcium sulfate.

[0201]

[0201] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein, stream 140 of the polyolefin-containing co-product has a density, measured at 25 °C, of at least 0.75, at least 0.80, at least 0.85, at least 0.90, at least 0.95, at least 0.99 g / cm and / or 1.5 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.4 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.3 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.2 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.1 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.05 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.01 g / cm 3 and / or less than or equal to 1.01 g / cm 3 and can have a density of 0.80 to 1.4, 0.90 to 1.2, or 0.95 to 1.1 g / cm 3It may be. When removed from the non-PET separation zone 208, the polyolefin-containing co-product stream 140 may have temperatures of at least 200, at least 205, at least 210, at least 215, at least 220, at least 225, at least 230, or at least 235°C and / or below 350°C, below 340°C, below 335°C, below 330°C, below 325°C, below 320°C, below 315°C, below 310°C, below 305°C, or below 300°C. The polyolefin-containing co-product stream 140 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of components with higher boiling points than the major terephthalyl or DMT, based on the total weight of the stream.

[0202]

[0202] As discussed in more detail herein, polyolefin-containing co-products All or part of the flow may be introduced into one or more downstream chemical recycling facilities, either alone or in combination with one or more other co-product flows, flows generated from one or more other downstream chemical recycling facilities, and / or waste plastic flows containing untreated, partially treated, and / or treated mixed plastic waste.

[0203]

[0203] Referring again to Figure 3, the non-PET separation zone 208 (upstream of reaction zone 210) The PET-containing stream 138 (containing dissolved PET and its decomposition products) escaping from the PET zone may then be transferred to the reaction zone 210, where at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent of the decomposition of the PET introduced into the reaction zone occurs. In some embodiments, the reaction medium in the reaction zone 210 may be stirred or agitated, and one or more temperature control devices (e.g., heat exchangers) may be used to maintain the target reaction temperature. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the target reactant temperature in the reaction zone 210 is at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, or at least 85°C and / or 350°C or less, 345°C or less, 340°C or less, 335°C or less, 330°C or less, 325°C or less, 32 The temperature can be below 0°C, below 315°C, below 310°C, below 300°C, or below 295°C.

[0204]

[0204] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvolysis method can be a low-pressure solvolysis method, and the pressure in the solvolysis reactor (or reaction zone) 210 can be within 5 psi, 10 psi, 15 psi, 20 psi, 25 psi, 30 psi, 35 psi, 40 psi, 45 psi, or 50 psi of atmospheric pressure, or the pressure may be within 55 psi, 75 psi, 90 psi, 100 psi, 125 psi, 150 psi, 200 psi, or 250 psi of atmospheric pressure. The pressure inside the solvolysis reactor (or reaction zone) 210 may be within 0.35 bar gauge (bars) of air, within 0.70 bar, within 1 bar, within 1.4 bar, within 1.75 bar, within 2 bar, within 2.5 bar, within 2.75 bar, within 3 bar, within 3.5 bar, within 3.75 bar, within 5 bar or within 6.25 bar and / or 6.9 bar or less, 8.6 bar or less or 10.35 bar or less. The pressure inside the solvolysis reactor (or reaction zone) 210 may be at least 100 psig (6.7 barg), at least 150 psig (10.3 barg), at least 200 psig (13.8 barg), at least 250 psig (17.2 barg), at least 300 psig (20.7 barg), at least 350 psig (24.1 barg), at least 400 psig (27.5 barg) and / or 725 psig (50 barg) or less, 650 psig (44.7 barg) or less, 600 psig (41.3 barg) or less, 550 psig (37.8 barg) or less, 500 psig (34.5 barg) or less, 450 psig (31 barg) or less, 400 psig (27.6 barg) or less, or 350 psig (24.1 barg) or less.

[0205]

[0205] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvolysis method carried out in reaction zone 210 or facility 30 may be a high-pressure solvolysis method, and the pressure in the solvolysis reactor may be at least 50 barg (725 psig), at least 70 barg (1015 psig), at least 75 barg (1088 psig), at least 80 barg (1161 psig), at least 85 barg (1233 psig), at least 90 barg (1307 psig), at least 95 barg (1378 psig), and at least 100 It can be barg(1451psig), at least 110barg(1596psig), at least 120barg(1741psig), or at least 125barg(1814psig) and / or 150barg(2177barg) or less, 145barg(2104psig) or less, 140barg(2032psig) or less, 135barg(1959psig) or less, 130barg(1886psig) or less, or 125barg(1814psig) or less.

[0206]

[0206] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the average residence time of the reaction medium in reaction zone 210 can be at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, or at least 15 minutes and / or 12 hours or less, 11 hours or less, 10 hours or less, 9 hours or less, 8 hours or less, 7 hours or less, 6 hours or less, 5 hours or less, or 4 hours or less. At least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent of the total weight of PET introduced into the solvolysis or methanolysis facility 30 can be decomposed in the reactor outflow 144 when leaving reaction zone 210.

[0207]

[0207] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein Additionally, the reactor purge flow 142 may be removed from the reaction zone 210, and at least a portion of it may be returned as a reactor purge co-product flow 142 to one or more downstream facilities within the chemical recycling facility 10. The reactor purge co-product flow 142 may have a boiling point higher than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl (or DMT in the case of methanolysis) produced from the solvolysis facility 30.

[0208]

[0208] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the reactor purge co-product flow 142 may contain at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of major terephthalyl, based on the total weight of flow 142. If the solvolysis facility is a methanolysis facility, the reactor purge co-product flow 142 may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of DMT, based on the total weight of flow 142.

[0209]

[0209] In addition, the reactor purge co-product flow 142 is based on the total weight of flow 142. The mixture may contain at least 100 ppm and 25 weight percent or less of one or more non-terephthalyl solids. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the total amount of non-terephthalyl solids in the reactor purge co-product flow 142 is at least 150, at least 200, at least 250, at least 300, at least 350, at least 400, at least 500, at least 600, at least 700, at least 800, at least 900, at least 1000, at least 1500, at least 2000, at least 2500, at least 3000, at least 3500, at least 4000, based on the total weight of the flow. At least 4500, at least 5000, at least 5500, at least 6000, at least 7000, at least 8000, at least 9000, at least 10,000, or at least 12,500 ppm and / or 25% by weight or less, 22% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 18% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 12% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 8% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less.

[0210]

[0210] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the reactor purge co-product flow 142, based on the total weight of the flow, is at least 100, at least 250, at least 500, at least 750, at least 1000, at least 1500, at least 2000, at least 2500, at least 3000, at least 3500, at least 4000, at least 4500, at least 5000, at least 5500, at least 6000, at least 6500, at least 7000, at least 7500, at least 8000, at least 8500, and at least 9000. , at least 9500 ppm by weight or at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 8, at least 10, or at least 12 percent by weight and / or 25 percent by weight or less, 22 percent by weight or less, 20 percent by weight or less, 17 percent by weight or less, 15 percent by weight or less, 12 percent by weight or less, 10 percent by weight or less, 8 percent by weight or less, 6 percent by weight or less, 5 percent by weight or less, 3 percent by weight or less, 2 percent by weight or less or 1 percent by weight or less, or 7500 It has a total solid component content of less than or equal to ppm by weight, less than or equal to 5000 ppm by weight, or less than or equal to 2500 ppm by weight.

[0211]

[0211] Examples of solids include, but are not limited to, non-volatile catalyst compounds. This is possible. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the reactor purge coproduct flow may contain at least 100, at least 250, at least 500, at least 750, at least 1000, at least 1500, at least 2000, at least 2500, at least 3000, at least 3500, at least 4000, at least 4500, at least 5000, at least 7500, at least 10,000, or at least 12,500 ppm and / or 60,000 ppm or less, 50,000 ppm or less, 40,000 ppm or less, 35,000 ppm or less, 30,000 ppm or less, 25,000 ppm or less, 20,000 ppm or less, 15,000 ppm or less, or 10,000 ppm or less of non-volatile catalyst metals.

[0212]

[0212] Examples of suitable non-volatile catalyst metals include, but are not limited to, titanium, Examples include zinc, manganese, lithium, magnesium, sodium, methoxide, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, tin, residual esterification or transesterification catalysts, residual polycondensation catalysts, aluminum, depolymerization catalysts, and combinations thereof. As discussed in further detail herein, all or part of the reactor purge co-product stream 142 may be introduced into one or more downstream chemical recycling facilities, alone or in combination with one or more other co-product streams, streams generated from one or more other downstream chemical recycling facilities, and / or waste plastics streams containing untreated, partially treated, and / or treated mixed plastic waste.

[0213]

[0213] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, as generally shown in Figure 3, the effluent 144 from the reaction zone 210 within the solvolysis facility 30 may optionally be directed through a non-PET separation zone 208 located downstream of the reactor, as previously discussed. The generated effluent 144 from the reactor, or the non-PET separation zone 208, if present, may also pass through the product separation zone 220, and at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight of heavy organic matter will be separated from the feed stream 144 to form a stream 146 mainly of light organic matter and a stream 148 of heavy organic matter. Any suitable method can be used to separate such streams, and any suitable method may include, for example, distillation, extraction, decanting, crystallization, membrane separation, solid / liquid separation, e.g., filtration (e.g., belt filter), and combinations thereof.

[0214] As shown in FIG. 3, the heavy organic substances leaving the product separation zone 220 may include, based on the total weight of the stream, for example, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of heavy organic components, and these may be introduced into the heavy organic separation zone 240. In the heavy organic separation zone 240, the main terephthalyl product stream 158 may be separated from the terephthalyl bottom or "sludge" co-product stream 160. Such separation can be achieved, for example, by distillation, extraction, decantation, membrane separation, melt crystallization, zone refining, and combinations thereof. As a result, a stream 158 is obtained that contains, based on the total weight of the stream, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or also at least 99 weight percent of the main terephthalyl (or DMT). In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein, at least a portion or all of the main terephthalyl can include recycled component terephthalyl (r-terephthalyl), for example, recycled component DMT (r-DMT).

[0215]

[0215] Also leaving the heavy organic separation zone 240 is the terephthalyl bottom co-product stream (also referred to as the "terephthalyl column bottom co-product stream" or the "terephthalyl sludge co-product stream" or the "terephthalyl drag co-product stream"), and the co-product stream 160 can also be removed from the heavy organic separation zone 240. When the solvolysis facility is a methanolysis facility, the stream can be referred to as the DMT bottom co-product stream, the DMT column bottom co-product stream, the DMT sludge co-product stream, or the DMT drag stream.

[0216] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein, the co-product stream can comprise oligomers, e.g., PET oligomers, that comprise a portion of the polyester that is subject to solvolysis, e.g., at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 92, at least 95, at least 97, at least 98, at least 99, or at least 99.5 weight percent, based on the total weight of the composition. As used herein, the term "polyester moiety" or "portion of polyester" refers to a portion or residue of a polyester, or a reaction product of a portion or residue of a polyester. These oligomers can have a number average chain length of at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, or at least 8 monomer units (acid + glycol) and / or 30 or fewer, 27 or fewer, 25 or fewer, 22 or fewer, 20 or fewer, 17 or fewer, 15 or fewer, 12 or fewer, or 10 or fewer monomer units (acid + glycol), and can include a processed portion of the polyester (e.g., PET).

[0217] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein ​In addition, the co-product stream 160 at the bottom of the terephthalyl column (or DMT column) may contain oligomers and at least one substituted terephthalyl component. As used herein, the term "substituted terephthalyl" refers to a terephthalyl component having at least one substituted atom or group. The terephthalyl column bottom-compound flow 160 may contain, based on the total weight of the terephthalyl column bottom-compound flow 160, at least 1, at least 100, at least 500 weight parts pervilions, or at least 1, at least 50, at least 1,000, at least 2,500, at least 5,000, at least 7,500, or at least 10,000 weight parts permillions, or at least 1, at least 2, or at least 5 weight percent and / or 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, 1 weight percent or less, 0.5 weight percent or less, 0.1 weight percent or less, or 0.01 weight percent or less of substituted terephthalyl components.

[0218]

[0218] Terephthalyl tower bottom commodities, as discussed in more detail herein. All or part of flow 160 is to one or more downstream chemical recycling facilities, either alone or as one or more other co-product flows, flows generated from one or more other downstream chemical recycling facilities, and / or waste containing untreated, partially treated, and / or treated mixed plastic waste. It can also be used in combination with a plastic flow.

[0219]

[0219] Referring again to Figure 3, the flow from the product separation zone 220 is mainly light organic matter. Flow 146 may be introduced into a light organic matter separation zone 230. In the light organic matter separation zone 230, flow 146 may be separated to remove the main solvent (e.g., methanol in methanolysis) and separate the main glycol (e.g., ethylene glycol in methanolysis) from lighter and heavier organic co-products (or co-products) than the main glycol.

[0220]

[0220] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvent stream 150 that has left the light organic matter separation zone 230 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of the main solvent, based on the total weight of the stream 150. If the solvolysis facility 30 is a methanolysis facility, this stream 150 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of methanol, based on the total weight of the stream. All or part of the stream may be recycled to one or more locations within the solvolysis facility for further use.

[0221]

[0221] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the stream 152 of at least one solvolysis coproduct of a light organic substance (also called the “light organic substance” stream) may also be able to leave the light organic substance separation zone 230 and may contain at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of a component having a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the major terephthalyl (or DMT) that is neither the major glycol (or ethylene glycol) nor the major solvent (or methanol). Furthermore, or in alternative methods, the co-product stream may contain components having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of DMT, such as 60% by weight or less, 55% by weight or less, 50% by weight or less, 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight or less, 25% by weight or less, 20% by weight or less, 15% by weight or less, 10% by weight or less, 5% by weight or less, 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, and 1% by weight or less, and the stream 152 itself may have a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl (or DMT).

[0222]

[0222] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the stream 152 of solvolysis co-products of light organic matter may be produced in a solvolysis facility containing a major solvent (e.g., methanol). For example, the stream 152 of solvolysis co-products of light organic matter may contain at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, or at least 55 weight percent and / or 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, or 30 weight percent or less of the major solvent.

[0223]

[0223] In addition, this co-product flow 152 is also based on the total weight of the co-product flow And acetaldehyde in amounts of at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 50, at least 100, at least 250, at least 500, at least 750, or at least 1000 ppm and / or 90% by weight or less, 85% by weight or less, 80% by weight or less, 75% by weight or less, 70% by weight or less, 65% by weight or less, 60% by weight or less, 55% by weight or less, 50% by weight or less, 45% by weight or less, 40% by weight or less, 35% by weight or less, 30% by weight It may be contained in amounts of less than 1% by weight, less than 25% by weight, less than 20% by weight, less than 15% by weight, less than 10% by weight, less than 5% by weight, less than 3% by weight, less than 2% by weight, less than 1% by weight, less than 0.5% by weight, less than 0.1% by weight, or less than 0.05% by weight, or acetaldehyde may be present in amounts of 1 ppm to 50% by weight, 50 ppm to 0.5% by weight, or 100 ppm to 0.05% by weight, based on the total weight of the co-product flow.

[0224]

[0224] Furthermore, the flow of light organic matter co-products 152 also includes the total weight of the co-product flow. Based on this, para-dioxane (or p-dioxane) may be present in amounts of at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 50, at least 100, at least 250, at least 500, at least 750, or at least 1000 ppm and / or less than or equal to 60 weight percent, 55 weight percent, 50 weight percent, 45 weight percent, 40 weight percent, 35 weight percent, 30 weight percent, 25 weight percent, 20 weight percent, 15 weight percent, 10 weight percent, 5 weight percent, 3 weight percent, 2 weight percent, 1 weight percent, 0.5 weight percent, 0.1 weight percent or less, or less than or equal to 0.05 weight percent, or p-dioxane may be present in amounts of 1 ppm to 50 weight percent, 50 ppm to 0.5 weight percent, or 100 ppm to 0.05 weight percent, based on the total weight of the co-product flow.

[0225]

[0225] This light organic co-product stream 152 is tetrahydrofuran (THF), Methyl acetate, silicate, 2,5-methyldioxolane, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-3-pentenal, 2,2,4-trimethyl-3-pentenol, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, 2,4-dimethyl-3-pentanone (DIPK), isobutyl isobutyrate, methyl formate, n-butanol, acetic acid, dibutylene Dimethyl ether, heptane, dibutyl terephthalate, dimethyl phthalate, dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylate, 2-methoxyethanol, 2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane, 1,1-dimethoxy-2-butene, 1,1-dimethoxyethane, 1,3-propanediol, 2,5-dimethyl-1,3,5-hexadiene, 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene, alpha-methylstyrene, diethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol The material may further contain at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of lycoformar, dimethoxydimethylsilane, dimethyl ether, diisopropyl ketone, EG benzoate, hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane, hexamethyldisiloxane, methoxytrimethylsilane, methyl 4-ethyl benzoate, methyl caprylate, methyl glycolate, methyl lactate, methyl laurate, methyl methoxyethyl terephthalate, methyl nonanoate, methyl oleate, methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, methyl-4-acetylbenzoate, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, styrene, trimethylsilanol, 1,1-dimethoxy(dimethyoxy)-2-butene, 4-methylmorpholine, 1,3,3-trimethoxypropane, methyl myristate, dimethyl adipate, N-methyl-caprolactam, dimethyl azelaate, neopentyl glycol, and combinations thereof.

[0226]

[0226] As discussed in more detail herein, the flow of light organic co-products All or part of (or more) of these may be introduced into one or more downstream chemical recycling facilities, either alone or in combination with one or more other co-product streams, streams generated from one or more other downstream chemical recycling facilities, and / or waste plastic streams containing mixed plastic waste (untreated, partially treated, or treated).

[0227]

[0227] Furthermore, stream 154, which mainly contains the main glycol, also separates light organic matter into zones. It can also be separated from n230. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the main glycol (e.g., ethylene glycol) stream 154 may contain at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of the main glycol, based on the total weight of the stream 154. The main glycol stream 154 may also contain recycled components, such that the main glycol product stream 154 has at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of recycled components, based on the total weight of the stream. The main glycol (or ethylene glycol) may contain r-glycol (or r-ethylene glycol).

[0228]

[0228] As shown in Figure 3, the glycol-containing bottom product flow 156 is also It is also possible to exit the light organic matter separation zone 230. The terms “glycol column bottom” or “glycol column sludge” (or, more specifically, EG column bottom or EG column sludge in methanolysis) refer to components (or azeotropic mixtures) having a boiling point higher than that of the major glycol and lower than that of the major terephthalyl.

[0229]

[0229] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the glycol column bottom-end co-product stream 156 may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of components having a boiling point higher than the boiling point of the main glycol (e.g., ethylene glycol) and a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the main terephthalyl. The glycol column bottom-end co-product stream 156 may contain 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, 35 weight percent or less, 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 10 weight percent or less, 5 weight percent or less, 2 weight percent or less, or 1 weight percent or less of components having a boiling point lower than the boiling point of the main glycol (e.g., ethylene glycol). The glycol bottom-of-column co-product stream 156 may have a boiling point higher than that of the major glycol (e.g., EG) and a boiling point lower than that of the major terephthalyl (e.g., DMT).

[0230]

[0230] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the glycol bottom co-product stream 156 may contain the main glycol and at least one other glycol. For example, the glycol column bottom co-product stream 156 may contain at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 5, or at least 8 weight percent and / or 30 weight percent or less, 25 weight percent or less, 20 weight percent or less, 15 weight percent or less, 12 weight percent or less, or 10 weight percent or less of the main glycol (or ethylene glycol), based on the total weight of the co-product stream 156. Ethylene glycol (or ethylene glycol) can exist on its own (in a free state) or as part of another compound.

[0231]

[0231] Other possible major glycols (depending on the PET or other polymer being processed) include, but are not limited to, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,4 - cyclohexanedimethanol, propane - 1,3 - diol, butane - 1,4 - diol, pentane - 1,5 - diol, hexane - 1,6 - diol, neopentyl glycol, 3 - methylpentanediol-(2,4), 2 - methylpentanediol-(1,4), 2,2,4 - trimethylpentanediol-(1,3), 2 - ethylhexanediol-(1,3), 2,2 - diethylpropanediol-(1,3), hexanediol-(1,3), 1,4 - di-(hydroxyethoxy)-benzene, 2,2 - bis-(4 - hydroxycyclohexyl)-propane, 2,4 - dihydroxy - 1,1,3,3 - tetramethyl - cyclobutane, 2,2,4,4 - tetramethylcyclobutanediol, 2,2 - bis-(3 - hydroxyethoxyphenyl)-propane, 2,2 - bis-(4 - hydroxypropoxyphenyl)-propane, isosorbide, hydroquinone, BDS-(2,2-(sulfonylbis)4,1 - phenyleneoxy))bis(ethanol), and combinations thereof. Other glycols may or may not include ethylene glycol and may not be ethylene glycol. Portions of these glycols may also be present within any oligomers of the polyester in this or other co - product streams. Additionally, other non - terephthalyl and / or non - glycol components may also be present in these streams. Examples of such components include isophthalates and other acid residues having a boiling point higher than that of major terephthalyl.

[0232]

[0232] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein ​​In addition, glycols other than the main glycol (or ethylene glycol in the case of methanolysis) may be present in the glycol column bottom-end co-product stream 156 in amounts of at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, or at least 75 weight percent and / or 99 weight percent or less, 95 weight percent or less, 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, 45 weight percent or less, 40 weight percent or less, or 35 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of glycol in the glycol column bottom-end co-product stream 156.

[0233]

[0233] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In addition, the weight ratio of at least one glycol other than the major glycol to the major glycol in the glycol column bottom-component stream 156 is at least 0.5:1, at least 0.55:1, at least 0.65:1, at least 0.70:1, at least 0.75:1, at least 0.80:1, at least 0.85:1, at least 0.90:1, at least 0.95:1, at least 0.97:1, at least 0.99:1, at least 1:1, at least 1.05:1, at least 1.1:1, at least 1.15:1, at least 1.2:1, or at least or at least 1.25:1. Furthermore, or in an alternative method, the weight ratio of at least one glycol other than the major glycol to the major glycol in the glycol column bottom-component stream 156 is in the range of 5:1 or less, 4.5:1 or less, 4:1 or less, 3.5:1 or less, 3:1 or less, 2.5:1 or less, 2:1 or less, 1.5:1 or less, 1.25:1 or less, or 1:1 or less, or in the range of 0.5:1 to 5:1, 0.70:1 to 3:1, or 0.80:1 to 2.5:1.

[0234]

[0234] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, the solvolysis facility 30 can generate two or more co-product flows, which may include two or more heavy organic co-product flows, two or more light organic co-product flows, or a combination of light and heavy organic co-product flows. All or part of one or more solvolysis co-product flows (shown in flow 110 in Figure 1) may be introduced into at least one downstream treatment facility, which may include, for example, the pyrolysis facility 60, the cracking facility 70, the POX gasification facility 50, the energy recovery facility 80, and any other optional facilities previously described.

[0235]

[0235] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein In addition, two or more (or two or more partial) solvolysis co-product flows may be introduced into the same downstream processing facility, but in other cases, two or more (or two or more partial) solvolysis co-product flows may be introduced into different downstream processing facilities. In some embodiments, at least 90, at least 95, at least 97, at least 99 percent by weight, or all of a single co-product flow may be introduced into one downstream facility, and in other embodiments, the flow may be divided into two or more downstream facilities, such that 60 percent or less by weight, 55 percent or less by weight, 50 percent or less by weight, 45 percent or less by weight, 40 percent or less by weight, 35 percent or less by weight, or 30 percent or less of a single co-product flow may be introduced into one of the downstream processing facilities.

[0236]

[0236] Referring again to Figure 1, in one embodiment or as described herein In any embodiment, at least a portion of the stream 110 of at least one solvolysis co-product may be combined with at least a portion of the PO-rich plastic stream 114 that has been removed from the pretreatment facility 20, as shown in Figure 1. The amount of a single co-product stream 110 (or all co-product streams if two or more are combined) in the combined stream having the PO-rich plastic may vary, based on the total weight of the combined stream, and can be, for example, at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, or at least 50 weight percent and / or 90 weight percent or less, 85 weight percent or less, 80 weight percent or less, 75 weight percent or less, 70 weight percent or less, 65 weight percent or less, 60 weight percent or less, 55 weight percent or less, 50 weight percent or less, or 40 weight percent or less. As shown in Figure 1, the combined flow may then be introduced into one or more locations within the chemical recycling facility, including, for example, a POX gasification facility 50, a pyrolysis facility 60, a cracker facility 70, and / or an energy generation facility 80.

[0237] Liquefaction / Halogenation

[0237] As shown in Figure 1, the waste plastic stream 114 rich in PO is (dissolved The plastic may be introduced into a liquefaction zone or step before being introduced into one or more downstream processing facilities (with or without being combined with the pharmacolysis co-product flow 110). As used herein, the term “liquefaction” zone or step means a chemical processing zone or step in which at least a portion of the incoming plastic is liquefied. The step of liquefying the plastic may include chemical liquefaction, physical liquefaction, or a combination thereof. Exemplary methods of liquefying a polymer introduced into a liquefaction zone may include (i) heating / melting; (ii) dissolving in a solvent; (iii) depolymerization; (iv) plasticizing, and combinations thereof. Furthermore, one or more of the options (i) to (iv) may also include compounding agents or liquids to help facilitate the liquefaction (reduction of viscosity) of the polymer material. This may be accompanied by the addition of a rheolytic agent. In this way, various rheological modifiers (e.g., solvents, depolymerizers, plasticizers, and compounding agents) can be used to improve the flow and / or dispersibility of liquefied waste plastics.

[0238]

[0238] When added to the liquefaction zone 40, a small amount of plastic (usually waste plastic) A viscosity reduction of at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 percent by weight is observed. In some cases, the viscosity reduction can be accelerated by heating (e.g., by adding steam in direct or indirect contact with the plastic), while in other cases, it can be accelerated by combining it with a solvent that can dissolve the plastic. Examples of suitable solvents, but not limited to, include alcohols such as methanol or ethanol, glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, and neopentyl glycol, cyclohexanedimethanol, glycerin, pyrolysis oil, motor oil, and water. As shown in Figure 1, the solvent stream 141 can be added directly to the liquefaction zone 40, or combined with one or more streams (not shown in Figure 1) supplied to the liquefaction zone 40.

[0239]

[0239] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the solvent may include a stream drawn from one or more other facilities within the chemical recycling facility. For example, the solvent may include a stream drawn from at least one of the solvolysis facility 30, the pyrolysis facility 60, and the cracking facility 70. The solvent may be or include at least one of the solvolysis co-products described herein, or may be or include a pyrolysis oil.

[0240]

[0240] In some cases, plastics may be depolymerized by contact with depolymerizing agents, for example. The polymer can be depolymerized such that its number-mean chain length is reduced. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, at least one of the previously listed solvents may be used as a depolymerizer, but in one or more other embodiments, organic acids (e.g., acetic acid, citric acid, butyric acid, formic acid, lactic acid, oleic acid, oxalic acid, stearic acid, tartaric acid, and / or uric acid) or inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid (for polyolefins) may be used as depolymerizers. The depolymerizer may reduce the melting point and / or viscosity of the polymer by reducing its number-mean chain length.

[0241]

[0241] Alternatively, or in addition, a plasticizer may be used in the liquefaction zone to improve the viscosity of the plastic. The degree can be reduced. Plasticizers for polyethylene include, for example, dioctyl phthalate, dioctyl terephthalate, glyceryl tribenzoate, polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 8,000 daltons or less, sunflower oil, paraffin wax with a molecular weight of 400 to 1,000 daltons, paraffinic oils, mineral oil, glycerin, EPDM, and EVA. Plasticizers for polypropylene include, for example, dioctyl sebacate, paraffinic oils, isooctyl tallate, plasticizing oil (Drakeol 34), naphthenic and aromatic processing oils, and glycerin. Plasticizers for polyesters include, for example, polyalkylene ethers with molecular weights ranging from 400 to 1500 daltons (e.g., polyethylene glycol, polytetramethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, or mixtures thereof), glyceryl monostearate, octyl epoxy soyate, epoxidized soybean oil, epoxy talate, epoxidized linseed oil, polyhydroxyalkanoates, glycols (e.g., ethylene glycol, pentamethylene glycol, hexamethylene glycol, etc.), phthalates, terephthalates, trimellitates, and polyethylene glycol di-(2-ethylhexoate). When used, the plasticizer may be present in amounts of at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, or at least 5 weight percent and / or 10, 8, 5, 3, 2, or 1 weight percent or less relative to the total weight of the flow, or in the range of 0.1 to 10 weight percent, 0.5 to 8 weight percent, or 1 to 5 weight percent relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0242]

[0242] Furthermore, one or more methods for liquefying waste plastic streams are also liquefaction processes This may also include adding at least one compounding agent to the plastic before, during, or after the process. Such compounding agents may include, for example, emulsifiers and / or surfactants, which can help to blend the liquefied plastic into a single phase, particularly when density differences between the plastic components of the plastic flow being mixed result in multiple liquid or semi-liquid phases. When used, the compounding agent may be present in an amount of at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, or at least 5 weight percent and / or 10 or less, 8 or less, 5 or less, 3 or less, 2 or less, or 1 weight percent or less relative to the total weight of the flow, or in the range of 0.1 to 10 weight percent, 0.5 to 8 weight percent, or 1 to 5 weight percent relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0243]

[0243] Combined with a PO-rich plastic flow 114 as generally shown in Figure 1. When this is done, the solvolysis co-product stream (which may include one or more solvolysis co-products described herein) may be added before the introduction of the PO-rich waste plastic stream 114 into the liquefaction zone 40 (indicated by line 113) and / or after the liquefied plastic stream is removed from the liquefaction zone 40 (indicated by line 115). In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, at least a portion or all of one or more co-product streams may also be introduced directly into the liquefaction zone as shown in Figure 1. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, at least a portion of the PO-rich waste plastic stream 114 can be routed completely around the liquefaction zone 40 via line 117 and may optionally be combined with at least one solvolysis co-product stream 110 as also shown in Figure 1.

[0244]

[0244] In addition, as shown in Figure 1, the pyrolysis oil flow drawn out from the pyrolysis facility 60 A portion of 143 can be combined with a PO-rich plastic stream 114 to form a liquefied plastic. Although shown to be introduced directly into the liquefaction zone 40, all or a portion of the pyrolysis oil stream 143 may be combined with the PO-rich plastic stream 114 before introduction into the liquefaction zone 40, or after the PO-rich plastic stream 114 has left the liquefaction zone 40. When used, the pyrolysis oil may be added alone or in combination with one or more other solvent streams at one or more locations as described herein.

[0245]

[0245] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the feed stream from the liquefaction zone 40 to one or more downstream chemical recycling facilities may include one or more solvolysis co-product streams at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of the total weight of the feed stream introduced to one or more downstream processing facilities. For example, the feed streams 116, 118, 120, and 122 to each of the POX facility 50, pyrolysis facility 60, cracking facility 70, energy recovery facility 80, and / or other facilities 90 of the chemical recycling facility 10 may contain PO-rich waste plastics and some amount of the present specification. It may contain one or more solvolysis co-products as described in the book.

[0246]

[0246] In addition, or otherwise, pyrolysis facility 60, POX facility 50, cracking facility The supply flow to the facility 70, the energy recovery facility 80, and / or other facilities 90 may contain one or more solvolysis co-product flows in amounts of 95% or less, 90% or less, 85% or less, 80% or less, 75% or less, 70% or less, 65% or less, 60% or less, 55% or less, 50% or less, 45% or less, 40% or less, 35% or less, 30% or less, 25% or less, 20% or less, 15% or less, 10% or less, 5% or less, 2% or less, or 1% or less by weight of the total weight of the supply flow introduced into one or more downstream treatment facilities.

[0247]

[0247] Or, or in addition, the liquefied (and The plastic flow (of reduced viscosity) may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of the total weight of the flow and / or 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, 30 or less, 25 or less, 20 or less, 15 or less, 10 or less, 5 or less, 2 or less, or 1 percent by weight of PO or less, or the amount of PO may be in the range of 1 to 95 percent by weight, 5 to 90 percent by weight, or 10 to 85 percent by weight of the total weight of the flow.

[0248]

[0248] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the liquefied plastic flow exiting the liquefaction zone 40 can have a viscosity of less than 3,000, less than 2,500, less than 2,000, less than 1,500, less than 1,000, less than 800, less than 750, less than 700, less than 650, less than 600, less than 550, less than 500, less than 450, less than 400, less than 350, less than 300, less than 250, less than 150, less than 100, less than 75, less than 50, less than 25, less than 10, less than 5, or less than 1 poise, as measured using a Brookfield R / S rheometer with a V80-40 vane spindle operating at a shear rate of 10 rad / s and a temperature of 350°C. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the viscosity of the liquefied plastic flow exiting the liquefaction zone (measured at 350°C and 10 rad / s and expressed in poise) is 95% or less, 90% or less, 75% or less, 50% or less, 25% or less, 10% or less, 5% or less, or 1% or less of the viscosity of the PO-rich flow introduced into the liquefaction zone.

[0249]

[0249] Figure 6 is used as the liquefaction zone 40 of the chemical recycling facility shown in Figure 1. The basic components of a possible liquefaction system are shown. Figure 6 should be understood as showing an exemplary embodiment of the liquefaction system. Some features shown in Figure 6 may be omitted, and / or additional features described elsewhere in this specification may be added to the system depicted in Figure 6.

[0250]

[0250] As shown in Figure 6, waste plastic stream 114 rich in PO, The waste plastic feed can originate from a waste plastic source such as the pretreatment facility 20 described herein. A waste plastic feed, such as a PO-rich waste plastic stream 114, can be introduced into a liquefaction zone 40, depicted in Figure 6, which includes at least one melting tank 310, at least one circulating loop pump 312, at least one external heat exchanger 340, at least one stripping column 330, and at least one release container 320. These various exemplary components in the liquefaction zone 40 and their functionality are discussed in more detail below.

[0251]

[0251] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, and as shown in Figure 6, the liquefaction zone 40 includes a melting tank 310 and a heater. The melting tank 310 receives a waste plastic feed, such as a PO-rich waste plastic stream 114, and the heater heats the waste plastic. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the melting tank 310 may include one or more continuously agitated tanks. When one or more rheological modifiers (e.g., solvents, depolymerizers, plasticizers, and compounding agents) are used in the liquefaction zone, such rheological modifiers may be added to and / or mixed with the PO-rich plastic in or before the melting tank 310.

[0252]

[0252] One embodiment or any embodiment described herein (shown in Figure 6) In embodiments combined with (not included), the heater for the liquefaction zone 40 may take the form of an internal heat exchange coil located within the molten tank 310, an outer casing of the molten tank 310, a heat trace outside the molten tank 310, and / or an electric heating element outside the molten tank 310. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 6, the heater for the liquefaction zone 40 may include an external heat exchanger 340 that receives the flow of liquefied plastic 171 from the molten tank 310, heats it, and returns at least a portion of the liquefied and heated plastic flow 173 back to the molten tank 310.

[0253]

[0253] As shown in Figure 6, an external heat exchanger 340 is used in the liquefaction zone 40 When providing heat, a circulation loop can be used to continuously heat the PO-rich material. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the circulation loop includes a melting tank 310, an external heat exchanger 340, a conduit shown as line 171 connecting the melting tank and the external heat exchanger, and a pump 151 for circulating the liquefied waste plastic into the circulation loop. When the circulation loop is used, the liquefied PO-rich material produced can be continuously drawn out of the liquefaction zone 40 via conduit 161 shown in Figure 6 as part of a circulating PO-rich flow.

[0254]

[0254] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the liquefaction zone 40 may optionally include equipment for removing halogens from the PO-rich material. When the PO-rich material is heated in the liquefaction zone 40, a halogen-rich gas may be generated. By releasing the released halogen-rich gas from the liquefied PO-rich material, the halogen concentration in the PO-rich material can be reduced.

[0255]

[0255] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, dehalogenation can be facilitated by spraying a stripping gas (e.g., steam) into a liquefied PO-rich material either within the melting tank 310 or at another location in the circulation loop. As shown in Figure 6, the stripper 330 and the release container 320 may be located in the circulation loop downstream of the external heat exchanger 340 and upstream of the melting tank 310. As shown in Figure 6, the stripper 330 can receive a liquefied and heated plastic flow 173 from the external heat exchanger 340 and provide spraying of the stripping gas 153 into the liquefied plastic. Spraying of the stripping gas 153 into the liquefied plastic can create a two-phase medium within the stripper 330.

[0256]

[0256] This two-phase medium, which is introduced into the open container 320 via flow 175, is then (for example) Alternatively, the halogen-rich gaseous phase can flow through the release container 320 (by gravity) and in the release container, the halogen-rich gaseous phase is released from the halogen-depleted liquid phase and taken out of the release container 320 via flow 162. Alternatively, a portion of the liquefied and heated plastic 173 from the external heat exchanger 340 may bypass the stripper 330 and be introduced directly into the release container 320. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, a first portion of the halogen-depleted liquid phase discharged from the outlet of the release container can be returned to the melting tank 310 in line 159, while a second portion of the halogen-depleted liquid phase can be discharged from the liquefaction zone as a PO-rich, liquefied, and dehalogenated product flow 161. The halogen-rich gaseous flow released from the release container 162 and from the melting tank 310 can be taken out of the liquefaction zone 40 in line 164 for further processing and / or disposal.

[0257]

[0257] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the liquefied and dehalogenated waste plastic stream 161 exiting the liquefaction zone 40 may have a halogen content of less than 500, less than 400, less than 300, less than 200, less than 100, less than 50, less than 10, less than 5, less than 2, less than 1, less than 0.5, or less than 0.1 ppmw. The halogen content of the liquefied plastic stream 161 exiting the liquefaction zone 40 is 95% or less, 90% or less, 75% or less, 50% or less, 25% or less, 10% or less, or 5% or less by weight of the halogen content of the PO-rich stream introduced into the liquefaction zone.

[0258]

[0258] As shown in Figure 6, liquefied and dehalogenated waste plastic stream 161 At least a portion of it may be introduced into the POX gasifier of the downstream POX gasification facility 50 to produce a synthesis gas composition, and / or into the pyrolysis reactor of the downstream pyrolysis facility 60 to produce pyrolysis vapor (i.e., pyrolysis gas and pyrolysis oil) and pyrolysis residue. Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the liquefied and dehalogenated waste plastic stream 161 may be introduced into the energy recovery facility 80 and / or one or more other facilities 90, such as a separation or solidification facility.

[0259]

[0259] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the chemical recycling facility 10 does not have to include a liquefaction zone 40. Alternatively, the chemical recycling facility may include a liquefaction zone 40, but may not include any type of halogen-free zone or equipment.

[0260]

[0260] Referring again to Figure 1, P from the pretreatment facility 20 and / or liquefaction zone 40 At least a portion of the O-rich plastic stream 114 (either alone or in combination with one or more solvolysis co-product streams 110) can be introduced into one or more downstream processing facilities, including, for example, a pyrolysis facility 60, a cracking facility 70, a POX gasification facility 50, an energy recovery facility 80, and any other optional facilities 90 which will be discussed in detail below.

[0261] pyrolysis

[0261] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the chemical recycling facility 10, shown in its entirety in Figure 1, may include a pyrolysis facility. As used herein, “pyrolysis” refers to the thermal decomposition of one or more organic materials by raising the temperature in an inert (i.e., substantially oxygen-free) atmosphere. A “pyrolysis facility” is a facility that includes all the equipment, lines, and control devices necessary to carry out the pyrolysis of waste plastics and feedstock derived therefrom.

[0262]

[0262] Figure 7 shows liquefied waste plastics such as waste plastics from the liquefaction zone. An exemplary pyrolysis facility 60 for converting a pyrolysis flow 116 into pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, and pyrolysis residue is shown. Figure 7 should be understood as showing one exemplary embodiment of the present technology. Therefore, some features shown in Figure 7 may be omitted, and / or additional features described elsewhere in this specification may be added to the system shown in Figure 7.

[0263]

[0263] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the feed stream 116 to the pyrolysis facility 60 may include (i) at least one solvolysis co-product stream as previously described, and (ii) at least one stream rich in PO of waste plastic. One or more of these streams may be introduced into the pyrolysis facility 60 continuously, or one or more of these streams may be introduced intermittently. When there are multiple types of feed streams, each may be introduced separately, or all or part of the streams may be combined and this combined stream may be introduced into the pyrolysis facility 60. The combination may be done continuously or in batches, when done. The feed introduced into the pyrolysis facility 60 may be in the form of liquefied plastic (e.g., liquefied, molten, plasticized, depolymerized, or a combination thereof), plastic pellets or fine particles, or a slurry thereof.

[0264]

[0264] Generally, as shown in Figure 7, the pyrolysis facility 60 consists of a pyrolysis reactor 510 and The facility includes a separation unit 520 for separating the product flow from the reactor. Although not shown in Figure 7, the separation unit 520 of the pyrolysis facility 60 may include various types of equipment, including, but not limited to, filter systems, multistage separators, condensers, and / or quenching towers.

[0265]

[0265] In the pyrolysis reactor 510, at least a portion of the feed is pyrolysis oil, heat It may be subjected to a pyrolysis reaction that produces pyrolysis effluents including decomposition gases and pyrolysis residues. As used herein, the term “pyrolysis gas” refers to a composition obtained from pyrolysis that is a gas at 25°C and 1 atm. As used herein, the term “pyrolysis oil” or “pyrolysis oil” refers to a composition obtained from pyrolysis that is a liquid at 25°C and 1 atm. As used herein, the term “pyrolysis residue” refers to a composition obtained from pyrolysis that is neither pyrolysis gas nor pyrolysis oil, but mainly comprises pyrolysis char and pyrolysis heavy wax. As used herein, the term “pyrolysis char” refers to a carbon-containing composition obtained from pyrolysis that is solid at 200°C and 1 atm. As used herein, the term “pyrolysis heavy wax” refers to a C2O+ hydrocarbon obtained from pyrolysis that is neither pyrolysis char nor pyrolysis gas nor pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis gas and pyrolysis oil can be discharged from the pyrolysis reactor 500 as a pyrolysis vapor stream 170.

[0266]

[0266] Pyrolysis is a process that involves the chemical and thermal decomposition of the introduced feedstock. While all pyrolysis processes can generally be characterized by a reaction environment that is substantially free of oxygen, pyrolysis processes can be further defined by, for example, the pyrolysis reaction temperature in the reactor, the residence time in the pyrolysis reactor, the type of reactor, the pressure in the pyrolysis reactor, and the presence or absence of a pyrolysis catalyst.

[0267]

[0267] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis reactor 510 may be, for example, a membrane reactor, a screw extruder, a tubular reactor, a tank, a stirred-tank reactor, a riser reactor, a fixed-bed reactor, a fluidized-bed reactor, a rotary furnace, a vacuum reactor, a microwave reactor, or an autoclave. The pyrolysis reactor 510 includes a membrane reactor such as a downward-flow membrane reactor or an upward-flow membrane reactor.

[0268]

[0268] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis reaction may include heating and converting the feedstock in a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere or in an atmosphere containing less oxygen than the ambient air. For example, the atmosphere inside the pyrolysis reactor 510 may contain 5% or less, 4% or less, 3% or less, 2% or less, 1% or less, or 0.5% or less of oxygen gas relative to the internal volume of the reactor 510.

[0269]

[0269] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, a lift gas and / or feed gas may be used to introduce feed material into the pyrolysis reactor 510 and / or to facilitate various reactions within the pyrolysis reactor 510. For example, the lift gas and / or feed gas may include, essentially consist of, or consist of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and / or steam. The lift gas and / or feed gas may be added with the waste plastic stream 116 prior to its introduction into the pyrolysis reactor 510 and / or added directly to the pyrolysis reactor 510. The lift gas and / or feed gas may include steam and / or reducing gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and combinations thereof.

[0270]

[0270] Furthermore, the temperature inside the pyrolysis reactor 510 promotes the formation of certain final products. It can be adjusted to such an extent. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the pyrolysis temperature in the pyrolysis reactor 510 can be at least 325°C, at least 350°C, at least 375°C, at least 400°C, at least 425°C, at least 450°C, at least 475°C, at least 500°C, at least 525°C, at least 550°C, at least 575°C, at least 600°C, at least 625°C, at least 650°C, at least 675°C, at least 700°C, at least 725°C, at least 750°C, at least 775°C, or at least 800°C.

[0271]

[0271] In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis temperature of the pyrolysis reactor shall be 1,100°C or less. The temperature can be below 0.50°C, below 1000°C, below 950°C, below 900°C, below 850°C, below 800°C, below 750°C, below 700°C, below 650°C, below 600°C, below 550°C, below 525°C, below 500°C, below 475°C, below 450°C, below 425°C, or below 400°C. More specifically, the pyrolysis temperature in the pyrolysis reactor can be in the range of 325-1,100°C, 350-900°C, 350-700°C, 350-550°C, 350-475°C, 425-1,100°C, 425-800°C, 500-1,100°C, 500-800°C, 600-1,100°C, 600-800°C, 650-1,000°C, or 650-800°C.

[0272]

[0272] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the residence time of the feed material in the pyrolysis reactor can be at least 0.1, at least 0.2, at least 0.3, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 1.2, at least 1.3, at least 2, at least 3, or at least 4 seconds. Alternatively, the residence time of the feed material in the pyrolysis reactor can be at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 45, at least 60, at least 75, or at least 90 minutes. In addition, or alternatively, the residence time of the feed material in the pyrolysis reactor can be less than 6, less than 5, less than 4, less than 3, less than 2, less than 1, or less than 0.5 hours. Furthermore, the residence time of the raw material in the pyrolysis reactor can be less than 100, less than 90, less than 80, less than 70, less than 60, less than 50, less than 40, less than 30, less than 20, less than 10, less than 9, less than 8, less than 7, less than 6, less than 5, less than 4, less than 3, less than 2, or less than 1 second. Specifically, the residence time of the feed material in the pyrolysis reactor can be in the range of 0.1 to 10 seconds, 0.5 to 10 seconds, 30 minutes to 4 hours, 30 minutes to 3 hours, 1 hour to 3 hours, or 1 hour to 2 hours.

[0273]

[0273] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pressure inside the pyrolysis reactor can be maintained at a pressure of at least 0.1, at least 0.2, or at least 0.3 bar and / or 60 or less, 50 or less, 40 or less, 30 or less, 20 or less, 10 or less, 8 or less, 5 or less, 2 or less, 1.5 or less, or 1.1 bar or less. The pressure inside the pyrolysis reactor can be maintained within the range of atmospheric pressure or 0.1 to 100 bar, or 0.1 to 60 bar, or 0.1 to 30 bar, or 0.1 to 10 bar, or 1.5 bar, 0.2 to 1.5 bar, or 0.3 to 1.1 bar. The pressure inside the pyrolysis reactor may be at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, or at least 70 bar and / or 100 or less, 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, or 60 or less. As used herein, the term “bar” refers to gauge pressure unless otherwise specified.

[0274]

[0274] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, the pyrolysis catalyst may be introduced into the feed stream 116 prior to its introduction into the pyrolysis reactor 510, and / or directly into the pyrolysis reactor 510. The catalyst may be homogeneous or heterogeneous and may include, for example, certain types of zeolites and other mesostructured catalysts. In some embodiments, the pyrolysis reaction may be uncatalyzed (e.g., carried out in the absence of a pyrolysis catalyst), but a non-catalytic, heat-insulating, inert additive such as sand may be included in the reactor 510 to facilitate heat transfer. Such a catalyst-free pyrolysis process can be called "thermal pyrolysis."

[0275]

[0275] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis reaction in the pyrolysis reactor 510 may occur in the substantial absence of a pyrolysis catalyst, at a temperature in the range of 350 to 600°C, a pressure in the range of 0.1 to 100 bar, and a residence time of 0.2 seconds to 4 hours, or 0.5 hours to 3 hours.

[0276]

[0276] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, or at least 75 weight percent of pyrolysis oil, which may be in the form of vapor in the pyrolysis effluent as it leaves the heated reactor, however, these vapors may then condense to obtain pyrolysis oil. In addition, or or, the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain 99 or less, 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, 30 or less, or 25 weight percent or less of pyrolysis oil, which may be in the form of vapor in the pyrolysis effluent as it leaves the heated reactor. The pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain pyrolysis oil in amounts ranging from 20 to 99 weight percent, 25 to 80 weight percent, 30 to 85 weight percent, 30 to 80 weight percent, 30 to 75 weight percent, 30 to 70 weight percent, or 30 to 65 weight percent based on the total weight of the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor.

[0277]

[0277] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor is at least 1, at least 5, It may contain at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, or at least 80 weight percent of pyrolysis gas. In addition, or otherwise, pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain 99, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, or 45 weight percent or less of pyrolysis gas. The pyrolysis effluent may contain 1 to 90 weight percent, 10 to 85 weight percent, 15 to 85 weight percent, 20 to 80 weight percent, 25 to 80 weight percent, 30 to 75 weight percent, or 35 to 75 weight percent of pyrolysis gas relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0278]

[0278] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, or at least 10 weight percent of pyrolysis residue. In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis effluent may contain 60 or less, 50 or less, 40 or less, 30 or less, 25 or less, 20 or less, 15 or less, 10 or less, 9 or less, 8 or less, 7 or less, 6 or less, or 5 weight percent or less of pyrolysis residue. The pyrolysis effluent may contain pyrolysis residue in the range of 0.1 to 25 weight percent, 1 to 15 weight percent, 1 to 8 weight percent, or 1 to 5 weight percent relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0279]

[0279] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, the pyrolysis effluent or pyrolysis vapor may contain 15% or less, 14% or less, 13% or less, 12% or less, 11% or less, 10% or less, 9% or less, 8% or less, 7% or less, 6% or less, 5% or less, 4% or less, 3% or less, 2% or less, 1% or less, or 0.5% by weight or less of free water. As used herein, “free water” refers to water previously added to the pyrolysis apparatus (as liquid or steam) and water produced within the pyrolysis apparatus.

[0280]

[0280] The pyrolysis systems described herein may produce pyrolysis effluent, which is a thermal component The mixture can be separated into a decomposition oil stream 174, a pyrolysis gas stream 172, and a pyrolysis residue stream 176, each of which can be directly used for various downstream applications based on their composition. The various characteristics and properties of the pyrolysis oil, pyrolysis gas, and pyrolysis residue are described below. While the following characteristics and properties may all be described separately, it should be noted that the following characteristics and / or properties of the pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, and / or pyrolysis residue are not mutually exclusive and may exist in any combination.

[0281]

[0281] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, the pyrolysis oil may primarily contain hydrocarbons having 4 to 30 carbon atoms per molecule (e.g., C4-C30 hydrocarbons). As used herein, the term "Cx" or "Cx hydrocarbon" means a hydrocarbon compound containing "x" total carbon atoms per molecule, encompassing all olefins, paraffins, aromatic compounds, heterocyclic compounds, and isomers having that number of carbon atoms. For example, normal, iso, and tert-butane and butene and butadiene molecules are each generally represented as "C4". The pyrolysis oil may have a C4-C30 hydrocarbon content of at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of the total weight of the pyrolysis oil flow 174.

[0282]

[0282] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis oil may mainly contain C5-C25 hydrocarbons, C5-C22 hydrocarbons, or C5-C20 hydrocarbons. For example, the total weight of the pyrolysis oil is The pyrolysis oil may contain at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of C5-C25 hydrocarbons, C5-C22 hydrocarbons, or C5-C20 hydrocarbons relative to the amount. The pyrolysis oil may have a C5-C12 hydrocarbon content of at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, or at least 55 weight percent of the total weight of the pyrolysis oil. In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis oil may have a C5-C12 hydrocarbon content of 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, or 50 weight percent or less. The pyrolysis oil may have a C5-C12 hydrocarbon content in the range of 10-95 weight percent, 20-80 weight percent, or 35-80 weight percent relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0283]

[0283] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, the pyrolysis oil may also contain varying amounts of olefins and aromatic compounds, depending on the reactor conditions and whether or not a catalyst is used. The pyrolysis oil contains at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, or at least 40 weight percent of olefins and / or aromatic compounds relative to the total weight of the pyrolysis oil. In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis oil may contain 90 or less, 80 or less, 70 or less, 60 or less, 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, 30 or less, 25 or less, 20 or less, 15 or less, 10 or less, 5 or less, or 1 weight percent or less of olefins and / or aromatic compounds. As used herein, the term “aromatic compound” refers to the total amount (by weight) of any compound containing an aromatic moiety such as benzene, toluene, xylene, and styrene.

[0284]

[0284] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis oil may have a paraffin (e.g., linear or branched alkane) content of at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, or at least 65 weight percent of the total weight of the pyrolysis oil. In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis oil may have a paraffin content of 99 or less, 97 or less, 95 or less, 93 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, or 30 weight percent or less. The pyrolysis oil may have a paraffin content in the range of 25 to 90 weight percent, 35 to 90 weight percent, or 50 to 80 weight percent.

[0285]

[0285] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis oil may have a median boiling point of at least 75°C, at least 80°C, at least 85°C, at least 90°C, at least 95°C, at least 100°C, at least 105°C, at least 110°C, or at least 115°C and / or 250°C or less, 245°C or less, 240°C or less, 235°C or less, 230°C or less, 225°C or less, 220°C or less, 215°C or less, 210°C or less, 205°C or less, 200°C or less, 195°C or less, 190°C or less, 185°C or less, 180°C or less, 175°C or less, 170°C or less, 165°C or less, 160°C or less, 155°C or less, 150°C or less, 145°C or less, 140°C or less, 135°C or less, 130°C or less, 125°C or less, or 120°C or less, as measured according to ASTM D-5399. The pyrolysis oil may have a median boiling point in the range of 75–250°C, 90–225°C, or 115–190°C. As used herein, “median boiling point” refers to the boiling temperature of the median of the pyrolysis oil, where 50 volume percent of the pyrolysis oil boils at a temperature above the median boiling point and 50 volume percent boils at a temperature below the median boiling point.

[0286]

[0286] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the boiling point range of the pyrolysis oil may be such that at least 90 percent of the pyrolysis oil is boiled off at temperatures of 250°C, 280°C, 290°C, 300°C, or 310°C, as measured according to ASTM D-5399.

[0287]

[0287] Next, regarding pyrolysis gas, the pyrolysis gas is less than the total weight of the pyrolysis gas. The methane content may be 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, or at least 15 and / or 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, 30 or less, 25 or less, or 20 weight percent or less. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any embodiment described herein, the pyrolysis gas may have a methane content in the range of 1 to 50 weight percent, 5 to 50 weight percent, or 15 to 45 weight percent.

[0288]

[0288] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis gas may have a C3 and / or C4 hydrocarbon content (including all hydrocarbons having 3 or 4 carbon atoms per molecule) of at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60 and / or 99, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, or 65 weight percent or less relative to the total weight of the pyrolysis gas. The pyrolysis gas may have a C3 hydrocarbon content, a C4 hydrocarbon content, or a combined C3 and C4 hydrocarbon content ranging from 10 to 90 weight percent, 25 to 90 weight percent, or 25 to 80 weight percent.

[0289]

[0289] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis gas may constitute at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 percent by weight of the total effluent from the pyrolysis reactor, and the pyrolysis gas may have a combined ethylene and propylene content of at least 25, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, or at least 75 percent of the total weight of the pyrolysis gas.

[0290]

[0290] Next, regarding the pyrolysis residue, one embodiment or any of the embodiments described herein In embodiments combined with the above embodiments, the pyrolysis residue contains at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, or at least 85 weight percent of C20+ hydrocarbons based on the total weight of the pyrolysis residue. As used herein, "C20+ hydrocarbons" means hydrocarbon compounds containing at least 20 total carbon atoms per molecule, and includes all olefins, paraffins, and isomers having that number of carbon atoms.

[0291]

[0291] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the pyrolysis residue contains at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 99 weight percent of carbon-containing solids relative to the total weight of the pyrolysis residue. In addition, or otherwise, the pyrolysis residue contains 99 or less, 90 or less, 80 or less, 70 or less, 60 or less, 50 or less, 40 or less, 30 or less, The carbon-containing solid contains 20% or less, 10% or less, 9% or less, 8% or less, 7% or less, 6% or less, 5% or less, or 4% or less by weight. As used herein, “carbon-containing solid” refers to a composition containing carbon derived from thermal decomposition and which is solid at 25°C and 1 atm. The carbon-containing solid contains at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, or at least 90% by weight of carbon relative to the total weight of the carbon-containing solid.

[0292]

[0292] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, at least a portion of the pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, and pyrolysis residue may be sent to one or more other chemical treatment facilities, including, for example, the energy recovery facility 80, partial oxidation facility 50, one or more other facilities 90, and cracking facility 70, as already described. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the pyrolysis gas stream 172 and / or at least a portion of the pyrolysis oil (pi-oil) stream 174 may be introduced into the energy recovery facility 80, cracking facility 70, POX gasification facility 50, and combinations thereof, while the pyrolysis residue stream 176 may be introduced into the POX gasification facility 50 and / or energy recovery facility 80. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the pyrolysis gas stream 172, the pyrolysis oil stream 174, and / or the pyrolysis residue stream 176 may be sent to one or more separation facilities (not shown in Figure 1) to form a more refined stream of pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, and / or pyrolysis residue, which may then be sent to an energy recovery facility 80, a cracking facility 70, and / or a POX gasification facility 50. In addition, or / or, all or a portion of the pyrolysis oil stream 176 may be combined with a PO-rich waste plastics stream 114 to provide a liquefied plastics stream to be supplied to one or more downstream facilities discussed herein.

[0293] cracking

[0293] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, at least a portion of one or more flows from the pyrolysis facility 60, or from one or more of the other facilities shown in Figure 1, may be introduced into the cracking facility 70. As used herein, the term “cracking” refers to the breakdown of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules by breaking carbon-carbon bonds. A “cracking facility” is a facility that includes all the equipment, lines, and control devices necessary to carry out the cracking of feedstock derived from waste plastics. A cracking facility may include one or more cracker furnaces, as well as a downstream separation zone that includes equipment used to process the effluent from the cracker furnaces. As used herein, the terms “cracker” and “cracking” are used interchangeably.

[0294]

[0294] Referring now to Figure 8a, the following configurations are made according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. A cracking facility 70 is shown. Generally, the cracking facility 70 includes a cracker furnace 720 and a separation zone 740 downstream of the cracker furnace 720 for separating the furnace effluent into various final products such as a recycled component olefin (r-olefin) stream 130. As shown in Figure 8a, at least a portion of the pyrolysis gas stream 172 and / or pyrolysis oil stream 174 from the pyrolysis facility 60 can be sent to the cracking facility 70. The pyrolysis oil stream 174 may be introduced into the inlet of the cracker furnace 720, while the pyrolysis gas stream 172 may be introduced at an upstream or downstream location of the furnace 720. As also shown in Figure 8a, a stream of paraffin 132 (e.g., ethane and / or propane) may be drawn out of the separation zone and may contain recycled component paraffin (r-paraffin). All or a portion of the paraffin may be recycled to the inlet of the cracker furnace 720 via the stream 134, as also shown in Figure 8a. When used, the pyrolysis oil stream, pyrolysis gas stream 172, and recycled paraffin stream 174 may be combined with the cracker feed stream 136 to form a feed stream 119 to the cracking facility 720.

[0295]

[0295] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the supply flow 119 to the cracking facility 70 may include (i) one or more solvolysis byproduct flows 110 as previously described, (ii) a flow 114 rich in PO from waste plastics, and (iii) at least one of a pyrolysis flow (e.g., pyrolysis gas 172 and / or pyrolysis oil 174). One or more of these flows may be introduced into the cracking facility 70 continuously, or one or more of these flows may be introduced intermittently. When there are multiple types of supply flows, each may be introduced separately, or all or part of the flows may be combined to form a combined flow introduced into the cracking facility 70. When combinations are made, the combinations may occur continuously or in batches. The supply flows or multiple flows introduced into the cracking facility 70 may be primarily gaseous flows, primarily liquid flows, or combinations thereof.

[0296]

[0296] As shown in Figure 8a, the flow of pyrolysis gas 172 and / or pyrolysis oil 1 74 can be introduced into the cracker facility 70 along or as part of the cracker supply flow 136. In some embodiments, the cracker supply flow 119 may contain at least 1, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, or a combination of pyrolysis gas and pyrolysis oil, relative to the total weight of the flow 119. Alternatively, or in addition, the cracker supply flow 119 may contain pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, or a combination of pyrolysis gas and pyrolysis oil in amounts of 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, or 20 weight percent or less of pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, or a combination of pyrolysis gas and pyrolysis oil, relative to the total weight of the flow 119, or these components may be contained in amounts ranging from 1 to 95 weight percent, 5 to 90 weight percent, or 10 to 85 weight percent relative to the total weight of the flow 119.

[0297]

[0297] In some embodiments, the cracker supply flow 119 is the cracker supply flow 1 It may contain hydrocarbon feeds other than pyrolysis gases and pyrolysis oils in amounts of at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight and / or 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, 50 or less, 45 or less, 40 or less, 35 or less, 30 or less, 25 or less, or 20 percent by weight or less, or hydrocarbon feeds other than pyrolysis gases and pyrolysis oils in amounts of 5 to 95 percent by weight, 10 to 90 percent by weight, or 15 to 85 percent by weight of the total weight of the cracker feed stream 119.

[0298]

[0298] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker feed stream 119 may contain a composition primarily comprising C2-C4 hydrocarbons. As used herein, the term “primarily C2-C4 hydrocarbons” refers to a stream or composition containing at least 50 weight percent of C2-C4 hydrocarbon components. Examples of specific types of C2-C4 hydrocarbon streams or compositions include propane, ethane, butane, and LPG. In each case, the cracker feed stream 119 may contain at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or less of the total weight of the feed. It may contain at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95 wt.%, and / or in each case, 100, or 99, or 95, or 92, or 90, or 85, or 80, or 75, or 70, or 65, or 60 weight percent of the total weight of the feed. The cracker feed stream 119 may contain primarily propane, primarily ethane, primarily butane, or a combination of two or more of these components.

[0299]

[0299] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker feed stream 119 may contain a composition primarily comprising C5-C22 hydrocarbons. As used herein, “primarily C5-C22 hydrocarbons” refers to a stream or composition containing at least 50 weight percent of C5-C22 hydrocarbon components. Examples include gasoline, naphtha, middle distillates, diesel, and kerosene.

[0300]

[0300] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker feed stream 119 may contain, in each case, at least 20, or at least 25, or at least 30, or at least 35, or at least 40, or at least 45, or at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95 wt.% and / or in each case 100, or 99, or 95, or 92, or 90, or 85, or 80, or 75, or 70, or 65, or 60 wt.% of C5-C22 or C5-C20 hydrocarbons, or may contain C5-C22 in amounts ranging from 20-100 wt.%, 25-95 wt.%, or 30-85 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0301]

[0301] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker feed stream 119 may have a C15 and heavier (C15+) content of at least 0.5, or at least 1, or at least 2, or at least 5 weight percent and / or 40, or 35, or 30, or 25, or 20, or 18, or 15, or 12, or 10, or 5, or 3 weight percent in each case, or may be in the range of 0.5 to 40 weight percent, 1 to 35 weight percent, or 2 to 30 weight percent of the total weight of the flow.

[0302]

[0302] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the feed to the cracker furnace may include vacuum gas oil (VGO), hydrovacuum gas oil (HVGO), or atmospheric gas oil (AGO). The cracker feed stream 119 may contain at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, or at least 90 and / or 99 or less, 95 or less, 90 or less, 85 or less, 80 or less, 75 or less, 70 or less, 65 or less, 60 or less, 55 or less, or 50 weight percent or less of at least one type of gas oil, or may be present in amounts ranging from 5 to 99 weight percent, 10 to 90 weight percent, or 15 to 85 weight percent, or 5 to 50 weight percent of the total weight of the stream 119.

[0303]

[0303] As shown in Figure 8a, the cracker supply flow 119 is led to the cracker furnace 720. It is brought in. Referring here to Figure 8b, the chemical recycling facility described herein A schematic diagram of a cracker furnace 720 suitable for use in a and / or cracker facility is shown. As shown in Figure 8b, the cracker furnace 720 may include a transfer section 746, a radiating section 748, and a cross section 750 located between the transfer section 746 and the radiating section 748. The transfer section 746 is part of the furnace that receives heat from the hot flue gas and includes a bank 752 of tubes or coils through which the cracker flow passes. In the transfer section 746, the cracker flow is heated by transfer from the hot flue gas passing through it. Figure 8b is shown including a horizontally oriented transfer section tube 752a and a vertically oriented radiating section tube 752, but it should be understood that the tubes can be made of any suitable structure. For example, the transfer section tube 752a may be vertical. The radiating section tube 752b may be horizontal. In addition, although shown as a single tube, the cracker furnace 720 may include one or more tubes or coils which may include at least one split, bend, U-shape, elbow, or combination thereof. When there are many tubes or coils, they can be arranged in parallel and / or in series.

[0304]

[0304] The radiating section 748 is heated by radiation from the furnace 720, mainly from the high-temperature gas. This is the portion that is transferred to the tube. The radiating section 748 also includes several burners 756 for introducing heat to the lower part of the furnace 720. The furnace 720 includes a firebox 754 that surrounds and houses the tube 752b within the radiating section 748, and the burners 756 are oriented within it. The crossing section 750 includes piping for connecting the transmission section 746 and the radiating section 748, and can transfer the heated cracker flow from one part of the furnace 720 to another part inside or outside the furnace.

[0305]

[0305] As the hot combustion gases rise upward through the furnace stack, the gases are transferred to the transmission section The waste heat may pass through 746, where at least a portion of it is recovered and used to heat the cracker flow passing through the transfer section 746. The cracking furnace 720 may have a single transfer (preheating) section and a single radiant section, but in other embodiments the furnace may include two or more radiant sections sharing a common transfer section. At least one induced draft (ID) fan 760 near the stack may control the flow of hot flue gas and the heating profile within the furnace 720, and one or more heat exchangers 761 may be used to cool the furnace effluent. In addition to, or instead of, the exchanger 761 at the furnace outlet shown in Figure 8b (e.g., a transfer line heat exchanger or TLE) may be used to cool the effluent 125 containing the cracked olefins.

[0306]

[0306] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker facility 70 may include a single cracking furnace, or it may have at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, at least seven, at least eight, or more cracking furnaces operating in parallel. Any one or each of the furnaces may be a gaseous cracker, or a liquid cracker, or a split furnace. The furnace may be a gaseous cracker that receives a cracker feed stream containing at least 50 wt.%, at least 75 wt.%, at least 85 wt.%, or at least 90 wt.%, relative to the weight of all cracker feed material to the furnace, via the furnace, or via at least one coil in the furnace, or via at least one tube in the furnace, containing ethane, propane, LPG, or a combination thereof.

[0307]

[0307] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracking furnace 720 may be a liquid or naphtha cracker that receives a cracker feed stream containing at least 50 wt.%, or at least 75 wt.%, or at least 85 wt.%, of a liquid hydrocarbon having C5-C22 carbon atoms (measured at 25°C and 1 atm).

[0308]

[0308] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker feed stream 119 can be cracked in a gas furnace. The gas furnace is a furnace having at least one coil ("gas coil") at the inlet of the coil located at the inlet of the transfer zone that receives (or is operated to receive or configured to receive) a feed primarily of the vapor phase (more than 50% of the weight of the feed being vapor). The gas coil can receive feed primarily of C2-C4 feed material to the inlet of the coil in the transfer section, or primarily of C2-C3 feed material, or has at least one coil that receives 50 wt.% more ethane and / or 50% more propane and / or 50% more LPG relative to the weight of the cracker feed to the coil, or at least 60 wt.%, or at least 70 wt.%, or at least 80 wt.%, or at least 80 wt.%, or at least 60 wt.%, or at least 760 wt.%, or at least 70 wt.%, or at least 60 wt.%, or

[0309]

[0309] A gas furnace may have more than one gas coil. One embodiment or this specification In embodiments combined with any of the embodiments described herein, at least 25% of the coils in the transfer zone or transfer box of the furnace, or at least 50% of the coils, or at least 60% of the coils, or all of the coils are gas coils. The gas coils receive a vapor phase feed at the coil inlet located at the inlet of the transfer zone, where at least 60 wt.%, or at least 70 wt.%, or at least 80 wt.%, or at least 90 wt.%, or at least 95 wt.%, or at least 97 wt.%, or at least 98 wt.%, or at least 99 wt.%, or at least 99.5 wt.%, or at least 99.9 wt.% of the feed is vapor.

[0310]

[0310] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the feed flow can be cracked in a split furnace. The split furnace is a type of gas furnace. The split furnace contains at least one gas coil and at least one liquid coil within the same furnace, or within the same transfer zone, or within the same transfer box. The liquid coil is a coil ("liquid coil") that receives a feed that is primarily in the liquid phase (more than 50% of the feed's weight is liquid) at the coil inlet at the inlet to the transfer zone.

[0311]

[0311] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker supply stream 119 can be cracked with a thermal gas cracker.

[0312]

[0312] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the cracker supply stream 119 can be cracked in a thermal steam gas cracker in the presence of steam. Steam cracking refers to the high-temperature cracking (decomposition) of hydrocarbons in the presence of steam. When present, steam can be introduced through line 121 shown in Figure 8b.

[0313]

[0313] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, when two or more flows from the chemical recycling facility 10 shown in Figure 1 are combined with another flow from the facility 10 to form a cracker supply flow 119, such combination may occur upstream of the cracking furnace 720 or within the cracking furnace. Alternatively, the different supply flows may be introduced into the furnace 720 separately, pass through part or all of the furnace 720 simultaneously, and be isolated from each other by supplying them to separate pipes within the same furnace 720 (e.g., a split furnace). Alternatively, at least a portion of one or more flows from the chemical recycling facility may be downstream of the cracker furnace but introduced into the cracker facility at a location upstream of one or more parts of the equipment in the separation facility.

[0314]

[0314] The heated cracker flow 119 then passes through the cracking furnace 720, The hydrocarbon components are then thermally cracked to form lighter hydrocarbons, including olefins, such as ethylene, propylene, and / or butadiene. The residence time of the cracker flow in the furnace 720 can be at least 0.15 seconds in each case, or at least 0.2, or at least 0.25, or at least 0.3, or at least 0.35, or at least 0.4, or at least 0.45 seconds, and / or 2 seconds or less, or 1.75 seconds or less, or 1.5 seconds or less, or 1.25 seconds or less, or 1 second or less, or 0.9 seconds or less, or 0.8 seconds or less, or 0.75 seconds or less, or 0.7 seconds or less, or 0.65 seconds or less, or 0.6 seconds or less, or 0.5 seconds or less, or can be in the range of 0.15 to 2 seconds, 0.20 to 1.75 seconds, or 0.25 to 1.5 seconds.

[0315]

[0315] Spill containing cracked olefins drawn out from the furnace outlet 1 The temperature for each of the 25 cases is at least 640, or at least 650, or at least 660, or at least 670, or at least 680, or at least 690, or at least 700, or at least 720, or at least 730, or at least 740, or at least 750, or at least 760, or at least 770, or at least 780, or at least 790, or at least 800, or at least 810, or at least 820. , and / or in each case the temperature can be in the range of 1000°C or less, or 990°C or less, or 980°C or less, or 970°C or less, or 960°C or less, or 950°C or less, or 940°C or less, or 930°C or less, or 920°C or less, or 910°C or less, or 900°C or less, or 890°C or less, or 880°C or less, or 875°C or less, or 870°C or less, or 860°C or less, or 850°C or less, or 840°C or less, or 830°C or less, or 730-900°C, or 750-875°C, or 750-850°C.

[0316]

[0316] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the yield of an olefin, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, or a combination thereof, can be at least 15, or at least 20, or at least 25, or at least 30, or at least 35, or at least 40, or at least 45, or at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80 in weight percentage in each case. As used herein, the term “yield” means the mass of the product produced from the mass of the feedstock / the mass of the feedstock × 100%. The efflux logistics containing an olefin contains at least 30, or at least 40, or at least 50, or at least 60, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 99 in weight percentage of the total weight of the efflux logistics in each case.

[0317]

[0317] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the olefin-containing spillage 125 may contain at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, or at least 90 weight percent of C2-C4 olefins. The spillage 125 may contain primarily ethylene, primarily propylene, or primarily ethylene and propylene, relative to the total weight of the olefin-containing spillage 125. The weight ratio of ethylene to propylene in the olefin-containing spillage 125 may be at least 0.2:1, at least 0.3:1, at least 0.4:1, at least 0.5:1, at least 0.6:1, at least 0.7:1, at least 0.8:1, at least 0.9:1, at least 1:1, at least 1.1:1, at least 1.2:1, at least 1.3:1, and at least 1. It can be 4:1, at least 1.5:1, at least 1.6:1, at least 1.7:1, at least 1.8:1, at least 1.9:1, or at least 2:1 and / or 3:1 or less, 2.9:1 or less, 2.8:1 or less, 2.7:1 or less, 2.5:1 or less, 2.3:1 or less, 2.2:1 or less, 2.1:1 or less, 2:1 or less, 1.7:1 or less, 1.5:1 or less, or 1.25:1 or less.

[0318]

[0318] Referring again to Figure 8a, one embodiment or any of the embodiments described herein In embodiments combined with the above, when introduced into the cracker facility 70, the pyrolysis gas 172 may be introduced at the inlet of the cracker furnace 720, or all or part of the pyrolysis gas may be introduced downstream of the furnace outlet within or upstream of the separation zone 740 of the cracker facility 70. When introduced within or upstream of the separation zone 740, the pyrolysis gas may be introduced upstream of the final stage of compression, or before the inlet of at least one rectification column in the rectification section of the separation zone 740.

[0319]

[0319] Before entering the cracker facility 70, one embodiment or the one described herein In embodiments combined with any of the embodiments, the untreated pyrolysis gas stream from the pyrolysis facility may have one or more components removed from the stream through one or more separation steps. Examples of such components, but not limited to, include halogens, aldehydes, oxygenated compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds, sulfur-containing compounds, carbon dioxide, water, evaporated metals, and combinations thereof. The pyrolysis gas stream 172 introduced into the cracker facility 70 contains one or more aldehyde components in amounts of at least 0.1, at least 0.5, at least 1, at least 1.5, at least 2, at least 2.5, at least 3, at least 3.5, at least 4, at least 4.5, or at least 5 and / or 30 or less, 25 or less, 20 or less, 15 or less, 10 or less, 5 or less, 3 or less, 2 or less, or 1 weight percent or less, based on the total weight of the pyrolysis gas stream 172.

[0320]

[0320] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the total ethylene content of the pyrolysis gas stream 172 can be at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30 weight percent and / or 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, or 35 weight percent or less based on the total weight of the stream 172. Alternatively, or in addition, the total propylene content of the pyrolysis gas stream 172 can be at least 1, at least 2, at least 5, at least 7, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30 weight percent and / or 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, or 35 weight percent or less based on the total weight of the stream 172. The combined amount of ethylene and propylene in the pyrolysis gas flow 172 can be at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, or at least 45 percent by weight and / or 85% or less, 80% or less, 75% or less, 70% or less, 65% or less, 60% or less, 55% or less, 50% or less, or 45% or less by weight, relative to the total weight of the flow.

[0321]

[0321] When exiting the cracker furnace, the spilled logistics 125 containing olefins is in large quantities. To prevent the formation of undesirable by-products and minimize contamination of downstream equipment, the olefin-containing effluent exiting the furnace may be rapidly cooled (e.g., quenched). In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments described herein, the temperature of the olefin-containing effluent exiting the furnace may be reduced to a temperature of 500–760°C by 35–485°C, 35–375°C, or 90–550°C during the quenching or cooling step.

[0322]

[0322] The resulting cooled flow is then separated in a steam-liquid separator. The vapor can be compressed in a gas compressor having, for example, 1 to 5 compression stages with cooling and liquid removal between any stages. The pressure of the gas flow at the outlet of the first set of compression stages is in the range of 7 to 20 gauge bars, 8.5 to 18 barg, or 9.5 to 14 barg. The resulting compressed flow is then treated by contact with an acid gas remover to remove acidic gases, including halogens, CO, CO2, and H2S. Examples of acid gas removers include, but are not limited to, various types of caustic amines. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, a single contactor may be used, but in other embodiments, a double-column absorber-stripper configuration may be used.

[0323]

[0323] The stream containing the compressed and processed olefin is then, if applicable, between stages The mixture may be further compressed in another compressor, which may include cooling and liquid separation. The resulting compressed flow has a pressure in the range of 20–50 barg, 25–45 barg, or 30–40 barg. Any suitable water removal method can be used, including, for example, molecular sieving or other similar processes. The resulting flow may then be sent to a rectification section, where the olefins and other components may be separated into various high-purity products or intermediate flows. In some embodiments, all or part of the pyrolysis gas may be introduced before and / or after one or more stages of a second compressor. Similarly, the pressure of the pyrolysis gas is within 20, 50, 100, or 150 psi of the pressure of the combined flow.

[0324]

[0324] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the feed stream from the quench section may be introduced into at least one column in the rectification section of the separation zone. As used herein, the term “fractionation” refers to a general process of separating two or more substances having different boiling points. Examples of equipment and processes that utilize fractionation include, but are not limited to, distillation, rectification, stripping, and vapor-liquid separation (single step).

[0325]

[0325] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, the rectification section of a cracker facility may include one or more demethane columns, deethane columns, depropane columns, ethylene splitters, propylene splitters, debutane columns, and combinations thereof. As used herein, the term “demethane column” refers to a column whose low boiling limit component is methane. Similarly, “deethane column” and “depropane column” refer to columns whose low boiling limit components are ethane and propane, respectively.

[0326]

[0326] The rectification section contains at least one olefin product stream and at least one paraffin Appropriate arrangement of the column may be used to provide a olefinic flow. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the rectification section can provide at least two olefinic flows, e.g., ethylene and propylene, and at least two paraffinic flows, e.g., ethane and propane, as well as additional flows, e.g., methane and lighter components, and butane and heavier components.

[0327]

[0327] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the olefin stream drawn from the rectification section may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of olefin and / or 100, 99, 97, 95, 90, 85, or 80 percent by weight of olefin with respect to the total weight of the olefin stream. The olefin may be mainly ethylene or mainly propylene. The olefin stream may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, with respect to the total weight of olefin in the olefin stream. The olefin stream may contain at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent and / or 99, 97, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, or 65 weight percent or less of ethylene relative to the total weight of the olefin stream. The olefin stream may contain at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60 weight percent and / or 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, or 45 weight percent or less of ethylene relative to the total weight of the olefin stream, or may be present in amounts ranging from 20 to 80 weight percent, 25 to 75 weight percent, or 30 to 70 weight percent relative to the total weight of the olefin stream.

[0328]

[0328] Or, or in addition, the olefin stream is the total weight of the olefins in the olefin stream. The olefin stream may contain at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent and / or 99, 97, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, or 65 weight percent of propylene relative to the total weight of the olefin stream. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the olefin stream may contain at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60 weight percent and / or 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, or 45 weight percent of propylene relative to the total weight of the olefin stream, or may be present in amounts ranging from 20 to 80 weight percent, 25 to 75 weight percent, or 30 to 70 weight percent relative to the total weight of the olefin stream.

[0329]

[0329] As the compressed flow passes through the rectification section, it also passes through the demethane column, where methane is produced. The lighter (CO, CO2, H2) components are separated from the ethane and heavier components. The demethane column can be operated at temperatures of at least -145°C, or at least -142°C, or at least -140°C, or at least -135°C, and / or below -120°C, below -125°C, below -130°C, or below -135°C, in each case. The bottom flow from the demethane column contains at least 50°C, or at least 55°C, or at least 60°C, or at least 65°C, or at least 70°C, or at least 75°C, or at least 80°C, or at least 85°C, or at least 90°C, or at least 95°C, or at least 99°C, in each case, in percentage of the total amount of ethane and heavier components.

[0330]

[0330] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, all or part of the flow introduced into the rectification section can be introduced into a deethane column, where C2 and lighter components are separated from C3 and heavier components by fractional distillation. The deethane column can be operated at an overhead temperature of at least -35 °C, or at least -30 °C, or at least -25 °C, or at least -20 °C, and / or -5 °C, -10 °C, -15 °C, or -20 °C, in each case, and at an overhead pressure of at least 3 barg, or at least 5 barg, or at least 7 barg, or at least 8 barg, or at least 10 barg, and / or at least 20 barg, or at least 18 barg, or at least 17 barg, or at least 15 barg, or at least 14 barg, or at least 13 barg, in each case. The deethane column recovers at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 99 percent of the total amount of C2 and lighter components introduced into the column in the overhead flow in each case. The overhead flow removed from the deethane column recovers at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70 percent of the total weight of the overhead flow in each case. , or containing at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95 weight percent of ethane and ethylene.

[0331]

[0331] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the overhead flow of C2 and lighter components from the ethane-de-ethane column can be further separated in an ethane-ethylene fractionation column (ethylene fractionator or ethylene splitter). In the ethane-ethylene fractionation column, the flow of ethylene and lighter components can be withdrawn from the overhead of the column or as a side flow from the upper half of the column, while ethane and any remaining heavier components are withdrawn as a bottom flow. The ethylene fractionator may be operated at an overhead temperature of at least -45 °C, or at least -40, or at least -35, or at least -30, or at least -25, or at least -20, and / or -15 °C or below, or -20, or -25 °C or below, in each case, and at an overhead pressure of at least 10, or at least 12, or at least 15, and / or 25, 22, or 20 barg or below, in each case. An overhead flow that may be rich in ethylene may contain at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 98, or at least 99 percent by weight of the total weight of the flow in each case, and may be sent to a downstream processing unit for further processing, storage, or sale.

[0332]

[0332] The bottom flow from the ethane-ethylene fractionation unit is calculated in each case relative to the total weight of the bottom flow. It may contain at least 40, or at least 45, or at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 98 by weight percent of ethane. All or part of the recovered ethane can be recycled to the cracker furnace inlet as additional feedstock, either alone or in combination with the pyrolysis oil and / or pyrolysis gas discussed previously.

[0333]

[0333] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the compressed flow is depropagated In a depropane column, C3 and lighter components are separated and removed as an overhead vapor stream, while C4 and heavier components exit the column as a liquid at the bottom. The depropane column can be operated at an overhead temperature of at least 20, or at least 35, or at least 40 °C, and / or 70, 65, 60, or 55 °C in each case, and at an overhead pressure of at least 10, or at least 12, or at least 15 barg, and / or at least 20, or at least 17, or at least 15 barg in each case. The depropane column recovers at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 99 percent of the total amount of C3 and lighter components introduced into the column in each case into the overhead stream. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the overhead flow removed from the depropane column contains, in each case, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, or at least 98 percent by weight of propane and propylene, relative to the total weight of the overhead flow.

[0334]

[0334] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the overhead flow from the depropane column may be introduced into a propane-propylene fractionator (propylene fractionator or propylene splitter) where propylene and any lighter components are removed into the overhead flow, and propane and any heavier components exit the column as a bottom flow. The propylene fractionator may be operated at an overhead temperature of at least 20, or at least 25, or at least 30, or at least 35 °C in each case, and / or 55, 50, 45, or 40 °C or lower, and at an overhead pressure of at least 12, or at least 15, or at least 17, or at least 20 barg in each case, and / or 20, 17, 15, or 12 barg or lower in each case. A propylene-rich overhead flow may contain at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 98, or at least 99 percent by weight of propylene relative to the total weight of the flow in each case, and may be sent to downstream processing equipment for further processing, storage, or sale.

[0335]

[0335] The bottom flow from the propane-propylene fractionator is compared to the total weight of the bottom flow in each case. It may contain at least 40, or at least 45, or at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 98 percent by weight of propane. All or part of the recovered propane can be recycled to the cracker furnace as additional feedstock, either alone or in combination with the pyrolysis oil and / or pyrolysis gas discussed previously.

[0336]

[0336] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, at least a portion of the compressed flow may be sent to a debutane column for separating C4 and lighter components, including butene, butane, and butadiene, from C5 and heavier (C5+) components. The debutane column may be operated at an overhead temperature of at least 20, or at least 25, or at least 30, or at least 35, or at least 40 °C in each case, and / or 60, or 65, or 60, or 55, or 50 °C in each case, and an overhead pressure of at least 2, or at least 3, or at least 4, or at least 5 barg in each case, and / or 8, or 6, or 4, or 2 barg, or 2 barg in each case. The debutane column recovers in the overhead flow at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95, or at least 97, or at least 99 percent of the total amount of C4 and lighter components introduced into the column in each case.

[0337]

[0337] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, the overhead flow withdrawn from the debutane column contains, in each case, at least 30, or at least 35, or at least 40, or at least 45, or at least 50, or at least 55, or at least 60, or at least 65, or at least 70, or at least 75, or at least 80, or at least 85, or at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of butadiene relative to the total weight of the overhead flow. The bottom flow from the debutane column contains primarily C5 and heavier components in amounts of at least 50, or at least 60, or at least 70, or at least 80, or at least 90, or at least 95 percent by weight of the total weight of the flow. The bottom flow of the debutane column may be sent for further separation, processing, storage, sale, or use. In one embodiment or any of those described herein In embodiments combined with that embodiment, the overhead flow from the debutane column, i.e., C4, can be subjected to any conventional separation method, such as extraction or distillation, to recover a more concentrated butadiene flow.

[0338]

[0338] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In one embodiment, one or more portions of the flow described above may be introduced into one or more of the facilities shown in Figure 1, while in another embodiment, all or part of the flow drawn out of the separation zone of the cracking facility may be sent for further separation and / or storage, transport, sale, and / or use.

[0339] Partial oxidation (POX) gasification

[0339] In combination with one embodiment or any embodiment described herein In some embodiments, a chemical recycling facility may also include a partial oxidation (POX) gasification facility. As used herein, the term “partial oxidation” means the high-temperature conversion of a carbon-containing feedstock to synthesis gas (carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide), where the conversion takes place in the presence of a quasi-stoichiometric amount of oxygen. The conversion may be the conversion of a hydrocarbon-containing feedstock and may be carried out using less oxygen than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen required for the complete oxidation of the feedstock, i.e., for all carbon to be oxidized to carbon dioxide and all hydrogen to be oxidized to water. Reactions occurring in a partial oxidation (POX) gasification unit include the conversion of a carbon-containing feedstock to synthesis gas, and specific examples include, but are not limited to, partial oxidation, water-gas shift, water-gas-first reaction, Boudouard, oxidation, methane production, hydrogen reforming, steam reforming, and carbon dioxide reforming. Feedstocks to POX gasification may include solids, liquids, and / or gases. A “partial oxidation facility” or “POX gasification facility” is a facility that includes all the equipment, lines, and control devices necessary to carry out the POX gasification of waste plastics and their derived feedstocks.

[0340]

[0340] In the POX gasification plant, the supply flow is synthesized in the presence of a quasi-stoichiometric amount of oxygen. It can be converted into a gas. In one embodiment or in an embodiment combined with any of the embodiments described herein, the feedstream to the POX gasification plant may include one or more of the following: waste plastics rich in PO, at least one solvolysis co-product stream, pyrolysis streams (including pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil, and / or pyrolysis residue), and at least one stream from a cracking plant. One or more of these streams may be introduced into the POX gasification plant continuously, or one or more of these streams may be introduced intermittently. When there are multiple types of feedstreams, each may be introduced separately, or all or some of the streams may be combined to form a combined stream introduced into the POX gasification plant. When combined, it may occur continuously or in batches. The feedstream may be in the form of a gas, a liquid or liquefied plastic, a solid (usually finely crushed), or a slurry.

[0341]

[0341] The POX gasification facility includes at least one POX gasification reactor. ...

Claims

1. A method of recycling plastic waste, (a) A step of supplying a certain amount of PET-containing reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture separated from the plastic waste to a chemical recycling facility, and (b) The step of depolymerizing at least a portion of the PET-containing reclaimer colored plastic-containing mixture and / or MRF colored plastic-containing mixture in the chemical recycling facility. Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture comprises at least 1 and / or 99.9% by weight of PET on a dry basis.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture comprises at least 1 weight percent of opaque PET on a dry basis.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture contains 10% by weight or less of halogen on a dry basis.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture comprises at least 1 weight percent and / or 90 weight percent or less of polyolefin on a dry basis.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture comprises at least 0.1 weight percent of opaque PET and / or other colored plastic material based on dry plastic.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture further comprises at least 0.1 weight percent of PVC, nylon, and / or copolyester on a dry basis.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the aforementioned amount of colored plastic-containing mixture is supplied directly to a solvolysis facility within the chemical recycling facility without undergoing a pretreatment and / or separation process.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising the step of supplying at least a portion of the certain amount of colored plastic-containing mixture to at least one density separation stage prior to the depolymerization step (b), thereby generating a PET-rich flow to be supplied to a solvolysis facility in the chemical recycling facility.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one density separation step comprises at least two density separation steps.

11. Use of PET-containing colored plastic mixtures as raw materials for supply to chemical recycling facilities.

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