Agilyx expands processing capabilities

The recycler can now process feedstock for ethylene processing facilities to produce ethylene and propylene.

Agilyx, an environmental technology and development company located in Tigard, Oregon, with the goal of extracting value from difficult-to-recycle mixed waste plastic streams, has expanded its plastic recycling capabilities to include feedstock for ethylene processing facilities, known as crackers, that can be used to produce ethylene and propylene. This achievement, enabling production of new plastic from waste plastic, is an efficient circular method for manufacturing feedstocks used to produce polymers and brings a durable carbon cycle within commercial reach, the company says.

"This expansion of our production capabilities is a significant step in addressing environmental issues associated from the evolving plastics industry," Joe Vaillancourt, Agilyx's CEO, says. "Agilyx has spent many years combining a differentiated technology, demonstrating deep expertise in the chemical characterization and conversion of a wide variety of waste plastics and polymers into a broad set of fuels and chemical substrates. The company has made significant strides in producing a lower carbon footprint set of products and creating advancements to economic circular solutions. We are eager to provide sustainable and economic alternatives to the petrochemical industry and our growing set of strategic partners."

Based on 14 years of research, waste plastic materials management and commercial operations, Agilyx has developed a set of new chemical recycling pathways for waste plastics to produce fuels and chemical substrates. The company says its products have an average of 40 to 70 percent lower carbon footprint than traditional manufacturing for the same products. From its initial commercial product – a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)-registered synthetic crude produced from a broad range of difficult-to-recycle mixed waste plastics – Agilyx expanded its technical platform to produce styrene oil. Agilyx subsequently built a commercial-scale facility capable of recycling otherwise nonrecyclable polystyrene waste into a styrene monomer appropriate for manufacturing virgin polystyrene products.

Agilyx says its new product expands the amount of waste mixed plastics, including polyethylene and polypropylene, that can be diverted from landfill.