Greenergy to use Topsoe technology to produce low-carbon fuels from waste tyres
With an estimated 1.5 billion tyres discarded each year worldwide, creating significant waste, Greenergy, a supplier and distributor of transportation fuels, says that it will invest in Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of a project to produce low-carbon transportation fuels from waste tyres. In the first phase, the planned facility will process up to 300 tonnes/day of shredded tyres to produce low-carbon, low-suphur drop-in fuels that can be blended into diesel and gasoline.
A second hydrotreating unit will have the capacity to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
It will utilise technology from Haldor Topsoe, a Danish supplier of catalysts, technology, and services to the chemical and refining industries. Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology has been chosen for hydroprocessing in both units.
This project will be the first of its kind to use waste tyres as feedstock for low-carbon, low-sulphur fuel production. The tyres will be pyrolyzed to produce pyrolysis oil that can be catalytically converted into fuel using Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology.
The process also recovers carbon black that can be reused in the circular economy for the production of new tyres and other industrial rubber products.
The facility will also have the optionality to include an independent plant that could produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This plant will also use the HydroFlex technology.
“We have been exploring innovative ways to produce liquid fuels from different waste products to continue to create new forms of development fuels and deliver further carbon savings in the years ahead. This milestone for the project is a key part of our strategy to expand our industry-leading renewables business. Our customers will continue to benefit from our integrated approach to manufacturing and blending of renewable fuels,” says Christian Flach, CEO of Greenergy.
The plant is earmarked to be located at Thames Enterprise Park, UK, subject to planning approval and with a view to commence commercial production in 2025.
“We are very happy that Greenergy has selected Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology for this innovative project. We are excited to work closely with Greenergy and their partners to build the world’s first commercial plant to produce low-carbon transportation fuels from waste tyres in the near future. This is very much in line with Topsoe’s vision to be recognised as the global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies by 2024,” says Fei Chen, SVP Clean Fuels & Chemicals Technology, Haldor Topsoe.
Greenergy markets in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Brazil as well as through a joint venture in Bahrain. As Europe’s largest manufacturer of biofuels from waste, Greenergy operates three waste-to-biofuel plants: two on the east coast of England and a third in Amsterdam and is continuing to progress other
projects, including turning municipal waste into biofuels.