Dutch circular chemistry technology developer BioBTX is building what it says will be the world’s first commercial-scale plant to convert mixed plastic waste into high-quality aromatic chemicals using its proprietary Integrated Catalytic Cracking Process (ICCP) technology.

The facility will be built at Chemical Park Delfzijl on the northern coast of the Netherlands and is expected to create 35 jobs. Covestro, which has been a shareholder and strategic partner of BioBTX since 2024, holds a mid-single-digit million-euro investment in the company.

BioBTX’s ICCP technology uses catalytic pyrolysis to process mixed plastic waste that could otherwise be incinerated or sent to landfill. The process produces aromatic oil containing benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX), key chemical building blocks used in coatings, pharmaceuticals and performance materials.

The aromatic chemicals can also be used in Covestro’s production of isocyanates such as MDI and TDI, which are used to manufacture products including flexible foams for mattresses and rigid foams for refrigerator insulation.

The plant is expected to process around 20,000 tonnes of waste annually, producing approximately 10,000 tonnes of renewable aromatic oil and 8,000 tonnes of sustainable by-products.

Compared with conventional fossil-based BTX production, BioBTX expects the process to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the resulting chemical building blocks by 70-80 per cent.

“We've followed BioBTX's progress for years and are very happy to now see the point where the technology proves itself at industrial scale,” said Dr Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer, Covestro. He added that the ability to process mixed plastic waste rather than a single sorted stream could support recycling at scale and the transition towards a circular economy.

BioBTX Co-founder and CEO Ton Vries said the project marks an important step towards the company’s goal of enabling circular chemistry and commercialising sustainable aromatic production.

The commercial project follows 14 years of development since 2012, progressing from laboratory and pilot-scale work to industrial deployment. While the first plant will process mixed plastic waste, BioBTX said its ICCP technology is feedstock-flexible and could potentially use other sources, including biomass, in the future.