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Challenges and advancements in deploying pyrolysis CUWP technology in Mexico.

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Marco A. Sánchez-Castillo, Sergio A. Gómez-Torres,

José A. de los Reyes Heredia, Clara Ma. Martínez y Luis E. Gallegos Castro.

CUWP Annual Meeting

2024

Madison, WI. May 14^th 2024

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CUWP participants / Mexico

Marco A. Sánchez Castillo

Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí

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Sergio A. Gómez Torres, José A. de los Reyes Heredia

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana

https://ts-greennova.com/

https://www.asistenciaambiental.com/

https://www.alve.com.mx/

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Approach for plastic waste valorization

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Strategies to improve the management of plastic wastes in the public sector

• General Law of Circular Economy:

Mexican Senate on November 17, 2021

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• Circular Economy Law of Mexico City:

January 18th, 2023

• Promote recycling, redesign, reuse and composting of waste and energy transformation.
• Establish economic and fiscal incentives for those incorporating circular economy in their production processes.
• Promote responsible consumption and environmental co-responsibility among population.

“Zero Waste” program in Mexico City

• 12,355 ton/day of residues.
• Recycling, composting, energy production.
• 20% are plastic residues, only 24% are recycled.
• No chemical upcycling options under development.
• Collaborations with GPAP and WEF.

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Strategies to improve the management of industrial plastic wastes in the private sector

ANIPAC (2020)

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Mexican Plastics Industry Association

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PET recycling value chain in Mexico

• Waste Pickers : Challenge / Opportunity

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State of the art sorting facilities

TRANSFER STATION AND

SORTING PLANT

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• Azcapotzalco (Ciudad de Mexico).
• 2021, Most modern in Latin America.
• Solid waste reception capacity: 1,400 ton/d
• Processing capacity: 1,000 ton/d
• Paper, cardboard, PET and HDPE containers, plastic bags and films, textiles, glass and metals.
• Recovery of recyclable byproducts: 60 ton (6%).
• Recovery of byproducts for waste-derived fuels (RDF): 300 ton/d (30%).

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State of the art recycling facilities

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• Toluca, Estado de Mexico.
• Largest food grade PET recycling plant in the world.
• Recycles 3,500 million PET bottles a year
• 53,000 ton of recycled PET/yr.
• Has the most important collection and recycling infrastructure in Mexico.
• Social:
• PetStar Inclusive Collection Model
• 30,000 urban waste pickers.

• There are no similar value chains for recycling other plastic wastes

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Post-industrial plastic waste recycling

Overview

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Can plastic waste be recovered from landfills and then valorized through pyrolysis?

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• 2020, Alejandro Suárez-Toriello et al.
• Local Goverment, Research Centers, Universities.

CASE STUDY:

Municipal Landfill at San Diego de la Unión, Guanajuato

2021, Suárez Toriello et al., Chemical Engineering Transactions, 86, 733-738

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Municipal Landfill at San Diego de la Unión, Guanajuato

Typology of Urban Solid Waste (MSW)

2021, Suárez Toriello et al., Chemical Engineering Transactions, 86, 733-738

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Municipal Landfill at San Diego de la Unión, Guanajuato

Thermo - catalytic pyrolysis / Lab scale reactor

2021, Suárez Toriello et al., Chemical Engineering Transactions, 86, 733-738

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Municipal Landfill at San Diego de la Unión, Guanajuato

Thermocatalytic pyrolysis / Lab scale fixed reactor / H-ZSM-5 catalyst, 500 C

Product yield comparison for Pyrolysis of LDPE and Real Sample (SDU)

2021, Suárez Toriello et al., Chemical Engineering Transactions, 86, 733-738

Products distribution comparison for thermocatalytic and thermochemical pyrolyis of (SDU)

Thermocatalytic pyrolysis represent a viable option for processing a landfill plastic waste mixture.

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“With 2 kg of plastic we can obtain 1 L of gasoline of better quality than commercial gasoline”

Petgas - México

“Through a patented non-catalytic (thermal) pyrolysis process it is possible to transform all waste plastics, of all types, mixed together, into clean, sustainable energy, ready to be used in any engine”

“Degraded plastic, even if it is 5 years old in a landfill, may be use as feedstock”

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Ecofuelh2:

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Commercial enterprise to convert plastic residues in:

gasoline,

jet fuel and diesel.

PLASTICS EXPO (Ciudad de México)

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Ecofuelh2

Pyrolysis unit for

Tires and

Plastic Residues:

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• 1 ton/d: USD 335,200

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• 10 ton/d: USD 2,300,000

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Ecofuelh2 did not answer any calls for detailed information or demo samples!!

PLASTICS EXPO (Ciudad de México)

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Mexican Government Initiative to produce Sustainable Jet Fuel

Mexican Aviation Environment Committee

Mexican Government Call for Universities, Research Centers and Private Companies

Initial Roadmap for Sustainable Jet Fuel

Plastic Residues

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Private Landfill Opportunities:

Asistencia Ambiental

https://www.asistenciaambiental.com/

• Located in San Luis Potosí, México
• Final disposal site for post-industrial waste
• Confinement area: 12 Ha

• 6 cells: 680,000 ton /cells

Occupational health and safety

Environmental Impact

Quality management systems

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ASISTENCIA AMBIENTAL

Landfill Main Residues: Total ~ 12,500 ton/yr

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• Comercialization of mixed plastic residues to produce waste-derived fuels (RDF).
• Thermoelectric plants, rotary cement kilns or steam generators to produce electrical and thermal energy.
• Chemical characterization of mixed plastic waste.
• Thermal decomposition studies.
• TGA of mixed plastic waste.

ASISTENCIA AMBIENTAL

Current actions

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• Collaboration with UASLP:
• Economic support to build a Lab Fluidized Bed Pyrolizer.
• 23,000 USD.
• Model: Prof. Huber Lab Pyrolizer
• Interest in Collaboration with ISU (Robert Brown/Ryan Smith):

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• Considering acquisition of a pyrolysis reactor: 1-10 ton/batch

ASISTENCIA AMBIENTAL

Current actions

• Pyrolysis of automotive carpets residues.
• Yield, Product distribution and Heat Capacity of pyrolysis oil.
• Goal: 5 – 20 L of pyrolysis oil (samples for customers).

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100 kg/d pyrolysis demo unit.

Dimension: 4800*2100*2100 mm

Weight: 2,900 kg.

Price FOB: USD 10,000.

500 kg/d pyrolysis demo unit.

Dimensión: 5800*2200*2500 mm

Weight: 4,500 kg

Price FOB: USD 21,000

Beston (Henan) Machinery Co., Ltd - China

Commercial Pyrolysis Reactors installed in México

Company located at Guanajuato:

500 kg/d pyrolysis plant + 500 kg/d distillation plant,

to convert plastic residues into “diesel” (fuel additive),

suitable to be used in trucks, generators, folklifts, etc.

Demo Size Units: Technolgy sold by Asian Syppliers (CHINA)

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Low – Medium – High Configurations.

FOB: From USD 51,700 to USD 90,000.

Beston (Henan) Machinery Co., Ltd - China

Commercial Pyrolysis Reactors installed in México

• 2020: Between 15 and 20 rotary kilns were imported from Asian suppliers.
• Only few pyrolysis plants (5-6) are currently under operation:
• Reactor did not “fulfill expected specifications”: Oil quality (as a “fuel”).
• Limited technical support on site.
• Change of local regulations or incentives.
• Change of feedstocks cost / Product selling price.

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• There is a growing interest to fit pyrolysis into “zero waste to landfill” programs.
• Environmental Regulations:
• There are clear and strict environmental regulations, but they must be put into practice. If so, there is plenty of room to improve the sustainable management of plastic waste.
• Technical, Social and Economic Incentives:
• Shared Responsibility: Society – Productive sector – Government.
• Collection and sorting processes: manual vs automated (low labor cost).
• Integrate waste pickers into the upcycling value chain.
• Circular Economy:
• Enforcement of Circular Economy Law.
• Economic support and/or tax incentives for private companies.

Some Opportunities

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• Private Sector:
• In local systems, there is no reliable information about the benefits of waste plastic pyrolysis.
• Techno-economic studies are required.
• How to validate the technical and economic advantages of using pyrolysis of waste plastics to produce chemicals (olefins/aromatics) instead of using pyrolysis oil as “fuel” or “fuel additive”?

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• Government:
• How can pyrolysis be integrated into "zero-waste to landfill” programs in large cities (CdMex, Guadalajara, Monterrey)?
• Can waste plastics be a viable feedstock for jet fuel production?

Some challenges:

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R&D related to plastics waste pyrolysis

Universities and Research Centers

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• The growing interest of the private and public sector in pyrolysis.
• There is a need to clarify the applications and benefits of the technology.
• Optimizing current technology and providing safety and best practices recommendations is crucial.
• Identifying and diversifying the high added-value products that could be obtained from pyrolysis oil.
• Valorizing the byproducts (e.g., gas, carbon black) is also important.

Challenges and Opportunities in Pyrolysis R&D

Universities and Research Centers

• Limited economic support for R&D from local Science and Technology Agencies.
• Lack of appropriate infrastructure for:
• Detailed chemical characterization of both pyrolysis feedstocks and products.
• Evaluating the pyrolysis process at various scales (lab, pilot, commercial) under reliable conditions.

Challenges

Opportunities

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Current actions in Pyrolysis R&D

UASLP - UAM

• Socializing the CUWP approach among academia, the private sector, and the public sector.
• Pyrolysis Fact Sheet translated into Spanish.
• Spanish-language CUWP Fact Sheet.
• Bridging the gap between strategic actors from different local sectors.
• UASLP – UAM- CONAHCYT – Priovate Sector – Local Goverment

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• Technical training for graduate students on building and operating pyrolysis reactors (Prof. Huber research group).
• Clara Maria Martínez Jasso @ Prof. Huber research group
• Building a fluidized lab-scale reactor.

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• Establishing collaborations with ISU to acquire significant quantities of commercially interesting waste pyrolysis products.
• Negotiating access and economic support to conduct pilot studies at local commercially available, large-scale pyrolyzers.

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• Conducting techno-economic analyses for pyrolysis of plastic residues of local interest.
• PP – PE mixtures
• Automotive carpet
• Tires
• Identifying a suitable model for incorporating waste pickers into the pyrolysis of waste plastics value chain.

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• Developing research proposals to secure funding for local projects.
• Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana: USD 110,000
• COPOCYT: ALVE, Greenova, Asistencia Ambiental, SAGARPA, CUWP.

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• Outreach activities:
• Educating children and young people (ages 8-18) in urban and rural areas about the benefits of environmental protection, plastic waste recovery, and pyrolysis technology.

Current actions in Pyrolysis R&D

UASLP - UAM

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Closing remarks

• Collaboration with CUWP is crucial for overcoming the challenges of deploying upcycling technologies for waste plastics in developing countries.

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• In Mexico, strategic actors have been identified to:
• validate the technologies developed by the CUWP,
• provide local feedstocks with the characteristics and availability necessary for successful commercial-scale implementation.

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• We must raise awareness in the public and private sectors of the importance of coupling plastic waste pyrolysis with catalytic upgrading to generate high-value-added chemical products of local interest.

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• Technical, energetic, economic, and local social issues must be appropriately integrated to provide viable upcycling solutions.

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Thank you for your attention!

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masanchez@uaslp.mx

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