Farrel Pomini, Loomis Team on Pyrolysis Technology | Plastics Technology

Mixer’s novel capabilities are said to be the key to success of partnership developing pyrolysis technology.

FARREL POMINI is partnering with Lummus Technology to develop a state-of-the-art plastic pyrolysis process.

The partnership is based on FARREL POMINI’s Continuous Mixing Technology (photo), the Farrel Continuous Mixer (FCM), which the companies say has been playing an essential role in a pyrolysis process for plastics developed by Lummus. The process takes streams of postindustrial and postconsumer waste and converts them into gas, pyrolysis oil and pitch product. The FCM melts feedstock resins and homogenizes them under specific temperature and pressure parameters before material enters the pyrolysis section of the process. The resulting pyrolysis oil products can be further processed in traditional refining and petrochemical assets, and turned into monomers for new plastics production.

The process’ unique vertical reactor design creates a continuous process that ensures the highest quality pyrolysis with the widest range of post-use feedstocks. With no exotic metallurgy required or solid waste to manage, the process is flexible, efficient and cost-effective.

Lummus is a leading licensor of process technologies in clean fuels, renewables, petrochemicals, polymers, gas processing and supplies life cycle services, catalysts, proprietary equipment and digitalization to customers worldwide.

Through its Green Circle business unit, Lummus provides economically and technically sound solutions to process solid wastes-containing plastics; process various renewable bio-based feedstocks to value-added chemicals, polymers and fuels; decarbonize refinery and petrochemicals assets; and expand production of blue hydrogen and biofuels.

“Our Continuous Mixing Technology enables this partnership to succeed thanks to the FCM’s two non-intermeshing rotors and novel features specific to a pyrolysis process,” explains Farrel President Paul Lloyd. “The mixer can intake low bulk-density feedstock, melt it with energy efficiency and is also built robustly to handle recycled streams with contamination.

“Our equipment is ideal for processing a wide variety of chemical and mechanical recycling applications,” he adds. “We are proud to be working with companies like Lummus, who are dedicated to developing real-world solutions to solving the plastic waste problem.”

Here are processing guidelines aimed at both getting the PHA resin into the process without degrading it, and reducing residence time at melt temperatures.

The partnership aims to bring together both companies’ technology platforms to produce FDCA from sustainable wood residues on an industrial scale.

NPE2024: BASF is using its proprietary computer-aided engineering tool Ultrasim when designing for sustainability in a broad range of industries.