PARIS – French engineering and technology company Technip Energies and plastics pyrolysis company Agilyx have advanced the chemical recycling of post-consumer polystyrene by developing a new technology that provides ‘high-purity styrene monomer’.

TruStyrenyx is an “all-in-one solution” that combines Agilyx’s pyrolysis process with Technip Energies’ refining technology to produce recycled styrene monomer of “extraordinary purity.”

The technology was initiated following successful pilot plant tests conducted on difficult-to-recycle waste polystyrene, including waste polystyrene laden with flame retardants.

The styrene monomer recycled from the Weymouth, Massachusetts unit meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for styrene monomer and exceeds 99.8 wt% purity, according to the partner.

In particular, this process reduces halogens from flame retardants to “below available detection limits.” This is an impurity that is currently difficult to reduce with existing manufacturing processes.

A “pure monomer”, styrene monomer can be used as a key component in the production of ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) and various synthetic rubbers.

Technip Energies and Agilyx announced a partnership in June 2021 leveraging Agilyx conversion technology and Technip Energies refining processes.

Bhaskar Patel, SVP of Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals and Circularity at Technip Energies, said:

According to Chris Faulkner, Chief Technology Officer at Agilyx, the technology is “completely new” to the market and offers an all-in-one solution for chemical recycling of polystyrene.

“The high purity of the recycled styrene monomer obtained in our tests proves that TruStyrenyx offers a recycling solution comparable to virgin materials,” he added.