In Canada, Sparta Capital Ltd, an investment group that holds a controlling interest in a network of independent businesses that supply energy-saving technologies has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Pi ECO Canada Ltd to embark upon a joint venture (JV) to transform unsortable waste plastics into synthetic fuel on an industrial scale.
The announcement follows a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the parties in September 2018. According to a statement, the initial project for the Joint Venture will be the construction of a facility in the Greater Toronto Area, to re-direct some 18 000 tonnes per annum of waste plastic from landfill by converting it into synthetic fuels, such as SAE Grade II synthetic diesel fuel.
Discussions are ongoing to obtain project financing to manufacture the flagship plastic to fuel technology (PTF equipment) with an expectation of securing the same in the early part of 2019. In anticipation of this, the venture parties are simultaneously working to secure long-term availability of plastic feedstock, and to enter into a land lease for the development of the facility where the PTF equipment will be operated.
Despite technological advances over recent years, there remains a portion of the plastic waste stream where the inability to separate plastics can make recovery unfeasible – much of this non-recycled plastic then becomes landfilled. However, the Joint Venture has identified a new plastic to fuel technology that will play a key role in the commercialization of the project. Items such as, the timing required for pre-treatment of feedstock, varying evaporation and distillation requirements, and refining and final blending are all factors that drastically impact the commercialization of industrial-scale operations such as the project, and which the PTF equipment has looked at addressing, commented John O’Bireck, President of Sparta.
The benefits presented by the JV are two-fold: (i) transforming non-recycled plastic into a valuable commodity and (ii) creating a reliable source of alternative energy. A primary goal of the Joint Venture is the further exploration of the newest generation of plastic to fuel technologies and how the JV can complement and support the existing mechanical recycling infrastructure for plastics.
