In Canada, Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. (Aduro), a developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics; convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil; and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals, has announced the successful completion of pilot-scale steam-cracking trials by a global organization that designs, licenses, and services large-scale petrochemical steam-cracking operations and supports global deployment of these technologies among leading petrochemical producers.
Steam crackers provide building blocks for almost all plastics, starting from oil- and gas-derived feedstock. Similarly, circular feedstocks from waste plastics will have to follow the same route to be processed into circular plastics.
Steam crackers are very large-scale plants and are highly sensitive to feedstock quality, requiring high-purity inputs at scale.
Alternative chemical recycling processes typically yield products that are high in olefins and hetero-atom content as well as other contaminants and require upgrading – such as pre-treatment or hydrotreatment – to be suitable as cracker feedstock.
Most circular oils produced by chemical recycling, therefore, require further upgrading or pre-treatment – such as hydrotreatment – to meet those tight input specifications.
Beneficial “Hydrochemolytic Technology”
In efforts to minimise costly upgrading, extensive sorting and cleaning are often required, adding significantly to the cost of the feedstock.
This also results in higher rejection rates of suitable polyolefins while increasing the environmental footprint of such processes.
By contrast, Aduro says that its “Hydrochemolytic Technology” achieves the transformation of plastics-to-liquid hydrocarbons with a much higher saturation rate and lower impurity content.
In addition, the boiling range of the Aduro “Hydrochemolytic oil” is substantially lower compared to comparable chemical recycling oils, which the company says is beneficial for application as steam cracker feedstock.
European pilot-scale trials
The trials were carried out in October 2025 at an established pilot-scale cracking facility in Europe, using a hydrocarbon liquid product Aduro produced from a mixed waste plastic feedstock consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyamide.
The Hydrochemolytic oil was processed in the pilot-scale steam-cracking furnace as produced, without dilution or further pre-treatment, under various operating conditions.
According to Aduro, this demonstration of high suitability for the extremely stringent feedstock specification of steam crackers without the need for costly post-treatment represents an important third-party validation milestone for the Hydrochemolytic Technology and its application in circular plastics value chains.
This testing was completed by a global organisation with deep expertise in steam-cracking technologies and operations, and their evaluation points to strong potential for liquids produced through our Hydrochemolytic Technology to meet the strict performance needs of cracking operations, said Ofer Vicus, CEO at Aduro
Significant results
Cracking of the Aduro Hydrochemolytic oil was achieved under stable furnace operation with yields of ethylene and propylene, key building blocks of polyethylene and polypropylene, comparable to those from comparable fossil feedstock.
Most significantly, the cracking trials showed that this particular Aduro product may be used as a cracker feedstock without additional hydrotreatment or dilution.
This enables a significant reduction in process complexity, capital investment, and operational expense for downstream operators, supporting improved project economics with potentially higher value to this product while improving its environmental footprint.
These results indicate that operators may be able to integrate this particular stream with minimal modifications, significantly simplifying the pathway from waste plastics to circular olefins.
The oil was processed as produced, without dilution or post-treatment, while maintaining characteristics aligned with demanding feedstock requirements. That level of suitability points to a pathway where HCT-derived liquids could be engineered for commercial furnaces with significantly reduced or simplified upgrading steps, creating meaningful cost and efficiency benefits, said Ofer Vicus.
For olefin producers and steam-cracker operators, these findings are significant. The current data suggest that Aduro’s Hydrochemolytic process can generate a stable, low-contaminant liquid feedstock that can be processed within existing steam-cracking systems with minimal modification.
This compatibility builds confidence in the technology’s potential to help bridge the gap between waste plastic sources and the production of new, virgin-quality plastics, strengthening the economic and environmental model while supporting the transition to circular and sustainable materials.
Company milestone
The trial represents a milestone in Aduro’s broader program of technology validation and market engagement.
Building on these results, the company intends to collaborate with additional global partners to evaluate feedstock quality, scalability, and integration pathways for its Hydrochemolytic Technology.
As we move from pilot to demonstration scale, this (trial) represents an important milestone in our commercialization pathway and a strong indication of the value our technology can bring to large-scale circular plastics production, concluded Ofer Vicus.
