SK Geocentric Accelerates Construction of Ulsan Waste Plastic Recycling Complex

Joint Technical Consultation of 1000 Hours with US PCT

SK Geocentric is making swift progress to establish the world's first plastic recycling complex.

SK Geocentric recently announced on the 10th that over the past two months, 12 engineers and researchers visited PureCycle Technologies' plastic recycling commercial plant located in Ohio, USA, and completed equipment adjustments and technical consultations to optimize recycling.

Engineers and researchers from SK Geocentric and PCT who participated in the technical consultation held at a factory in Ohio, USA (Photo by SK Geocentric)

PureCycle is a company that possesses chemical recycling technology that uses solvents to remove contaminants, odors, and colors from waste plastic to produce ultra-high purity recycled polypropylene. SK Geocentric signed a joint venture agreement with PureCycle in October last year and is collaborating with the goal of starting construction of the 'Ulsan ARC (Advanced Recycling Cluster)' within this year.

The engineers from both companies have held about 1,000 hours of online and offline meetings since January to discuss technology. This was necessary because the characteristics and purity of waste plastic vary by country of production, requiring process design improvements optimized for waste plastic primarily discarded in Korea.

In particular, they designed the process in a modular way, which is expected to be directly applicable to the Ulsan ARC. By composing modules for each design stage and assembling them on site, the process can be implemented in a short time.

Both companies aim to start construction in Ulsan within this year and begin commercial production in 2026. SK Geocentric holds exclusive sales rights in Korea and has also secured priority business rights for major countries in China and Southeast Asia, raising expectations for global business expansion.

Kim Jong-hwa, Head of Production at SK Geocentric, said, "Through this cooperation, both companies have enhanced mutual technical understanding and optimized the recycling process design to suit the characteristics of Korean waste plastic. We will strengthen our partnership to build a circular economy and strive for the successful establishment of the Ulsan ARC."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.