SK Geocentric Targets Global Market with Recycling and High-Value Materials

Participation in the World's Top 3 Plastic Exhibition 'China Plus' from 17th to 20th

SK Innovation's chemical business subsidiary, SK Geocentric, will participate in Chinaplas, one of the world's top three and Asia's largest plastic and rubber exhibitions. SK Geocentric plans to showcase its blueprint for the plastic recycling business targeting the global market and its business strategy focused on high value-added chemical materials.

SKGC ChinaPlas 2023 bird's-eye view. Photo by SK Geocentric

SK Geocentric announced on the 14th that it will participate in 'Chinaplas 2023,' held from the 17th to the 20th in Shenzhen, China. This year's theme is carbon neutrality, circular economy, and sustainable development. Numerous global petrochemical companies, including ExxonMobil and BASF, will also attend to introduce their business strategies and products.

SK Geocentric will install an LED tower sculpture inspired by the three major chemical recycling technologies for plastic waste that enable 'urban oil fields,' and introduce products and solutions using recycled materials. Visitors can check the core technologies applied at the Ulsan ARC through a touch kiosk.

The Ulsan ARC is the world's first comprehensive plastic waste recycling complex that SK Geocentric is establishing in Ulsan by 2025. It gathers technologies such as dissolving plastic waste in solvents to extract high-purity polypropylene (PP), depolymerization technology that breaks down polymerized polyester (PET) into raw materials, and pyrolysis technology that converts plastic waste into chemical fuels. Upon completion, it will be able to process about 250,000 tons of plastic waste annually.

Through its booth exhibition, SK Geocentric will also showcase high value-added packaging materials such as EAA (ethylene acrylic acid) and high-performance lightweight materials (UD Tape) as core products.

EAA is a high value-added chemical material that improves recyclability compared to conventional chemical products and reduces the amount of plastic required for production. It is mainly used as an adhesive for packaging materials, and currently only 3-4 global chemical companies, including SK Geocentric, can produce it. Its applications are expanding across various industries, from sterilized packs and vacuum packaging for meat to golf balls and tempered glass.

UD Tape is a lightweight material that adds fiber-type reinforcements to plastic and is used in aircraft and automobile parts. Recognizing these advantages, it won an innovation award at CES 2023 held this year.

SK Geocentric will also conduct live shows to enhance visitors' understanding. Three times daily, live shows will be broadcast via WeChat, China's largest mobile messenger, introducing the establishment of the recycling cluster, chemical recycling technologies, and high value-added chemical products. After the live show, on-site visitors will be served red bean shaved ice in paper cups coated with EAA.

Na Kyung-soo, President of SK Geocentric, said, "This will be a great opportunity to inform customers worldwide about SK Geocentric's future growth engines, such as plastic waste recycling business and high value-added chemical materials," adding, "As we have set the goal of becoming the world's best recycling materials company, we will accelerate innovation."

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