S-Oil to Produce Eco-Friendly Products Using Pyrolysis Oil from Waste Plastics

Approval of Experimental Exemption Project Regulatory Sandbox
Full-Scale Launch of Low-Carbon New Energy Business
Production of Environmentally Friendly Products with Low Carbon Intensity

S-Oil is set to fully launch its low-carbon eco-friendly new energy business.

On the 6th, S-Oil announced that it has received regulatory sandbox approval for a demonstration special case project that produces low-carbon eco-friendly products by inputting pyrolysis oil from waste plastics into the petroleum refining process.

S-Oil will officially implement a demonstration project that processes pyrolysis oil made from waste plastics, sourced both domestically and internationally, together with crude oil in the existing refining and chemical processes at the Onsan plant to produce petroleum chemical products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, naphtha, and polypropylene.

S-Oil will proceed with the new energy business after stabilizing through initial testing of raw material input. An S-Oil official stated, “During the two-year demonstration period, up to 10,000 tons of pyrolysis oil will be input into the existing refining and chemical processes to produce resource-circulating products.”

S-Oil plans to expand the production volume of eco-friendly products by adjusting the mixing ratio of pyrolysis oil from waste plastics and crude oil while evaluating changes in overall product yield and process impact. Since waste plastics, which were mainly incinerated or landfilled, are being recycled, it is expected to have excellent effects in replacing crude oil and resource circulation, as well as contributing to the reduction of carbon dioxide and waste.

After successfully commercializing pyrolysis oil containing many impurities in existing facilities through trial operation, S-Oil plans to apply for the international sustainability certification (ISCC PLUS) to concretize carbon emission reduction achievements and contribute to a low-carbon, circular economy.

Anwar Al Hizaji, CEO of S-Oil
Photo by S-Oil

More than 85% of waste plastics can be recycled. Under the domestic Petroleum Business Act, only petroleum and petroleum products can be used as refining raw materials, so pyrolysis oil from waste plastics cannot be input into the petroleum refining process. Accordingly, S-Oil applied for a regulatory special case sandbox to activate the circular economy through the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology in March.

S-Oil said, “We will promote low-carbon, circular new energy-related businesses to realize the company vision of being ‘an eco-friendly energy chemical company with the highest competitiveness and creativity,’ and strive to realize social value and keep pace with eco-friendly trends.”

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