INEOS Styrolution has partnered with post-consumer plastics recycling company Agilyx to build a polystyrene (PS) chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois, US.

Designed to process 100t of post-consumer PS every day, the new facility will convert the waste into styrene material suitable to use in new polystyrene product manufacturing.

The new facility will use Agilyx’s proprietary chemical recycling technology to break down polystyrene to its molecular base monomers.

With Agilyx’s chemical recycling process, contaminated polystyrene can also be transformed into new, food-grade plastic products or packaging. This encourages circular recycling economy.

INEOS Styrolution Americas Standard Products vice-president Ricardo Cuetos said: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be in this industry.

“Agilyx’s chemical recycling technology is a game-changer to advance the circular recycling pathway of plastics. A benefit of chemical recycling is there is no degradation over multiple cycles. The polymers can continue to create new products over and over again of the same purity and performance of virgin polystyrene.

“This plant will dramatically increase recycling rates in the greater Chicago area, dispelling the myth that polystyrene cannot be recycled. We are thrilled to partner with Agilyx on this project.”

Agilyx successfully completed the development programme for INEOS Styrolution with the selection of post-consumer polystyrene feedstock. The styrene product meets INEOS specifications.

The project’s next phase involves the engineering and design of the facility.