Hoop demo plant for chemical recycling of plastics to start at Mantua

Hoop complements mechanical recycling, making it possible to convert mixed plastic waste into feedstock that can be used to produce new plastic materials suitable for all applications, including food contact packaging and pharmaceutical packaging.

Hoop was developed through a joint project with the Italian engineering firm S.R.S. (Servizi di Ricerche e Sviluppo), leading to an innovative technology that achieves high material recovery yields and offers excellent flexibility in terms of input materials.

This is made possible by combining a high thermal performance pyrolysis reactor with Versalis’s expertise in polymer property analysis and production process optimisation through Artificial Intelligence systems.

Construction of the Hoop demonstration plant, which occupies an area of approximately 5,000 square metres within the Mantua site, began at the end of October 2023. During the construction phase, more than 25 specialised contractors were involved, with an average daily workforce of around 70 people. In recent weeks, the first production tests were successfully completed.

The plant is capable of processing 6,000 tonnes of secondary raw material per year and will serve to validate the technology application on an industrial scale. Under the Memorandum of Understanding on the Eni-Versalis Chemical Transformation Plan signed last March with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), a 40,000-tonne facility is planned for construction at the Priolo site in Sicily. The feasibility study has already been completed, and the design phase is currently underway in preparation for the start of the permitting process.