LG Chem (Seoul, South Korea) announced that it will begin construction of a pyrolysis oil plant by investing about 310 billion KRW by 2024 at the Seongmun National Industrial Complex in Dangjin, Chungnam to establish a plastic circulating economy while also newly building an aerogel plant that is known to be a next-generation insulation material. The goal is to begin construction for both plants by Q1 next year and commercial production by 2024.
Earlier this year, LG Chem announced that it would construct the nation’s first supercritical pyrolysis oil plant and completed licensing and authorization procedures to enter the Seongmun National Industrial Complex in June. Supercritical refers to special heat sources generated in the steam state with temperature and pressure exceeding the critical point of water, and it acquires both the solubility of liquids and diffusion of gases, thus making it useful for extracting specific materials.
Aerogel is a high-performance insulation material composed of more than 95% gas and is known as the lightest solid in the world. It is drawing attention as a next-generation material that is as light as air but does not get wet by water and has non-burning features making it possible to withstand high heat.
The global chemical recycling market in terms of pyrolysis oil extracted from waste plastic is expected to grow from 700,000 tons in 2020 to 3.3 million tons by 2030 to grow at an annual average of 17%. Furthermore, the aerogel market is also expected to grow with the increase in demand for industrial insulation materials such as eco-friendly energy (liquefied hydrogen) transportation and storage, prevention of battery thermal runaway, etc.
Starting with constructing the pyrolysis oil and aerogel plant, LG Chem plans to foster the Dangjin business site in Chungnam into the mecca for the eco-friendly and future-prospective materials business.