History and Current Status of Saga City's Waste Plastic Oil Refining Plant

History and Current Status of Saga City's Waste Plastic Oil Refining Plant

1996: Start of Oil Refining Plant Experiment
Saga City's Clean Center and the oil refining plant in Aioi City, Hyogo Prefecture, collaborated on a demonstration experiment to convert waste plastics into oil. In this project, waste plastics were crushed and separated in Saga City to remove ceramic and metal fragments before sending the purified plastic to Aioi City. At the Aioi plant, technology was established to recover 65kg of synthetic oil from 100kg of waste plastic, achieving an oil recovery rate of 65%. The processing cost was estimated at approximately 110 yen per liter, and the technology attracted attention as a promising method for nationwide dissemination.

2000s: Legal Development and New Technological Innovations
With the enactment of the "Container and Packaging Recycling Law" in 2000, the separation and recycling of waste plastics progressed nationwide. During this period, many municipalities adopted separation collection systems, increasing the material recycling and thermal recovery of waste plastics. However, improving recycling rates and reducing costs remained challenges.

2010s: Introduction of CCU (CO₂ Utilization)
As part of the biomass industrial city initiative, Saga City established a CCU plant within its waste incineration facility in 2018. This facility separates and recovers up to 10 tons of CO₂ per day from waste incineration, which is then sold to local agriculture and algae cultivation businesses. This initiative successfully reduced environmental impact while creating new industries.

2020s: Plastic Resource Circulation Promotion Law and Modern Challenges
With the enforcement of the "Plastic Resource Circulation Promotion Law" in April 2022, Saga City is advancing efforts to collect plastics as resources. Nationally, companies like ENEOS Corporation and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation are promoting circular chemical recycling by using supercritical water technology to process waste plastics into oil for use in petrochemical refining and naphtha crackers.

Summary: The Significance of Saga City from a Historical Perspective
Saga City's efforts in the waste plastic oil refining plant began with a demonstration experiment in 1996. Through subsequent legal developments and technological advancements, initiatives such as CO₂ utilization and plastic resource circulation have been strengthened, making Saga City a model case nationwide. This history symbolizes the challenge of reducing environmental impact and promoting effective resource utilization.