Thought Leadership

By Francis Tsang

The successful commissioning of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC)’s Hydro-PRT® facility in Japan this week reflects steady momentum in the commercial adoption of advanced recycling technology to manage plastic waste. Utilizing Mura’s Hydro-PRT technology, this plant enables plastics circularity by converting mixed waste plastics with the help of supercritical water (SCW).

The recycled oil produced utilizing this technology at the facility will be used as feedstock at MCC’s and ENEOS Corporation naphtha cracker and refinery units converted into circular plastics and high-value petrochemicals closing the circularity loop.

As a global leader in energy, chemicals, and sustainable technologies, KBR offers an unmatched end-to-end solution, from waste plastic handling to circular hydrocarbon upgrading and steam cracking integration. In alliance with Mura Technology, KBR offers solutions anchored by the market-leading Hydro-PRT (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Technology), which enables the conversion of mixed plastic waste into high-quality feedstocks for virgin-equivalent polymer production.

With the global economy shifting towards low-carbon and circular models, reducing reliance on fossil-based feedstocks in plastic production has emerged as a critical priority. Mura’s Hydro-PRT, in partnership with KBR, provides a powerful solution for companies aiming to meet decarbonization and waste reduction goals. Conventional plastics are largely produced from crude oil and natural gas derivatives, such as naphtha, which are major contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental degradation. In parallel, regulatory mandates, corporate circularity goals, and consumer-driven sustainability expectations are accelerating the demand for low-carbon, circular materials.

Among the most effective strategies for emission reduction in the plastics sector is the decoupling of polymer production from fossil resources. A study by Argonne National Laboratory demonstrated that replacing just five per cent of fossil-derived feedstock with advanced recycled materials via pyrolysis could reduce GHG emissions by 18-23% compared to virgin production of LDPE and HDPE. When advanced recycling also replaces end-of-life incineration, emissions reductions can rise to 40-50% in the U.S. and up to 131% in the EU, where incineration is more widely practiced. Supporting this, the World Wildlife Fund’s scenario analysis for Australia suggests that a holistic strategy – combining feedstock substitution, high recycling rates, and renewable energy integration – could cut plastics-related emissions by up to 70% by 2050 compared to business-as-usual. These findings collectively underscore the critical role of fossil decoupling and advanced recycling in achieving scalable, system-wide emissions reductions in the plastics value chain.

While mechanical recycling has and will continue to play a key role, it remains limited in scope due to contamination, degradation, and the inability to handle complex or multi-material plastic waste. Advanced plastic recycling, particularly pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction, offers a more robust pathway by converting mixed, contaminated end of life plastic back into molecular intermediates for the petrochemical industry. However, truly closing the loop requires more than depolymerization: these intermediates must be upgraded, purified, and seamlessly reintegrated into petrochemical infrastructure. That’s where KBR's full-spectrum capabilities deliver exceptional value.

KBR’s Integrated Approach Across the Full Value Chain

Material Preparation

KBR enables processing heterogeneous, multilayered, and contaminated plastics — materials that typically fall outside the scope of mechanical recycling. Through tailored pre-treatment and sorting processes, plastic waste is rendered suitable for chemical conversion at scale.

Hydrothermal Advanced Recycling Technology

KBR offers a market-leading advanced recycling solution for converting mixed plastic waste into stable, fungible circular hydrocarbons through a differentiated process leveraging SCW technology. This approach enables exceptional product quality, high liquid yields, and sector leading life cycle assessment (LCA) performance, positioning it at the forefront of next-generation recycling technologies. With three commercial-scale plants, each with a 20 KTA production capacity, currently in early operations, the technology is on the path to full-scale commercial demonstration and poised to deliver significant environmental and industrial impact in the near term.

Upgrading and Purification

On plastic oils derived from either pyrolysis or Hydro-PRT, KBR employs advanced hydro-processing and proprietary sorbent technologies to remove halogens, oxygenates, and other impurities. These steps are essential to create high-quality, naphtha-like feedstocks that meet the demanding specifications of steam crackers.

Steam Cracking Integration

Leveraging decades of expertise in olefins and ethylene production, KBR ensures these upgraded feedstocks can be directly used in existing steam crackers. Modular, flexible design options support integration with minimal retrofits, delivering efficiency without disrupting plant performance.

KBR Stands Out

• Comprehensive, End-to-End Expertise: From the initial plastic waste intake to the final polymer output, KBR delivers a fully integrated, turnkey solution.

• Differentiated Technology Portfolio: KBR offers industry-leading technologies, such as Hydro-PRT and advanced purification, for converting even the most challenging waste streams into circular naphtha.

• Significant Sustainability Benefits: By replacing virgin fossil inputs and reducing landfill/incineration dependence, this approach helps lower the overall carbon footprint of plastics manufacturing.

• Commercial Readiness and Scalability: Engineered for real-world deployment, KBR’s solutions are scalable, modular, and compatible with existing industrial infrastructure.

With global sustainability directives such as the EU plastic tax and recycled content mandates gaining momentum, the need for scalable circular solutions is more urgent than ever. KBR’s Hydro-PRT technology, combined with its proven expertise across the entire petrochemical value chain, provides a reliable, economically viable, and future-ready path to decouple plastic production from fossil resources.

By bridging waste conversion with high-performance polymer production, KBR is not just addressing today’s plastic waste crisis, it is actively redefining the future of sustainable materials and driving the future of circular plastics. Explore more about this technology at www.kbr.com/hydro-prt