Grandpuits Zero-crude Platform: TotalEnergies Starts Production at France’s First Advanced Plastics Recycling Plant
TotalEnergies has launched France’s first advanced plastics recycling facility at its Grandpuits site, located southeast of Paris, with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons. This milestone represents a further step in transforming the refinery into a zero-crude platform.
A brand-new plastics recycling activity
The facility employs advanced recycling technology provided by partner Plastic Energy, converting hard-to-recycle plastic waste from French households—typically destined for landfill or incineration—into synthetic oil. This is achieved through a pyrolysis process, where the waste is heated at high temperatures in a pressurized, oxygen-free environment. This innovative method enables the recycling of materials that cannot be processed through conventional mechanical recycling.
Recycled plastics identical to virgin plastics
The resulting synthetic oil is used as a petrochemical feedstock, replacing traditional fossil-based inputs. It supports the production of high-quality recycled plastics that match virgin material standards and meet stringent requirements for food-grade and medical applications. In 2023, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with two French partners, Citeo and Paprec, to ensure a stable, long-term supply of plastic waste for the facility.
"The start-up of the first advanced plastics recycling plant in France is an important milestone in the conversion of our Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex. Alongside Plastic Energy, contributing its technology, and our partners Citeo and Paprec, we are supporting the emergence of a brand-new French plastic recycling activity," declared Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Renewables, Fuels & Chemicals at TotalEnergies.
An eco-organisation dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of household packaging and paper.
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