Pyrolysis Oil Fully Exported to Europe: Korean Firm Wins with a "Small-Scale" Strategy

"In the past, when we made furniture films, the profit margin per square meter was less than 5%, and we still had to face low-price competition from Chinese products, so our room for survival became narrower and narrower," Shen Yingxiu, representative of JinYoung Company, said in the exclusive interview. "We have deeply cultivated the polymer materials field for 30 years and are fully capable of turning what others see as 'garbage' back into high-value chemical raw materials. This is the transformation direction with the strongest long-term vitality that we could find."

Unlike large Korean refining and chemical giants such as SK geo centric and Hyundai Chemical, which have deployed large centralized pyrolysis plants with annual capacities of more than 60,000 tons in the Ulsan industrial special zone, JinYoung has chosen a completely differentiated route: focusing on modular small-scale pyrolysis units that process 8 tons of waste plastic per day per unit. They do not require complex supporting hydrogenation refining post-treatment systems, and the crude pyrolysis oil produced can be directly exported to the European market after simple purification.

"The investment for a single unit of our equipment is less than 1/20 that of a large factory, and the construction period is only 3 months. It can be flexibly deployed according to waste plastic recycling collection points across Korea, without bearing huge upfront investment risks." Shen Yingxiu revealed that the four pyrolysis units at the Yeongcheon plant have already been in continuous stable operation for more than 18 months. Thanks to stable quality, the pyrolysis oil produced has obtained EU ISCC sustainable certification. Its export price to Europe is 30%-50% higher than ordinary petrochemical fuels. At present, it has achieved stable exports of 14 containers per month, and all products are locked in advance by European energy traders, so there is no concern about sales.

Regarding the expansion plan for 2026, Shen Yingxiu clearly stated: "We have already acquired new industrial land in Nonsan, Jeollanam-do. Ten new modular pyrolysis units are being accelerated in installation and commissioning, and are expected to be fully put into operation by the end of December 2026. Together with the existing four units in Yeongcheon, by the end of the year our total number of pyrolysis units will reach 14. Our overall daily waste plastic processing capacity will increase from the current 32 tons to 112 tons, and the annual pyrolysis oil output scale will exceed 30,000 tons."

When asked about the biggest challenge in the transformation process, Shen Yingxiu admitted: "At the very beginning, many people around us did not understand why a company that had made furniture films for 30 years wanted to enter the waste plastic treatment industry that everyone regarded as 'dirty, tiring, and unprofitable.' But now our orders have been scheduled into the second half of 2027, and the gross profit margin of pyrolysis oil is more than 6 times what it was when we made furniture films. Facts have proven that we chose the right direction."

Finally, Shen Yingxiu said that in the future JinYoung will not blindly pursue super-large centralized capacity, but will continue to adhere to the distributed modular expansion route. It plans to deploy more than 50 pyrolysis units across Korea by 2028, thoroughly transforming the company from a traditional surface materials manufacturer into a leading resource-circulating new materials enterprise in Korea (Source: hankyung).

The 5th International Circular Polyolefins Summit will cover major polyolefin recycling directions such as advanced physical recycling and chemical pyrolysis, invite domestic and international experts to conduct detailed analysis of current technological innovation and industrial development trends, and also hold a closed-door meeting to discuss current development challenges and put forward future recommendations.

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