Construction of Mura's first HydroPRS plant at the Wilton International site in the UK is currently underway and is expected to go into operation in the second half of 2022. A total of four HydroPRS reactors will be built there in order to process more than 80,000 tons of plastic waste annually. Further plants are planned in Germany and the USA as well as in Asia.
Mura Technology has developed HydroPRS (hydrothermal plastic recycling solution), which utilises a new thermo-mechanical process to convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals and oil. It is estimated that every tonne of plastic processed by the advanced recycling process saves 1.5 tonnes of CO2 compared to combustion.
Mura’s HydroPRS uses the catalytic hydrothermal reactor (Cat-HTR) process developed by Licella Holdings. The method uses water, heat and pressure and is said to be particularly effective where mechanical recycling has been unsuccessful so far, for example in contaminated and mixed plastics.
After igus first invested in the company, which is a technology partner, in 2020, it has increased its investment in Mura Technology to a total of €5 million. "We know the great opportunities that plastic and reusing plastic has,” says Matthew Aldridge, managing director of igus UK. “Although igus motion plastics should not be confused with the single use plastic waste that pollutes oceans, we are still working hard to help industry to be more sustainable, through almost 100 per cent recycling."
Mechanical recycling is an important first step in this direction. For more than 50 years, igus has been re-granulating 99 per cent of the plastic waste generated in its production operations. At the end of 2019, the company also initiated the ‘chainge’ programme, where igus takes back any plastic energy chains at the end of a machine's life, compensates the customer with an igus voucher, re-granulates the plastic and then processes it again.
Mura Technology has also succeeded in bringing on board KBR, an exclusive licensing partner to help to distribute the technology globally. With 28,0000 employees, KBR is active in more than 80 countries, including planners, plant builders and operators of refineries and chemical factories.