BASF Catalysts offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products including advanced battery materials. BASF’s Catalysts division is the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. The group offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products, including advanced battery materials. We believe mobility’s future lies in more than just products. So where others come to a full stop, we’re just getting started—by leveraging the full power of BASF to continually advance our comprehensive package of sustainable solutions that enable us to travel further, as well as above and beyond. A leading supplier of high performance cathode active materials (CAM) for electrified vehicles to battery producers and automotive OEMs around the world. Protecting the air we breathe from harmful emissions through innovation. BASF leverages unsurpassed expertise in the development of emission control technologies for a wide range of market applications. BASF is committed to advancing and promoting environmentally-sound technologies to achieve a sustainable future in aviation. Offering 50 years of experience developing intelligent solutions for air quality over a wide range of applications — enabling clean air for a healthier, more sustainable future. As the global leader in chemical catalysts, BASF develops cutting-edge catalyst chemistry with our customers’ needs in mind. We want to contribute to a world that provides a viable future with enhanced quality of life for everyone. We do so by creating chemistry for our customers and society and by making the best use of available resources. BASF offers the widest portfolio of adsorbent technologies for a broad spectrum of applications in industries such as refining, petrochemical, chemical, and gas processing. At BASF, our Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst and additive offerings together with our expert technical services build the right solution to create value within any unit’s constraints. Paving the way toward a brighter, more secure future. Manufacturing products for sustainable solutions, reducing emissions from our processes, and using non-fossil fueled energy sources – all of these efforts help lead BASF on a continuing journey of sustainability. BASF Natural Gas experts have a diverse portfolio of products to custom design a solution and help you meet your Natural Gas treatment needs. BASF has been serving the natural gas treatment market for over 60 years. Innovative, step-change technology with dual-purpose performance: removal of heavy hydrocarbons and water to cryogenic specifications in a single unit. With more than 150 years of experience in metal sourcing, trading, and hedging, we’ve built tangible results for our industrial customers. With more than 100 years of experience in recycling materials, BASF’s end-to-end recycling program is known and trusted around the globe. As a leader in precious-metal thermocouples for many years, BASF recently applied its technological expertise to optical-based temperature measurement. Developing and producing pharmaceutical ingredients for more than 75 years, enabling us to provide the solutions you need to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges for your pharmaceutical business. Find the latest news and media information for BASF’s Catalysts division, headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, USA, the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. Explore this collection of resources to learn more about our innovative research and Catalyst solutions.

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BASF offers advanced high-performance catalysts and adsorbents for purification of waste plastics pyrolysis feeds.

PuriCycle® portfolio encompasses novel catalysts and adsorbents developed to selectively remove or convert wide range of impurities and enable downstream processing of circular plastics streams.

Plastic waste represents a fundamental issue not only to the environment but also to the chemical industry as the search for sustainable value chains with reduced dependency on fossil feedstocks reactivates. BASF is committed to contribute to solutions that help solve the challenge of plastic waste. Building a circular economy for plastics requires innovation and joint efforts across the value chain.

Puricycle and flower

Why BASF?

Relying on vast expertise in process catalysis and materials, BASF introduced a new line of products designed to purify most complex plastics PyOils to ensure full compositional compliance with industry standards. The PuriCycle® portfolio encompasses novel catalysts and adsorbents developed to purify waste plastics pyrolysis streams to enable circular processing.

Portfolio of Products

Decontamination

Portfolio of activated alumina and clay adsorbents for initial discoloration and ash removal.

Prehydrogenation

Proven catalysts for selective hydrogenation of diolefins to restrict oligomerization and waxing at elevated processing temperatures.

Dehalogenation

Guard adsorbents to remove halogens and protect downstream equipment.

Hydroprocessing

Wide range of catalysts with optimized activity in plastics pyrolysis liquids.

Decontamination

Our offering: Activated Alumina Adsorbents

We offer activated alumina adsorbents for initial discoloration and ash removal in plastics recycling feeds. The granular and spherical alumina adsorbents have a high mechanical strength combined with high surface area and engineered pore structure that provide a unique set of properties needed for initial decontamination and color removal.

Prehydrogenation

Our offering: PuriCycle® SH

Plastics pyrolysis feeds generated by thermal non catalytic or catalytic pyrolysis processes normally contain high amounts of unsaturated compounds, often up to 50-60 wt % of olefins and up to 4-5 wt % of diolefins depending on the specificity of the process. While olefin saturation can be completed downstream in a hydroprocessing unit, heating up streams containing high levels of polyunsaturates i.e. diolefins is a challenge as these compounds tend to oligomerize and condense into waxes contributing to coking of heat exchangers. At certain elevated levels diolefins pose a problem for transportation of pyrolysis liquids making them less stable. BASF offers PuriCycle® SH products for selective prehydrogenation of plastics pyrolysis feeds to remove polyunsaturated compounds enabling transportation and/or downstream processing.

Dehalogenation

Our offering: PuriCycle® H

Halogens and more specifically chlorides are often present in waste plastics pyrolysis streams. The levels vary greatly depending on the types of plastics used, preprocessing configuration and overall process design. Removal of halogens is important to protect downstream equipment. BASF offers PuriCycle® H in a nonregenerable service, an adsorbent which efficiently and selectively binds halogens ensuring the highest purity of the product stream.

Hydroprocessing

Our offering: PuriCycle® HP

Immense diversity among compositions of plastics pyrolysis liquids result in a wide spectrum of related impurities. Most plastics pyrolysis feeds are rich in unsaturated compounds, aromatics and often include -N, -O, and -S compounds as well as traces of metals such as Si, Hg and others. Depending on the downstream use of these streams there are different purity and compositional requirements. Feeding steam crackers, which is widely seen as the most feasible route to close the plastics loop, requires plastics derived feeds that satisfy stringent purity specs. Hydroprocessing is often viewed as the preferred universal process solution to hydrogenate unsaturated compounds and simultaneously remove heteroatoms such as -N, -O, and -S. BASF offers a range of PuriCycle® HP products as efficient hydroprocessing catalysts optimized for high performance in plastics pyrolysis liquids.

Plastic waste 1

Plastics have proven to be essential for modern society improving consumers experiences and brining benefits across different economy sectors. As demand for plastics and production volumes have increased over the years, so did the amount of plastic waste. Globally, around 250 million metric tons of plastic waste are generated each year but only around 20 percent of it is recycled, mostly using mechanical and energy recovery methods.

Chemical or monomer recycling methods have gained industry attention as a promising avenue to close the plastics production-disposal loop and minimize waste. More specifically, chemical recycling of mixed plastics via partial/full substitution of conventional naphtha feeds to steam crackers with PyOils made by plastics pyrolysis emerges as a major prospect for petrochemical industry.

BASF’s PuriCycle portfolio helps to purify PyOils. Among the most demanding technical tasks in this space is to ensure that PyOils derived from mixed waste plastics satisfy the stringent cracker specs. Impurities associated with halogens, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur compounds but also higher levels of highly reactive components such as dienes complicate downstream use and impose strict limitations on using such feeds in steam crackers.

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Data Sheet

PuriCycle H

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Data Sheet

PuriCycle HPF5

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Data Sheet

PuriCycle L

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Data Sheet

PuriCycle LN

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News & Media

Joint Press Release BASF Sulzer Chemtech image

Aug 24, 2022

BASF and Sulzer Chemtech sign Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in sustainable technologies

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BASF CAT 003379 Puri Cycle Process Visual 2500x1408px 05

Jul 13, 2022

BASF introduces PuriCycle® portfolio of catalysts and adsorbents to enable plastics recycling

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Bio PG BASF Orlen Air Liquide

May 16, 2023

ORLEN Południe plant makes propylene glycol production more sustainable based on BASF technology

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