On 2 March 2020, I joined Brightsite as program line manager ‘Reduction of emissions by replacing naphtha and natural gas usage‘. I am already familiar with the Chemelot site since I have worked for Avantium, where I was operations manager for the pilot plant biobased PEF (a ‘green’ alternative to PET). In addition, I have held various R&D positions at Euramax, Johnson Matthey and Akzo Nobel Chemicals.
My background is strongly rooted in research and innovation. That’s why I am happy to be part of Brightsite. Novel processes are needed to meet the ambitious, but certainly also necessary, goals we have set ourselves. In this program we aim at reducing CO₂ emissions by replacing naphtha with waste plastic and biomass. Various technologies are currently explored:
- Gasification of plastic waste and biomass
- Pyrolysis or plastic waste
- Dissolution and depolymerization of plastics
- Strategic valorization routes for biomass
Startups have often embraced these technologies with new ideas and innovative approaches. However, sometimes it is difficult for such startups to get properly connected to the established chemical community. Here program line 2 can help by offering knowledge, expertise and facilitate the necessary processes.
We already started a couple of collaborations with amongst others Synova. Synova converts waste plastic using MILENA-OLGA technology directly into a product mixture as typically found after naphtha cracking. Otherwise, it is hard to recycle waste streams that can be put into value again.
Click here to learn more about program line 2: Reduction of emissions by replacing naphtha and natural gas usage.
Any questions?
Please contact me via:
M: patrick.aarts@tno.nl
T: +31(0)6 214 576 91