December 22, 2015 Updated 12/22/2015
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Recycling technology firm RES Polyflow will build its first commercial scale plastics-to-fuel plant in Ashley, Ind.
Perry, Ohio-based Polyflow will break ground on the $ 90 million project in the second quarter of 2016, officials said in a Dec. 22 news release. The plant is expected to employ 136 when fully operational. Polyflow has operated a smaller-scale unit in Perry since early 2013.
“The Ashley site offers many logistical advantages for our suppliers and customers, which allows us to expand rapidly to achieve our ten-year growth plan,” Polyflow CEO Jay Schabel said in the release.
Ashley is a small town of almost 1,000 in northeast Indiana, about 35 miles north of Fort Wayne. Polyflow officials said that state and local support for the project “became a critical factor” in the decision to build in Ashley. The town and surrounding Steuben County are providing Polyflow with an economic development package worth $ 4.4 million. The Indiana Economic Development Commission also is offering $ 900,000 in tax credits and $ 100,000 in training grants.
Polyflow’s pyrolysis technology melts down any type of plastic scrap at nearly 1,000° F. The vapor is then condensed into a liquid slurry that contains aromatic chemicals.
The Ashley plant will be able to convert more than 200 million pounds of plastic scrap into 17 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel and gasoline blendstocks on an annual basis, officials said.
