Circular Integration of Electrified Plastic Waste-to-X Systems into Oil Refineries

The integration of plastic waste-to-X systems into the oil refineries offers a promising solution to the growing problem of plastic waste, while also supporting decarbonization by circulating plastic waste back into its supply chain as alternative feedstock. However, to ensure the environmental sustainability of plastic waste-to-X integration, it is crucial to account for the additional direct and indirect emissions involved. To address this, the potential of implementing electrification strategies must be explored. Therefore, this work presents a P-graph model to assess potential electrification pathways for the plastic waste-to-X system with simultaneous consideration of both economic and environmental aspects. The model focuses on two key aspects – the mode of electrification (i.e., direct or indirect electrification) and technology selection. A case study is presented to demonstrate the model’s applicability, revealing that electrification can reduce total cost by 97 % compared to the conventional system. However, the emissions avoidance potential is 33 % lower due to lower throughput. Scale-up analysis shows that achieving the same emissions avoidance as well as further scaling could increase the cost by 0.7 % to 7.8 %. Insights obtained from the analysis are expected to provide valuable guidance for policymakers in the development of strategies to promote transition towards circular economy.