Decision to Invest in New Technology for Urban Oilfield Expansion

Refineverse Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Akira Ochi) will introduce new polyolefin recycling equipment at its "Refineverse Gamagori Plant," which will start operations in June, to expand its polyolefin (polyethylene/polypropylene) recycling business, which will officially begin in July. This will establish a manufacturing system at two locations, following RIVIC (Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture), and strengthen the production of recycled polyolefin materials.
■Introduction of high-purity equipment through deepening of waste plastic refining technology
In our efforts to recycle polyolefin, the most widely used plastic for various containers and packaging materials, many polyolefin products are compounded with other materials such as paper, aluminum, and fibers. This has been an impediment to resource circulation, and we have been working on technological development to solve this problem. Polyolefin films laminated on paper packs used for product packaging, for example, have not been widely recycled due to the difficulty of separating them from pulp, and most have been limited to thermal utilization. Polyolefin is the most consumed plastic in Japan, and if high-purity polyolefin can be recovered by separating compounded dissimilar materials, it would be a new urban oilfield with a large amount of buried waste. Therefore, we have deepened our refining technology for waste polyolefin products.
To address this issue, we have developed a new core technology that applies our unique technology for efficiently refining multiple materials, cultivated with the airbag recycled material "REAMIDE®," to recover high-purity polyolefin only from compounded polyolefin products. This has made it possible to establish a cost-competitive mass production process, leading to the decision to introduce new recycling equipment at the Gamagori Plant, scheduled to start operations in June.
With the introduction of this equipment, we will manufacture recycled polyolefin that can be used for both material recycling and chemical recycling. For material recycling, it can be used as a raw material for durable consumer goods such as automobiles and construction materials, and other general consumer goods, as well as for packaging materials such as shopping bags. For chemical recycling, it can be used as a crude raw material for oil conversion/naphtha, making it a highly versatile recycled material.
Going forward, we will continue to improve this technology to expand its application range, aiming to strengthen the circular supply chain based on domestic resources by recycling large quantities of unused waste polyolefin products, such as aluminum laminated polyolefin products and high-purity recovery by peeling off automobile bumper paints.
In the polyolefin recycling business, we will establish manufacturing lines at two locations, RIVIC (Refineverse Innovation Center in Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture) and Refineverse Gamagori Plant, to manufacture recycled polyolefin materials and raw materials.
■About Refineverse Group
"Connecting wealth to the future with unique perspectives and technology."
For over 20 years, we have been committed to practicing the circular economy and have been developing and recycling various materials. We collect large quantities of discarded carpet tiles from offices and facilities and process them into our own recycled material "Refine Powder," achieving horizontal circular recycling, which was difficult in the industry. We also operate a business that recycles waste fishing nets and waste car airbags into high-quality recycled nylon pellets "REAMIDE." Furthermore, we are developing various recycled materials such as "ReFEZER," a new bio-material made from bird feathers, "REOCA," an asphalt modifier recycled from automotive interior materials, and "RENAMY," a recycled rubber material. Through these initiatives, we aim to create new value from discarded materials and realize a circular society through the power of business.