End-of-life plastic is shredded and unwanted contaminants such as glass, metals, grit and stones are removed. The shredded plastic is then heated and compressed, combined with supercritical water and further heated.

Once the product enters the Cat-HTR™, the water acts as ‘molecular scissors’ to break down the polymeric bonds, donating hydrogen to create useful short-chain, stable hydrocarbons.

These hydrocarbons are then separated into chemicals and oils, such as naphtha, middle distillate, waxes and a bitumen-type product; they are then stored, ready for transport.