SK Geocentric’s ‘Plastic Pyrolysis Pilot Plant’ in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on May 16th . Entering this place after passing through three or four impenetrable security doors, there were twisting silver pipes from the first to third floors. I could see that yellow liquid was flowing through a transparent cylindrical container connected to the middle of the pipe. This liquid goes through a process, is connected to an external pipe, and is then transported on a tank lorry (refinery truck). It was ‘안전놀이터oil made from waste’. This is the first time this factory has been revealed to the domestic media. An official from SK Geocentric said, “Through processes such as heating and compressing discarded plastic or vinyl at high temperatures, naphtha (oil with impurities removed from crude oil), which becomes a raw material for plastics, is extracted again,” adding, “This is the city.” “It’s an oil field,” he said.
The influence of plastic is so great that the ‘Iron Age’ is also called the ‘Plastic Age’. However, as plastics are seen as the main culprit of environmental pollution, interest in eco-friendly and recycled plastics is rapidly increasing. This is why there is a prediction that “a ‘ new plastic era’ will begin where eco-friendly plastics are made from waste .” In addition to SK Geocentric, Korean companies such as Hyosung TNC, GS Caltex, and LG Chemical are entering
this market most aggressively in the world.