Page 36 - Plastics News June 2024

COMPANY NEWS

Eastman’s new chemical recycling plant to use batteries for zero-

carbon heat

Brick heat batteries from Bill Gates-backed Rondo Energy will provide continuous heat of up to 1500 C from
intermittent renewable sources like solar

astman will deploy thermal Gates-funded startup which has devel- or the wind, electrical heaters glow
batteries at its second chem- oped Rondo Heat Batteries (RHB) to brightly and warm the bricks around
ical recycling plant in the decarbonise the industrial sector. them. The bricks then store energy for
United States. The chemi- By powering its PET depolymerisa- hours or days with less than 1% loss
cal manufacturer announced in March tion process with low- or zero-carbon per day. When heat is needed for in-
it chose its existing site at Longview, heat, Eastman’s recycled materials will dustrial operation, air flows through
Texas, for the new PET depolymerisa- have up to 90% fewer greenhouse gas the brick stack and is superheated to
tion facility. emissions than materials produced over 1000 C. Automated controls ad-
The project will receive up to $375 with fossil feedstocks. PepsiCo has just heating to the desired temperature
million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill already signed a contract to use East- at the outlet.
and Inflation Reduction Act funding man Renew materials from the Long- The RHB systems can store more than
from the US Department of Energy. view facility to create more sustainable 1 MWh of power per square meter, a
The Longview site was chosen, in part, packaging with a much lower carbon high level of density that preserves area
because it provides enough space for footprint. use at industrial facilities. Rondo En-
on-site renewable energy. Rondo Heat Batteries (RHB) are modu- ergy says a single RHB300 unit could
Now, Eastman has announced it will lar units containing thousands of tons eliminate more than 40,000 tons of
pair solar energy with brick heat bat- of brick and coils of metal, similarly to carbon emissions per year – equivalent
teries that can provide continuous heat kitchen toasters. The so-called ‘brick to the carbon offset created by about
of up to 1500 C from such intermittent toasters’ store high-temperature heat 8,700 electric vehicles. The units are
clean energy sources. as its been done for centuries with reportedly fully automatic, can deliver
heat on demand for 24 hours a day
The company is partnering with Cal- bricks. at constant temperatures, and have a
ifornia-based Rondo Energy, a Bill When power is available from the sun lifespan of over 40 years.

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June 2024