![\"Facility](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/08\/Anlage_nah_1_4189011-1024x493.webp\")
Arcus Greencycling Technologies is pursuing the goal of reclaiming plastic waste\u2014which is currently primarily incinerated in waste-to-energy plants\u2014as a petroleum-like raw material, thereby conserving fossil resources, through a novel chemical recycling process. In this process, mixed and contaminated plastic waste is thermochemically converted into high-quality pyrolysis oil in an oxygen-free environment. This oil serves as a feedstock for the production of new plastics, thereby enabling waste that previously could not be recycled to be reintroduced into the raw material cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike other pyrolysis plants, the process operates continuously rather than discontinuously in batch mode, thereby laying the groundwork for cost-effective industrial scaling. To validate the process under real industrial conditions for the first time, the company built an industrial demonstration plant at the H\u00f6chst Industrial Park. It not only serves to demonstrate technical feasibility but also provides insights for the development of future production facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continuous plant operation offers several advantages over batch processes. Since material feeding and product discharge occur continuously, there is no downtime for filling, heating, emptying, cleaning, and restarting individual batches. At the same time, process conditions can be maintained more consistently, and product quality can be reproduced more reliably. This forms the basis for economical operation on an industrial scale. Consequently, even during the design phase of the demonstration plant, the focus was not on laboratory operations but on subsequent industrial application. As a result, the reactor was built to its eventual full size. In the future, however, higher processing capacities are to be achieved not only through larger reactors but also through additional, parallel-operated process lines. The demonstration plant provides the necessary operating data and insights for the design of commercial plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automation Without a Blueprint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While traditional automation projects can rely on tried-and-true methods and defined process workflows, no technical blueprint existed for the demonstration plant. In this true greenfield project, process engineering and automation evolved in parallel. New insights from process development had to be continuously incorporated into the hardware and software throughout the entire project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, the plant was not designed as a laboratory or pilot facility, but was to be approved and built as an industrial production facility. The automation requirements were correspondingly high. At the same time, the recycling process itself was still under development. Changes to individual process steps therefore often had an immediate impact on the control concept as well as the software and safety functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arcus commissioned the Stoll Group, a system integrator specializing in industrial automation, to plan and implement the automation and control technology. Process engineers and automation specialists worked closely together throughout the entire project. The scope of services was supplemented by the design and installation of the power supply system, including the low-voltage main distribution panel (NSHV), which supplies the entire plant with electrical power.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n \u201cThere was no blueprint for our plant,\u201d says Arcus Managing Director Daniel Odenthal.<\/strong> \u201cOur colleagues at Stoll, together with our employees, started with a blank sheet of paper and developed the automation system from the ground up, because there were practically no examples to draw on. That required creative minds.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n However, the particular challenge of the project was not limited to automating the continuous recycling process. Because the demonstration plant had to meet both the legal requirements for a waste disposal facility and those for a chemical production plant, the goal was to reconcile two different regulatory frameworks. The requirements for process safety, explosion protection, and automation were high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comprehensive permitting documentation and detailed safety analyses therefore formed the basis for a successful project process. For each part of the plant, an assessment was conducted to identify potential hazards and determine how these could be controlled using appropriate components or automation functions. In this way, the requirements from the permitting documents and the safety concept were gradually incorporated into the automation system. Explosion protection was achieved not only through the selection of suitable components but also through the programming of safety-related functions and defined plant states. In the event of a malfunction, the control system had to ensure at all times that the plant is safely and controllably brought to a safe state. The safety concept also took into account the failure of the control system itself. Finally, all safety-related functions, including emergency shutdowns, were verified by T\u00dcV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about the engineering? It remained in flux even during the project\u2019s duration. For example, as the recycling process was further developed, individual process steps were reevaluated from a safety and control engineering perspective. This led to the addition of extra safety measurement points and new safety functions, which required adjustments to the control system, hardware, and software. This means that while safety functions in traditional automation projects are usually largely defined at the start of the project, in this case they continued to evolve in parallel with the process\u2014a distinctive feature typical of the plant\u2019s prototype nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the technical challenges, project organization also proved to be demanding. Since process engineering and automation evolved in parallel, new requirements often had to be assessed and implemented on short notice. Quick decision-making and close coordination among all disciplines involved were therefore crucial to the project\u2019s success.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Right from the start of the project, the Stoll team took on the pre-engineering work for the power supply and electrical engineering areas. This involved documenting all of the system\u2019s functions and components, thereby laying the foundation for electrical design and software development. Unlike in a traditional sequential project management approach, this allowed both departments to work almost entirely in parallel, since the pre-engineering phase had already established all the necessary foundations for both disciplines. As a result, the project duration was significantly reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID-19 pandemic presented additional challenges for the project due to the significant supply bottlenecks for automation components at the time. In some cases, components that had already been specified and approved had to be replaced at short notice with available alternatives. Since such changes could affect planning, documentation, and regulatory approvals, every adjustment required close coordination among all project participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To implement such changes quickly, Stoll took on not only pre-engineering, electrical design, software development, control cabinet construction, and commissioning, but also the associated technical project management. In doing so, software and hardware requirements were considered together, and changes were immediately evaluated in terms of their impact on the control system, electrical design, and control cabinet construction. This approach enabled technical decisions to be made quickly and implemented without the need for additional interfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The importance of this close integration of the individual disciplines was also evident in the construction of the control cabinet. Since the automation technology had to be housed in a container solution, only limited installation space was available. Nevertheless, by using particularly compact motor starters and space-optimized design, the team succeeded in implementing the entire automation system within the confined space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This close collaboration continued throughout the installation and commissioning phases. Since Stoll had staff on-site at the H\u00f6chst Industrial Park for an extended period, new requirements could be evaluated directly at the plant, and solutions could be developed in collaboration with the process engineers. This made it possible to analyze and resolve problems immediately, without time-consuming coordination across multiple levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would not have been possible to successfully implement such a project via phone or virtual meetings,\u201d says Daniel Odenthal, describing the importance of close on-site collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Scalable](\"https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/imgproxy\/c:1821:1669:nowe:341:0\/rs:fill:480:440\/plain\/https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/upload_weka\/nwo\/004\/189\/Daniel_Odenthal_Arcus_web_4189014.jpg\" "\\"Scalable")
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Complex Engineering for Explosion Protection and Process Safety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One-stop engineering accelerates implementation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Scalable](\"https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/imgproxy\/c:760:697:nowe:0:25\/rs:fill:480:440\/plain\/https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/upload_weka\/nwo\/004\/189\/Sandro_Kloss_Stoll_4189015.jpg\" "\\"Scalable")
<\/a>Insights for the Next Generation of Systems<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Pellets](\"https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/imgproxy\/c:1534:1406:nowe:486:0\/rs:fill:480:440\/plain\/https:\/\/www.industrial-production.de\/upload_weka\/nwo\/004\/189\/Pellets_Kondensat_4189012.jpg\" "\\"Scalable")
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