April 2, 2025 – China Development Forum Highlights New Impetus for Green and Low-Carbon Development
At the 2025 Annual China Development Forum held recently, Guo Fang, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, unequivocally stated to domestic and international guests that China remains steadfast on the path of green and low-carbon development. She outlined a five-pronged approach to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society, while actively fostering new drivers for green and low-carbon development. In response to the challenge of climate change, China will focus on achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, phasedly shifting from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions, and steadily expanding the coverage of the national carbon emissions trading market.
According to Color Masterbatch Industry News, the recycling rate of plastic products in China is still relatively low. Since 1950, global plastic production has surpassed 10 billion tons, yet only 9% has been recycled. In 2022, China’s plastic product market consumption reached 108 million tons, with domestic plastic production at approximately 77.72 million tons. However, the generated waste plastic amounted to 60 million tons, of which only 18 million tons were recycled, representing a recycling rate of just 30%. Direct landfilling and incineration of waste plastic accounted for 32% and 31% respectively, leading to high carbon emissions from discarded plastics. Consequently, recycling and reusing waste plastic through various means has become a crucial approach to reducing carbon emissions.
Against this backdrop, Huicheng Environmental’s waste plastic project in Guangdong has emerged as a demonstration project for carbon reduction in the petrochemical industry, with construction nearing completion. After years of in-depth research, Huicheng Environmental has pioneered a new technology for producing chemical raw materials (CPDC) through deep catalytic pyrolysis of mixed waste plastics based on a circulating fluidized bed. This technology encompasses a series of core original processes, including efficient capture of hydrogen chloride during pyrolysis, raw materialization of mixed waste plastics, and design and development of a countercurrent bed fluidized catalytic deep pyrolysis reactor. The technology enables continuous and stable feeding of waste plastics, cross-phase deep catalytic pyrolysis, and the production of low-carbon olefins and monocyclic aromatics, with a yield of over 90% for olefins and benzenes, achieving molecular-level monomer recycling.
Currently, the company’s 200,000 tons/year demonstration project for the comprehensive utilization of mixed waste plastics in Jieyang, Guangdong, is one of the earliest industrialization practices in the field of plastic chemical recycling. It boasts good economic benefits and is of great significance for thoroughly solving the problem of plastic recycling and promoting carbon reduction in the petrochemical industry. Recently, the project has entered the comprehensive commissioning phase before ignition and has attracted the attention and research of Huang Kunming, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.