New industrial pyrolysis project will process up to 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year per unit to produce feedstock for SAF
China-based Niutech Technology Group has signed an agreement with a major global energy company to supply an industrial continuous waste-plastic pyrolysis production line, marking a new step towards using discarded plastics as a feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
The production line will use Niutech’s patented continuous pyrolysis technology and will have a processing capacity of 10,000 to 50,000 tonnes of waste plastic per year per unit. The equipment is planned for installation at a refinery operated by the energy company, where the resulting pyrolysis oil will be further processed into hydrotreated SAF.
The agreement represents Niutech’s first equipment supply contract with the unnamed energy company and establishes the foundation for a longer-term partnership. The project is also expected to connect plastic waste processing with an integrated fuel-production pathway, extending from pyrolysis oil to aviation fuel.
Niutech’s technology is designed to process a broad range of low-value plastic waste, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and nylon. The company says the process can handle individual or mixed plastic streams without complex washing, sorting, drying or fine shredding.
The development comes as the aviation industry looks for additional feedstocks for SAF. Used cooking oil is currently an important feedstock, but limited availability is encouraging fuel producers to explore alternative sources, including waste-based materials.
SAF is becoming increasingly important in aviation decarbonisation strategies. Under the European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, SAF blending requirements started at 2% in 2025 and are scheduled to rise to 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. The UK and Singapore have also introduced SAF blending policies.
Niutech said its continuous pyrolysis systems have already been commercially deployed in countries including the UK, South Korea, Denmark, Thailand, Vietnam and China. The company has also developed systems capable of processing various waste streams at industrial scale.
The project highlights a potential new route for managing difficult-to-recycle plastic waste while creating an alternative feedstock for the aviation fuel sector. By converting waste plastics into pyrolysis oil that can subsequently undergo further processing, the technology could connect plastic waste management with the growing SAF value chain.
Niutech said its experience in continuous pyrolysis technology will support the large-scale operation required by the project. The company has focused on pyrolysis technology for nearly four decades and sees the agreement as a validation of its industrial-scale capabilities.
If successfully implemented at scale, the project could demonstrate how advanced plastic-waste processing can contribute to the development of alternative aviation fuel feedstocks while supporting broader efforts to establish more circular approaches to waste management and energy production.