Aduro partners with KraussMaffei and Chill

Aduro Clean Technologies Inc., based in London, Ontario, partnered with KraussMaffei GmbH and Chill B.V. to conduct a series of engineering trials using industrial-scale equipment as part of its demonstration plant program.

The firm previously worked with both organizations during the design and development of its next generation process (NGP) pilot plant. This phase focuses on evaluating how extrusion systems can effectively prepare and feed real-world contaminated waste plastics into Aduro’s Hydrochemolytic process.

Aduro expects to select a site for its demonstration plant by the end of the year.

“Technology scale-up requires a systemic approach, guided by data and engineering insight,” Aduro CEO Ofer Vicus says. “As we move closer to placing orders on some of our larger long-lead equipment, such as the extruder, we aim to ensure that every specification is backed by sound technical evidence. The work with KraussMaffei and the program with Chill are both central to that process. Each helping us better understand the behavior of contaminated feedstocks, pretreatment requirements and the overall integration of extrusion into the Hydrochemolytic process.”

According to Aduro, its Hydrochemolytic technology relies on water as a critical agent in a chemistry platform that operates at relatively low temperatures and cost that converts low-value feedstocks into new resources.

The firm says it’s partnering with Munich-based KraussMaffei, a global manufacturer of machinery and systems used for the production and processing of plastics and rubber, to deepen its understanding of extrusion behavior when processing contaminated feedstocks such as postconsumer plastic waste, while maintaining consistent feed quality for the Hydrochemolytic process.

“This work is part of the broader effort to simplify feed preparation and reduce the need for costly pretreatment,” according to Aduro. “Data generated from these industrial-scale trials will confirm the operating conditions and performance characteristics needed to select and procure long-lead equipment for the demonstration plant.”

Complementary to this industrial work, Aduro has commissioned another series of experiments with Chill, a research and education institute on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Netherlands. The program focuses on evaluating the behavior of key process variables in the presence of common contaminants.

Aduro says the findings are expected to help identify optimal parameter ranges to improve reactor feed quality and reduce contamination levels. The resulting data will advance to industrial-scale validation with KraussMaffei.

“Together, these efforts provide the data needed to finalize design parameters, reduce uncertainty and move forward with procurement decisions that will support reliable operation at the demonstration plant scale,” Vicus says.