From bio-oil that fuels planes to plastics reborn as new materials, waste is being reinvented as a valuable resource. By turning waste streams into fuels, chemicals, and products, industries are proving that waste is not an end point, but the beginning of a circular future.
What if waste wasn't an endpoint, but marked the beginning of new possibilities?
From agricultural residues to used bio-oils and plastics, and even CO2, pioneering projects are transforming so-called waste streams into fuels, chemicals, and valuable materials that will create a more sustainable, circular economy.
Historically, waste was the final step in a linear system: production, consumption, and disposal. This single-use model is inefficient, and environmentally harmful. The global perspective must shift towards eliminating waste streams by transforming our perception of them. Waste is not inherently useless, it’s a precious resource, waiting to be transformed.
The path to sustainability and net-zero goals will depend on seeing waste as a feedstock, a starting point for creating high-value products. Reusing materials, and recycling resources are no longer optional ideas, but essential pathways for industries aiming to meet net-zero and sustainability targets.
This commitment to turning waste into value is not just theoretical; it is being applied today. OMV’s Schwechat refinery, amongst largest refineries in Europe, transforms used bio-oil (such as used cooking oil) into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The challenge involves proving that used materials can still create high-quality products.
How can used bio-oil be used for mobility?
The procedure is sophisticated and requires a lot of steps. First the collected used bio-oil must first be pre-cleaned to remove contaminants like phosphor, chlorine, metals and water. Then, oxygen is removed using hydrogen, converting the fats into long hydrocarbon chains. Essentially, dissecting the waste stream to extract its most useful base components. Finally, the fuel is refined to aviation fuel so it can perform well in low temperatures, which occur in the upper atmosphere.
Using SAF helps close the carbon cycle and supports a gradual, responsible transition for the industry. The challenge lies in substituting conventional crude oil and natural gas with alternative feedstocks. Integrating these new, more sustainable inputs into existing industrial ecosystems means they can progressively replace fossil-based sources.
Second life for plastics
While SAF demonstrates how one everyday material - bio-oil - can be given a second life, waste valorization extends to one of the most challenging waste streams: plastics. Traditional plastic recycling gradually breaks down polymers, which can reduce quality over time, often requiring them to be blended with virgin plastic to maintain performance.
To combat this, waste plastics can be placed in an inert process environment – that’s a setting in which no unwanted chemical reactions can occur – and heated to 400-450 degrees Celsius to be transformed into pyrolysis oil. This oil can in turn be refined into high-quality new plastics. Advanced methods such as ReOil® produce material that meets virgin-quality standards, making it suitable for demanding industrial applications.
These examples show what’s possible when we think of waste materials as opportunities rather than trash. But the story doesn’t stop there.
The untapped potential of agricultural residue
Agricultural residues are one of the most abundant waste streams in the world; and they offer yet another avenue to unlock value and close the loop on a circular economy.
Residues like rice straw, wheat straw, and corn stover are excellent starting points for valuable chemical and energy products. Yet, they are contributing to global emissions instead. Rice inevitably produces rice straw, which is difficult to decompose and therefore cannot be left in fields. As such, it is frequently burned en masse.
Burning rice plants creates tiny soot and dust particles which releases carbon dioxide and pollutes the air and can make people sick when breathed in. Studies have shown that in 2015, burning these rice leftovers in Vietnam generated about 150,000 tons of fine dust, which is up to 18% of the country's total fine dust air pollution.
Finding productive uses for rice straw instead of burning it could not only reduce pollution but also provide farmers with an additional source of income.
Through fractionation and depolymerization, these diverse streams of agricultural material, like rice straw, can be converted into sugars and other usable molecules. These can then be processed into microbial oils, sustainable fuels, or green polymers compatible with existing refinery infrastructure.
Rice straw is a prime example of an organic matter that is being discarded the world over. However, as soon as you shift your perspective and see that stream as an opportunity, it becomes a powerful tool to cut emissions while helping farmers. It goes to show that it’s only ‘waste’ if you’re not using it.
Building the foundations for a circular economy
These processes are proven in small quantities around the world, but scaling their impact is a critical challenge. Variability in feedstock composition, seasonal changes, and geographic distribution all require flexibility and careful engineering. For instance, used cooking oil from different countries contains varying amounts of salt, which can corrode metals in processing units. That means processes must be adaptable to variable streams to ensure consistent, high-quality outputs.
That’s where strategy becomes paramount. OMV is piloting and supporting new innovations that are eliminating the idea of waste from the world. With appropriate support, funding, and attention, these former waste streams can become a dependable feedstock for entire industries. This goes beyond supporting isolated innovation. It is about building the infrastructure, partnerships, and industrial pathways that will allow waste valorization to move from niche projects to mainstream global practice.
Taken together, the innovations in bio-oil, post-consumer plastics, and agricultural residues illustrate a comprehensive approach to circularity. By transforming what was once considered ‘waste’ into high-value fuels, chemicals, and materials, we are showing that waste doesn’t have to be wasted. Sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive.
We can see concrete results of waste valorisation globally, proving that industrial processes can be both innovative and responsible. Waste is not the end – it’s the beginning of a new cycle of value creation.