Clean conversion, advanced recycling infrastructure critical to securing low-carbon feedstocks: chemicals experts

Thought leaders in the chemicals sector emphasized the advantages of ethane feedstock and advanced recycling infrastructure development during discussions of a low-carbon petrochemicals future at the World Petrochemical Conference on March 18.

Clean conversion of feedstocks, as well as looking at alternative, potentially bio-based feedstock sources, are essential developments for reducing carbon footprint within the industry, executives from Chevron Phillips Chemical, ExxonMobil, Braskem and Lummus Technology said during an executive panel.

Ethane-based crackers are one of the most efficient ways to get to the derivatives produced from ethylene, CPChem president and CEO Steve Prusak said. The sentiment was echoed by Braskem CEO Roberto Ramos, who emphasized naphtha's strong disadvantage as an ethylene feedstock.

Braskem Idesa, the joint venture between Braskem and Idesa that produces high and low density polyethylene in Mexico's Veracruz region, is slated to open a new ethane import terminal by the end of May, Platts previously reported.

A winning strategy for the future will depend on finding feedstocks that enable producers to meet growing demand without prohibitively high energy costs, said Juhan Robberts, senior vice president for chemical products at ExxonMobil.

True circularity will unlock new sources of feedstock, as well as solve the problem of unmanaged waste, Robberts added.

When examining alternative feedstock options and where to source them, the driver must be customer demand, Prusak said. Aside from this, advancements in technology and policy will be key in driving the growth of low-carbon feedstocks.

Ramos pointed to Japan's initiative to induce demand by mandating that supermarket bags be made from "green" polyethylene, adding that "European countries are more prone to do something like that."

Challenges persist in the transition to low-carbon feedstock alternatives, as all innovations must not only scale effectively but also remain cost-competitive.

"We need the regulatory environment to bring some sort of...security around making those large investments," Prusak said.

Panelists agreed these advancements are likely coming, but the unknown variable is the pace at which they will happen.

As world populations grow, and GDP grows in especially developing countries, increased consumption of especially plastics is all but guaranteed to increase, said Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO of technology solutions company Lummus Technology.

There will be a need to diversify from the feedstock options currently available to keep pace with demand growth, panelists said. As more raw materials are produced, the challenge will be to decarbonize that production simultaneously.

When considering chemical versus mechanical recycling, Prusak said the former -- which he referred to as advanced recycling -- is an essential part of the solution going forward.

Braskem is pursuing several low-carbon feedstock ideas, including green acetone and a bio-based glycols production route. The driving force behind these decisions is the relationships between reactants and products and understanding those quantitative relationships, Ramos said.

"It's not a lack of ideas, it's stoichiometry that rules over everything," he said.