Saudi Arabia-based petrochemical firm SABIC, which has a European sales office in Sittard, Netherlands, is preparing to highlight what it calls its “pioneering initiative for the production of certified circular polymers” at the K 2019 trade show, to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in October.
SABIC says its initiative was launched in the fourth quarter of 2018 “with the goal of driving a value chain transformation from a linear economy to a circular economy for plastics.” The company’s circular polymers are being produced using a pyrolysis oil feedstock created from the treatment of mixed plastic scrap.
As part of the intended project, SABIC is now introducing this recycled-content feedstock into its Chemelot production site at Geleen in the Netherlands. The “certified” circular polymers to be produced will be supplied to what SABIC calls leading brand owners, including Unilever, Tupperware, Vinventions and Walki Group, for use in packaging applications.
“To enable a genuine shift from a linear economy to a circular one, while meeting the needs of our customers and consumer, the maximum value of the plastics [scrap] stream needs to be retained and reused”, says Bob Maughon, an executive vice president with SABIC.
“SABIC has been committed to investing in scientific and technological expertise and fostering close collaborations with both upstream suppliers and downstream customers in order to overcome this challenge, and we are proud to say that we are first in the industry to scale-up this innovative chemical recycling process,” adds Maughon.
The effort will involve SABIC working with both upstream suppliers and downstream customers to convert mixed plastic scrap back to the original polymer for “high-quality applications,” says the firm. According to SABIC, “While recycling by mechanical methods makes a contribution towards circularity, the rates at which it can economically recycle plastic packaging waste are limited. SABIC’s certified circular polymer process, however, enables the creation of brand new polymers, offering a real alternative to mechanical methods and closing the recycling loop.”
SABIC refers to Unilever, Tupperware Brands, Vinventions and Walki Group as “global brand leaders or frontrunners in their respective areas [who] recognize the importance of sustainability and their role in the circular economy.” Since these firms “also recognize the critical roles purity, quality and safety play in consumer products or packaging, SABIC’s chemical recycling process is a drop-in alternative offering similar properties and processing characteristics to traditionally produced materials,” adds the firm.
The polymers are certified through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification plus (ISCC+), designed to certify renewable content and standards. The ISCC+ certification works on what is known as a “mass balance system,”, meaning for each ton of renewable feedstock fed into the cracker, a proportion of the output can be claimed as renewable.
SABIC intends to build a semi-commercial plant specifically to refine and upgrade pyrolysis oil feedstock, with the plant anticipated to enter commercial production in 2021.
The company’s display on its certified circular polymers will be at Stand D42, in Hall 6 at K 2019 in Dusseldorf Oct. 16-23, 2019.