Plastics in the Spotlight

Editorial by Geoffrey Lakings for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--An earlier IIR Featured Content article touched upon how ...sneakily natural gas liquids (NGL) production -- Stateside - has been coming on strong and will find its way to export markets, as one is aware how essential petrochemicals are to the modern world; especially plastics.

• Yahoo! Finance: 20 Largest Petrochemical Companies in the World: Petrochemicals are an essential part of our daily lives because of their ability to transform oil and gas into a variety of everyday products like plastics, fertilizers, packaging, apparel, digital devices, medical equipment, detergents, and tires. They are used in many components of the contemporary energy system, including solar panels, wind turbine blades, batteries, thermal insulation for buildings, electric car components, and essential items for our daily lives. Petrochemicals are becoming ever more crucial to the global energy system, where they already play a significant role. Since the turn of the millennium, demand for plastics, the most well-known petrochemical goods, has exceeded that of all other bulk materials (such as steel, aluminum, or cement). However, the industry has been in the headlines recently as it contributes to global carbon emissions, and climate activists have been pushing for the industry to move towards more sustainable production.

However, even with all this NGL production and demand for plastics--headwinds--here in 2023--are likely to remain in regard to chemical processing of this production itself, according to IIR's peerless research. Though, processing of production to plastics might be affected, it does not mean plastic waste itself is not drastically increasing where companies like LyondellBasel--to address the aforementioned sustainability concerns--are developing plans pertaining to plastic waste sorting & recycling facilities throughout the world.

• LyondellBasell Pushes Ethylene, Plastics Recycling for 2023: Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Executives at LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) (Rotterdam, Netherlands) say headwinds in the global Chemical Processing Industry are likely to persist in 2023, but they are optimistic about the company's prospects in the rapidly growing fields of oxyfuels, ethylene derivatives and plastics recycling. The potential is reflected in a series of U.S.-based projects, particularly along the Texas Gulf Coast.
  
  Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.3 billion worth of active projects from LyondellBasell worldwide, almost all of which are based in the U.S. and Canada. Among LyondellBasell's most anticipated near-term goals is the start-up of its new PO/TBA unit at its complex in Texas, which is on track for the end of the first quarter. Executives also vowed the company would continue developing its plans for plastic waste sorting and recycling facilities in U.S., Germany, India and China.

Though the world will need ever more such facilities to process all of this "..plastic waste/trash..."

• CNN: The world is creating more single-use plastic waste than ever, report finds: The world is producing a record amount of single-use plastic waste, mostly made from polymers created from fossil fuels, despite global efforts to reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions, according to a new report released Monday.
  
  The second Plastic Waste Makers Index, compiled by the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation, found the world generated 139 million metric tons of single-use plastic waste in 2021, which was 6 million metric tons more than in 2019, when the first index was released.

And even when the second largest petrochemical world in the company--ExxonMobil--notes how it operates one of North America's largest, advanced recycling facilities it pales in comparison to the polymers needed to make plastic in the first place.

• NY Times: Climate Forward - Guess What? More Plastic Trash: Industry figures show record production in 2021, and almost none of that plastic is getting recycled.
  
  When Exxon Mobil announced a record $56 billion annual profits last week, it noted that the company had established "one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America, capable of processing more than 80 million pounds of plastic waste per year."
  
  That seems like a lot of recycling muscle, except when you consider another figure. The company produced an estimated 6 million metric tons, or 13.2 billion pounds, of polymers used to make plastic in 2021 alone. That is an estimate from a report published by the Minderoo Foundation.

Also, advanced recycling of plastic comes with a cost and its own environmental (sustainability) concerns.

• InsideClimateNews: 'Advanced' Recycling of Plastic Using High Heat and Chemicals Is Costly and Environmentally Problematic, A New Government Study Finds: The plastics industry's quest to solve the problem of plastic waste through so-called "advanced" recycling--using chemical additives and sometimes extremely high heat to turn waste back into new plastics--is costly and comes with significant environmental impacts, according to new research from the federal government's National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado.
  
  Government researchers singled out two prominent "advanced" technologies--pyrolysis and gasification--as particularly problematic, saying they should not even be considered "closed-loop" recycling technologies. These technologies require large amounts of energy and emit significant pollutants and greenhouse gases to turn discarded plastics into oil or fuel, or chemicals such as benzene, toluene and xylene, synthetic gases and a carbon char waste product.

Not to mention the World Economic Forum is postulating about irresponsible sourcing of this recycled plastic itself.

• How can we responsibly source post-consumer recycled plastic? The lack of data and transparency surrounding post-consumer recycled plastic and other materials leads to irresponsible sourcing, but third-party audited protocols used in Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) collection and plastic credit systems may offer a solution.
  
  As businesses focus more on corporate social responsibility, recycling has emerged as the industry norm in many sectors, especially fashion, textiles and food and beverage. This is a step in the right direction, but using recycled materials does not solve the entire problem.
  
  A significant portion of a company's environmental footprint appears in the sourcing and production of materials. This includes the collection of plastic waste used in its products, an area where companies have least control. While they can ensure good working conditions from the production stage onwards (set forth by social standards such as BSCI and Sedex), they rarely control raw material sourcing.

Maybe an answer--of sorts--lies in bioplastics.

• OpenAccessGovernment: Bioplastics and back: Bacterial construction and degradation methods: Bioplastics are a subject of increasing interest due to demand for traditional petroleum alternatives. Several pathways to bioplastic generation are known today.
  
  The most prominent are derived from plants, with plastic derived from starches making up just over 50 per cent of the market. This method depends on excess organic feedstocks including rice and corn that redirects valuable foods from human and animal consumers, and contributes to waste output due to unused resulting plant material as well as an increase in the demands of large-scale agriculture. Therefore, there is a need for alternative pathways to be improved, especially those that demonstrate as sustainable of a method as possible.

And maybe such a pathway could be biopolymers from hemp.

• Plastics Today: Consortium Explores Use of Hemp, Flax in Structural Composites: Interdisciplinary research team seeks to develop thermoformable thermoplastic composites using renewable bast fibers as reinforcement.
  
  Under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, an interdisciplinary research consortium with 11 partners from science and industry, is working on the development of innovative bio-based materials.

For in a brief conversation with Applied Bioplastics, based here in Houston, they commented on how hemp to biopolymers to bioplastics is feasible and would not require extensive capital expenditures for existing industry players--like LyondellBasel & Exxon--to reconfigure their facilities.



"BioFi is our thermoplastic product line which is a combination of plant fibers and standard, recycled, or biobased polymers. It can be injection molded or extruded into a variety of items across the household, automotive, appliance, electronics, and outdoor equipment industries. BioFi enables manufacturers to reduce their carbon footprint and dependence on virgin polymers without changing any of their existing equipment."

As I believe--like an older article referred to--American ingenuity will solve the global plastics pollution problem...

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).