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Special Report Special Report

fact that the main feedstocks used in the feedstock was required than was actu- their feedstock portfolio to include
production of bio-based polymers are ally incorporated into the fi nal product. renewable carbon in addition to fossil-
sugars (25%) and starch (20%), which The 1.4-mt (36%) of feedstock that did based carbon, these brands are leading
are obtained from high-yield crops such not end up in the product is due to the the way from a market perspective.
as sugar cane and maize, resulting in a high number of conversion steps and In particular, the use of biomass has
high area effi ciency. the associated losses of feedstock and increased and will continue to increase
intermediates, as well as the formation the supply of bio-based polymers.
In addition, the protein content of of by-products.
these crops is used not only for polymer Nevertheless, the market remains
production but also for animal feed, so Global shift to renewable carbon challenging, especially in Europe. While
only the corresponding part is allocated needed to handle regional challenges Asia and North America will continue
to polymer production. Glycerol (31%), for bio-based polymers to strengthen their global role in the
a biogenic by-product of biodiesel The key market drivers in 2024 are supply of bio-based polymers, Europe’s
production, is a biomass with only an several global brands that have adapted market share is expected to decline by
indirect, passive land use. This glycerol is their strategic agendas to transition 2029. With new investments in several
mainly used in the production of epoxy the polymers, plastics and chemicals large-scale bio-based polymer produc-
Fig. 2: Bio-based polymer capacities and production worldwide, 2024. resins via epichlorohydrin as an inter- industry to become sustainable, climate- tion capacities, Asia and North America
7% and polytrimethylene terephthalate to the expansion of PLA capacity and the need for biomass feedstocks should mediate. The biomass used also included friendly and part of the circular econ- will increase their market share by 4%
(PTT) (31% bio-based content) with epoxy resin production in Asia, as well be considered as an important factor. 12% from non-edible plant oils, such as omy, thus offering their customers and 5%, respectively, and together they
6%. (Figure 2). The share of APC (cir- as a global increase in PUR production. This is particularly true for the recur- castor oil, 9% from cellulose (mainly green solutions and alternatives to petro- will account for more than 80% of the
cular and linear), poly (butylene adipate- Also, Asian expansions for PHA and ring debate on the use of food crops used for CA) and 3% from edible plant chemical products. The only way to global supply of bio-based polymers.
co-terephthalate) (PBAT), polyethylene PTT were already included in the report for the production of bio-based poly- oil. Of the 4.2-mt of bio-based poly- achieve this successful transition is to Although some new large-scale plants
(PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), from 2024. PP, PHA and PEF are parti- mer. The total demand for biomass mers produced (fully and partially bio fully replace fossil carbon with renew- are also planned in Europe, this will not
PHA and starch-containing polymer cularly expected to grow continuously was 13.6-bt (billion tonnes) for feed, based) 2.2-mt were actual bio-based able carbon from alternative sources: be enough to prevent Europe’s market
compounds (SCPC) was less than 5%. by 65% on average until 2029. While bioenergy, food, material use, biofuels components of the polymers (52%), biomass, CO and recycling (www. share from falling from 13% today to
2
Casein polymers (CP), ethylene propy- PHA capacities will increase mainly in as well as bio based polymers. While meaning that almost 1.6 times more renewable-carbon.eu). By expanding 10% in 2029. Although, the European
lene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), Asia and PEF in Asia and in Europe, PP the majority of biomass (56%) is used
polybutylene succinate (PBS), PEF capacities will increase mainly in North for feed production, only 0.023% is
and PP accounted for less than 1% of America. required for the production of bio-based
the total bio-based polymer production polymers (Figure 3). This results in a
volume and are not shown. Demand for bio-based feedstock and biomass feedstock demand of 3.2-mt
land use for the production of 4.2-mt of bio-
The increase in production capa- Considering the steadily increas- based polymers and refl ects a land use
city from 2023 to 2024 is mainly due ing demand for bio-based polymers, share of only 0.013%. This is due to the

Fig. 3: Biomass utilisation worldwide fi rst and second generation, total and for bio-based polymers. Fig. 4: Polymers and bio-based shares worldwide (2020-2024).

194 Chemical Weekly April 8, 2025 Chemical Weekly April 8, 2025 195

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