Page 187 - CW E-Magazine (28-11-2023)

Special Report

meters of the process, and the status of collaborating to produce bio-based nologies. IDTechEx discusses these
the end market being targeted, novel para-xylene, which will then be con- claims in its ‘Chemical Recycling and
chemicals produced through white verted to PTA; that will then be used Dissolution of Plastics 2023-2033’
biotechnology could very well find to manufacture PET bottles starting report, but ultimately thinks that there
success in the long term. IDTechEx in 2024. IDTechEx expects to see is a beneficial role for these processes,
will closely monitor white biotech- more partnerships for such material although perhaps overstated by many.
nology’s progress to understand its and technology development in this The tailwinds are so great that signifi-
impact in the broader chemical and space as companies across the poly- cant mid-term growth is inevitable,
polymers sectors. mer value chain collaborate to ensure though still modest relative to the full
their ability to develop sustainable scale of the annual plastic waste pro-
Applying bio-based polymers in polymers that can actually be applied duction.
end-markets: sustainable packaging in key markets like packaging.
The application of such sustain- Outlook for sustainable polymer
able polymers in end-markets and the Increasing the value of end-of-life technologies
unique challenges faced by biobased plastics through chemical recycling Going back to the key issue of
competitors in these markets, like Recycling will always be a key plastic consumption and the key
packaging, are also important to part of making a circular plastics driver of government regulation, the
understand, as they give insight into the economy, as it ensures that any carbon climate benefits of these sustainable
growth potential for different sustain- captured by using the aforementioned solutions make them very interesting
able polymers. One such end-market bio-based feedstocks stays seques- for future applications, though these
is packaging, which is covered in tered. Mechanical recycling, in the technologies need to be assessed on a
detail in IDTechEx’s ‘Sustainable Pack- short and medium-term, will continue case-by-case basis to determine their
aging Market 2023-2033’ report. This to be the main recycling process, but sustainability benefits and economic
particular field is facing the brunt there has been and will continue to viability. Still, the market potential
of increasing regulations on single- be significant industrial activity sur- for sustainable polymers is massive
use plastics, prompting the growing rounding chemical recycling and dis- and has significant momentum
usage of recycled and bio-based plastics solution of plastics. behind it. As single-use plastic bans and
to increase the sustainability of pack- carbon zero pledges grow in tandem
aging by brands. Advanced recycling addresses with plastic consumption, the pres-
many of the shortcomings of sure is ever-increasing for materials
While this area is seeing signi- mechanical recycling, like the degra- producers and consumers to transition
ficant progress in specific application dation of plastic through recycling to more sustainable practices.
areas like food service, personal care, cycles, to produce recycled plastic
home care, pet care, etc., there are that approaches the quality of virgin IDTechEx expects the plastic cir-
still technical barriers to overcome to plastic. With that value proposition, cular economy to continue gaining
achieve 100% bio-based packaging numerous chemical companies, like traction as sustainability increasingly
in most applications. For example, ExxonMobil and Eastman Chemical, becomes a corporate and consumer
many bio-based PET bottles cur- have entered the market with their priority, though it still has numerous
rently on the market are not 100% own chemical recycling plants and challenges to overcome to majorly
bio-based, as only one (monoethylene processes; the former recently opened impact the incumbent petrochemical
glycol (MEG)) of their two core con- a large-scale chemical recycling plant market.
stituents (the other being terephthalic in Texas this year.
acid (PTA)) is currently being manu-
factured at scale from bio-based Chemical recycling remains con- (This article is from ‘Technology Inno-
sources. To address the unmet need troversial, with questions swirling vations Outlook 2024-2034’, a compli-
mentary magazine of analyst-written
for bio-based PTA, several compa- around the actual environmental articles by IDTechEx providing insights
nies, like Origin Materials, are deve- benefits of chemical recycling as into a number of areas of technology
loping different approaches to produce numerous NGOs have accused the petro- innovation, assessing the landscape now
biobased precursors to PTA. More chemical giants pursuing chemical and giving you the outlook for the next
recently, Mitsubishi Corporation, Sun- recycling of ‘greenwashing’ the real decade. You can read the magazine in full
tory Holdings, Eneos, and Neste are environmental impact of these tech- at www.IDTechEx.com/Magazine.)

Chemical Weekly November 28, 2023 187

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