Page 194 - CW E-Magazine (12-11-2024)

Special Report Special Report

Corpus Christi, Texas, US, and com- CELANESE CCU METHANOL This low-carbon methanol can
mercial e-naphtha volumes are being Meanwhile, Celanese is already then be used to produce vinyl acetate
shipped to Borealis’ facility in Porvoo, selling commercial volumes of low- monomer (VAM), vinyl acetate ethy-
Finland. carbon methanoland derivatives in its lene (VAE) emulsions and other down-
Acetyls chain. stream products, she added.
The e-naphtha produced at Infi nium’s Relative Consumption Volume
Pathfi nder facility has received ISCC In January 2024, the company “We have customers like Amazon
PLUS certifi cation from the Inter- announced it started running a CCU that want a lower carbon footprint
national Sustainability and Carbon project at its Clear Lake, Texas, site product, and we are able to meet that
Certifi cation (ISCC) body. as part of its Fairway Methanol joint customer need,” said Ryerkerk.
venture with Mitsui & Co. The pro-
Borealis’ Porvoo cracker has ethy- ject is expected to capture 180-ktpa The CCU unit takes CO emissions
2
lene capacity of 400-ktpa, according of CO industrial emissions and pro- that were otherwise being vented into
2
to the ICIS Supply and Demand Data- duce 130-ktpa of low-carbon the atmosphere from both Celanese and
base. Downstream capacities include methanol. from third parties to use as a feedstock. Source: Material Economics Mckinsey
Relative consumption volume
102-ktpa of high density PE (HDPE),
150-ktpa of low density PE (LDPE), “We actively capture carbon of In March 2024, Celanese announced
153-ktpa of linear low density PE some of the major producers in Clear that the ISCC group certifi ed its Low
(LLDPE) and 220-ktpa of PP. Lake, Texas, at our site and we take Carbon CCU Methanol under the ISCC
those CO emissions… and we re- Carbon Footprint Certifi cation (CFC)
2
Infi nium’s e-naphtha is made from cycle it back into the ATR (autother- system. This methanol demonstrated a
captured waste CO and green hydro- mal reformer),” said Lori Ryerkerk, greater than 70% reduction in carbon
2
gen produced from renewable power. CEO of Celanese, on a webinar footprint relative to a global average
It contains no sulphur and is produced hosted by Chemical Marketing & benchmark for fossil-based methanol
without process emissions, according Economics (CME-STEM) in late production, as included in EU legisla- Source: Dow analysis based on largest customers $3.1 commitments
to the company. September. tion, according to Celanese.

Dow – the granddaddy chief commercial offi cer of Dow, at their own supply/demand dynamics
Dow’s net zero carbon cracker Dow’s Investor Day. [and thus pricing] for our products
project is the granddaddy of them all that are analogous to the existing ones
when it comes to scale. “If you compare that with what we we sell – but with low-emission foot-
would estimate the supply side to be, it prints,” he added.
Already under construction, Phase is much smaller,” he added.
1 of its Path2Zero project in Alberta, It’s a brave new world of decar-
Canada is expected to add around 1.3-mtpa In one of the Investor Day slides bonised chemicals and plastics. Meaning-
of ethylene and PE capacity by 2027. on Low-Emissions Market Opportuni- ful quantities will take time to develop
Then Phase 2 adds another 600-ktpa ties and Supply/Demand Dynamics, the but if there is demand, the volumes will
of net zero ethylene and PE capacity top end of the demand range is around come. Celanese’s Sustainable Solutions
by 2029. 200-mt by 2030, while the top end of portfolio, which includes low-carbon
the supply range appears to be around methanol and derivatives, along with
Yet this represents less than 2% 75-mt by 2030. recycled and bio-based products, repre-
of the likely market demand for low- sents just around 5% of sales today but
carbon chemicals and plastics, execu- “That is the largest dislocation in is growing double digits on a percent-
tives said at Dow’s Investor Day in May. supply and demand that I’ve seen in age basis every year, said its CEO.
my 36-year career. This is going to be
“We’re starting to see the fi rst signs a fascinating period for us as this rolls “I think it is going to be quite some
of the market emerging… What we’re forward,” said Futter. time before it is the majority of our
seeing is a market for something like portfolio, but that’s OK because we
200-million tonnes of [low carbon “One of the key outcomes has to need time to build our capabilities as
chemicals] by 2030,” said Dan Futter, be the emergence of new markets with well,” said Ryerkerk.

194 Chemical Weekly November 12, 2024 Chemical Weekly November 12, 2024 195

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