We wish to partner with leading companies throughout the value chain…”
Neste, the producer of renewable diesel is exploring using liquefied waste plastic as a future raw material for fossil refining. The Finland based company, who are the worlds largest producer of renewable diesel is aiming to have this project proceed to industrial scale trial during 2019. On an annual basis, Neste hope to process more than one million tons of waste plastic by 2030. This ambition has earned the company the rank of the world’s second most sustainable company on the Global 100 list.
Matti Lehmus, Executive Vice President of Nestes Oil Products business area said Our target is to also be a leader in low-carbon refining and support circular economy by developing innovative solutions based on waste plastic.
With our strong legacy in raw material and pre-treatment research, we are in a unique position to introduce waste plastics as a new raw material for fossil refining. At the same time, we aim to provide solutions to support global plastic waste reduction, continued Lehmus.
Using waste plastic as a raw material increases material efficiency, reduces crude oil dependency and carbon footprint of products based on such raw material. In Europe, some 27 million tons of post-consumer plastic waste is generated annually. Only about one-third of this amount is currently collected for recycling.
In January 2018, the European Union released itsStrategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. One of its objectives is to increase recycling of plastics and reuse of plastic packaging by 2030. In the EU Waste package, recycling target for plastic packaging was raised to 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030.
In order to reach the ambitious EU plastics recycling targets, both chemical and mechanical recycling need to be recognised in the EU regulation, Matti Lehmus added.
Chemical recycling means using waste plastics as raw material for the refining and petrochemical industries to convert them into end products such as fuels, chemicals, and new plastics. Chemical recycling can create new outlets for plastic waste by enabling high end product qualities, thereby complementing traditional mechanical recycling.
Reaching industrial-scale production of products from plastic waste still requires development of technologies and value chains. To accelerate development, Neste (@NesteGlobal)is looking for partners across the value chain, for example in waste management and upgrading technologies.
Circular economy is built upon joint efforts, says Matti Lehmus. We wish to partner with leading companies throughout the value chain, who share our sustainability values and ambition, and are ready to move forward with us.
In addition to exploring ways to utilize plastic waste as raw material,Nesteis working with the plastics industry and various plastics-consuming companies to reduce their crude oil dependency and climate emissions by producing durable and recyclable renewable plastics from bio-based raw materials, such as waste fats and oils. As covered by Bio-Based World News last month,Neste and IKEAwill produce polypropylene (PP) plastic from fossil-free, bio-based raw materials at commercial scale during Autumn 2018. This will mark the first time in the world that bio-based PP is produced at a commercial scale.
Tom Joslin. Bio-Based World News
You may also be interested in…
Read:IKEA and Neste confirm large-scale production of renewable, bio-based polypropylene plastic.
Read:Neste and IKEA teaming up on bio-based plastics and seeking further partners.
Read:Your shirt is rubbish! Man Utd launch new kit made from recycled plastic waste.
Download:Bio-Based World Quarterly issue #10.
Visit:World Bio Markets, 1st-3rd April 2019, Amsterdam.
