BP and SABIC, two of the leading petrochemical players across globe, entered a collaboration on 1st March 2021, with an aim to drive the circular economy at the Gelsenkirchen, German chemical complex. The prime motive of this collaboration is to raise the production of certified circular products that uses mixed plastics as feedstock as it will help to cut the amount of fossil resources required in petrochemical plant site.
Certified circular polymers are an integral part of SABIC’S TruCircleTM portfolio. They are manufactured via advanced recycling procedure, which converts the low quality mixed and used plastics into pyrolysis oil which otherwise meant to be disposed in a landfill or is decomposed via incineration.
In the circular process, pyrolysis oil, which is an alternative to fossil material, will be processed at BP’s refinery which then will be used by SABIC’s Gelsenkirchen polymer plant to manufacture certified circular products. As per SABIC, the final product will have the properties like that of virgin-based polymers and will allow the plastic to be recycled multiple times.
As per Fahad Al Swailem, Vice President of SABIC, PE & Sales, the company is devoted towards creating a new circular economy where plastic is not treated as waste. The main aim of this advanced recycling method is to increase the manufacturing of sustainable materials, reduce the use of conventional methods to dispose plastics while using our planet’s resources wisely.The company even revealed that it is continuing to increase its collaborations with upstream suppliers and downstream customers, and this new initiative with our long-term partner BP will take us one step further to achieve their vision.
Moreover, Vice President of Refining and Specialties Solutions Europe & Africa at BP in support of the venture stated that with this collaboration the BP will achieve the biggest milestone in their vision to achieve up to 30% of their ethylene and propylene production from sustainable, recyclable raw material by 2030.
As per ChemAnalyst “certified circular product will revolutionize the way plastic is being treated till now. From being treated as the waste to being transformed as a feedstock to prepare pyrolysis oil, the initiative will assist in solving the biggest environmental problem on Earth.”
