MOSCOW (MRC) -- A consortium has been formed by chemical and energy companies and Port of Antwerp with the goal of halving carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the port’s integrated petrochemical cluster by 2030, said Chemweek.
The consortium, named Antwerp, will investigate the technical and economic feasibility of building CO2 infrastructure to support future carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) applications, it says. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the potential utilization of CO2 as a raw material for the chemical industry are seen as important routes in the transition to a carbon-neutral port, it adds. The participating companies are Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, ExxonMobil, Fluxys, Ineos, Total, and Port of Antwerp. Greenhouse gas emissions within the port were measured at 18.65 million metric tons in 2017, according to Port of Antwerp.
A feasibility study, supported by the Flemish Agency for Innovation & Enterprise, is investigating the building of a central pipeline “backbone” along the industrial zones on both banks of the River Scheldt at Antwerp, the consortium says. The study also includes various shared processing units, a shared CO2 liquefaction unit, and interim storage facilities at Antwerp, and cross-border transport of CO2 by both ship and pipeline.
As Belgium does not have suitable geological strata, international collaboration will be necessary to transport the CO2 across borders and store it permanently in assets such as depleted offshore gas fields, the consortium says. It is studying piping the CO2 to Rotterdam or transporting it by ship to Norway. Air Liquide, Total, Fluxys, and Port of Antwerp this week submitted subsidy applications to the European Union to carry out detailed studies of both options under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). A decision on the award of grants is expected in November.
Other subsidy applications are being prepared for the European Innovation Fund as part of the European Green Deal. “Broad support—especially financial support—by the EU, the Belgian Federal Government, and the Flemish Government will be essential to ensure the success of the project,” according to the consortium.
"As the largest petrochemical cluster in Europe we are assuming our responsibility with unprecedented collaboration between eight leading companies,” says Wouter De Geest, the consortium’s chairman. “Together we are investigating the possibilities for cutting CO2 emissions from our production processes, as well as additional innovative solutions for more sustainable petrochemistry in Antwerp."
As MRC informed earlier, an estimated 11 million metric tons (MMt) of plastic waste enter the ocean every year and this will almost triple by 2040, to 29 MMt, if immediate and sustained action is not taken, according to a newly published in-depth report. This is equivalent to dumping 110 lbs (50 kilograms) of plastic on every meter of coastline around the world, it says. However, it is possible to reduce annual flows of plastic into the ocean by about 80% in the next 20 years by applying existing solutions and technologies, according to the report, Breaking the Plastic Wave.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
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