MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Chemical and Axens signed a license agreement of ethanol-to-ethylene technology Atol for Sumitomo Chemical’s waste-to-polyolefins project in Japan, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
In the project, to promote circular economy, Axens’ Atol technology will transform ethanol produced from waste into polymer-grade ethylene that will be polymerized in Sumitomo Chemical’s assets into polyolefin, a key product in the petrochemical industry.
At full roll-out, the project will enable the production of waste-based polyolefin at industrial scale, which will represent a leapfrog towards a sustainable economy based on renewable carbon.
Axens Renewables Business Group Director Frederic Balligand said: “This project addresses the waste plastics issue by reusing them as a feedstock in a context of greenhouse gas emission reduction. With its wide portfolio of renewable technologies, Axens is ready to support players in the industry to overcome the challenges of the future. Axens is excited to work with Sumitomo Chemical for this project with Atol technology, accelerating the deployment of circular economy in Japan.”
As MRC reported previously, in early March 2020, Sekisui Chemical and Sumitomo Chemical agreed to form a strategic alliance to deploy technology for manufacturing polyolefin using waste as a raw material. The alliance combines Sekisui's production technology for converting waste into ethanol with Sumitomo's technological know-how in manufacturing polyolefin. Pilot production is scheduled to begin in fiscal 2022, with full-scale market launch of the production method expected in fiscal 2025.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
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