Carbon Recycling International and Jiangsu Sailboat start up world’s most efficient CO2-to-methanol plant

MRC -- Carbon Recycling International (CRI) and Jiangsu Sailboat have successfully started up one of the world's most efficient CO2-to-methanol plants, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

An opening ceremony took place on September 25th at the Shenghong Petrochemical Industrial Park. This marks a significant milestone in the global effort to boost the production of sustainable methanol – a valuable fuel and chemical feedstock.

This collaborative project brought together teams from around the world, bringing the plant to life in under two years from contract signing. The project's completion represents a truly global approach to tackling a shared environmental concern, with technical know-how and technology first demonstrated in Iceland playing a vital role in this international solution.

The Jiangsu Sailboat Methanol plant operates with CRI’s proprietary Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) technology, transforming waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into sustainable, commercial-grade methanol. The facility is built to recycle 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide sourced from waste streams at the large petrochemical complex each year, significantly reducing emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere.

The plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 tons of sustainable methanol annually – the second-largest CO2-to-methanol plant in the world. Used primarily to supply their olefins facility, this methanol will be used to produce chemical derivatives, including sustainable plastics and EVA coatings for solar panels. This will reduce the reliance on fossil-based methanol to drive more sustainable value chains and carbon footprint reduction initiatives across various sectors, such as industrial manufacturing and renewable energy.

Qian Xinhua, Vice President of Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group, stated at the plant opening ceremony “This green industrial value chain project is a significant step forward. It uses advanced green and low-carbon technology to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into a resource. Further implementation of such technology allows us to combine green hydrogen, renewable energy, and more to create new materials, replacing the traditional raw materials used in the chemical industry.”

With the start-up of the Sailboat plant, CRI's ETL technology portfolio now has the capacity to recycle over 300,000 tons of CO2 annually (direct CO2). This is equivalent to the environmental impact of 15 million trees actively absorbing CO2 over the course of a year.

We remind, BASF, which has said it is seeking an exit from its energy business Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL), has attracted deal interest from companies including TotalEnergies and Equinor for the oil and gas unit. Chemicals giant BASF has been seeking to float Wintershall Dea, a joint venture in which Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment firm LetterOne holds a minority stake, on the stock exchange, but Russia's invasion in Ukraine has put those plans on ice.

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Wood has signed a collaboration agreement with OMV for the commercial licensing of its innovative plastic recycling technology, ReOil, said the company.

This agreement will support significant advancements in chemical-based plastic recycling, helping to build a circular economy solution for end-of-life plastics that would otherwise be sent to landfill or waste incineration.

OMV, the integrated energy, fuels & feedstock and chemicals & materials company, developed the proprietary ReOil technology to convert plastic waste into pyrolysis oil, a valuable resource primarily used to produce high-performing and sustainable plastics. ReOil offers an innovative solution to support the growth of plastic recycling – it is estimated that around 60% of plastics production will come from recycled feedstock by 2050.

Under the agreement, Wood and OMV will bring ReOil jointly to the market, combining Wood’s proprietary heater technology with OMV’s chemical recycling process. The companies have established a combined technology and engineering delivery team to support clients with the implementation of ReOil at their sites. In addition, Wood will work with ReOil licensees to provide full asset lifecycle support globally.

Craig Shanaghey, Wood’s Executive President of Projects, said: “Building on our excellent long-term relationship with OMV, we are excited to formally partner on the ReOil technology. ReOil is a proven solution to the complex problem of plastic waste and aligns with Wood’s strategic priorities to design a more sustainable future. We look forward to working with OMV to deploy this technology at scale.”

Daniela Vlad, Executive Vice President Chemicals & Materials at OMV, said: “We are delighted to enter this long-term relationship with Wood to provide a licensing offer which will further enable global licensees to make use of future circular economy solutions. This is in line with our strategic priorities to establish OMV as a leader in renewable and circular economy solutions and diversify our portfolio by entering adjacent products and business areas.”

A ReOil pilot plant has been operating in the OMV refinery in Schwechat, Austria since 2018 and has processed end-of-life plastics for more than 22,000 hours to date. A 16,000 tons per year ReOil plant is currently in construction at the same site and Wood is working with OMV on the development of an industrial-scale plant with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year.

This collaboration agreement follows a respective Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between Wood and OMV in November 2022.

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Borealis and TotalEnergies celebrate the start-up of their Baystar joint venture’s new 625,000 metric ton-per-year Borstar® polyethylene (PE) unit, which more than doubles the current production capacity at Baystar’s site in Pasadena, Texas, said the company.

The new USD 1.4 billion unit completes the partners’ integrated petrochemicals venture, which includes the expanded Bayport PE facility, and the ethane cracker at the TotalEnergies Platform in Port Arthur, Texas.

The new PE unit, referred to as Bay 3, increases the Baystar site’s total production to over one million tons per year, which includes two legacy polyethylene production units. Bay 3 features the state-of-the-art proprietary licensed in North America for the first time. Borstar technology delivers advanced value-added polymers with enhanced sustainability by enabling light-weighting and the incorporation of greater amounts of post-consumer recycled materials in a variety of end products, serving the energy, infrastructure and consumer products industries.

“The arrival of Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology in North America by way of Baystar marks, in line with our owners’ strategies, a crucial step for us in becoming a global leader in advanced and sustainable chemicals and material solutions,” said Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl. “Expanding and deepening our footprint through Baystar enables us to better serve customers and partners by offering improved access to Borstar based products produced right here in North America.”

“After the inauguration of the ethane cracker unit in Port Arthur last year, the start-up of the new PE unit is the second milestone of this joint venture aimed at establishing Baystar as a fully integrated U.S. petrochemical player. The fruition of this venture also advances TotalEnergies’ ambition to grow in the United States,” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies.

We remind, in July 2022, Bayport Polymers LLC (“Baystar”), a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Borealis and TotalEnergies, today announces the start-up of commercial operations of a new ethane cracker with an annual production capacity of one million tons of ethylene. This almost USD 2 billion project built on the site of the TotalEnergies Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, represents 14 million hours worked with more than 2,500 workers at peak construction.

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Honeywell announced that Repsol has licensed Honeywell Ecofining technology to produce renewable fuels from feedstocks such as used cooking oil and waste animal fat at Repsol’s facility in Puertollano, Spain, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Repsol is designing this plant to convert approximately 240 thousand metric tons per annum (KMTA) of waste feeds/feedstocks to renewable diesel and other products. The Honeywell UOP Ecofining process will provide Repsol with an efficient and high yield solution to produce renewable fuels and petrochemical precursors from residual feedstocks.

“Renewable fuels are a key pillar in our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and Honeywell is providing us with the cutting-edge Ecofining technology to accomplish this,” said Berta Cabello, Repsol's Director of Renewable Fuels. “This will be Repsol's second plant exclusively dedicated to producing 100% renewable fuels, allowing us to lead the market for these products in the Iberian Peninsula where we already have more than 20 service stations supplying 100% renewable diesel."

“Honeywell’s Ecofining technology will allow Repsol to economically convert waste feeds into renewable fuels and reduce its carbon footprint,” said Barry Glickman, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “Renewable Diesel and SAF can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional diesel or aviation fuel."

The Honeywell UOP Ecofining process, developed in conjunction with Eni SpA, can convert plant-based waste oils, animal fats and other waste feedstocks to renewable diesel and SAF.

Honeywell now offers solutions across a range of feedstocks to meet the rapidly growing demand for renewable fuels, including SAF. In addition to Honeywell UOP Ecofining, Honeywell’s renewable fuels portfolio includes Ethanol to Jet technology and the recently announced Honeywell UOP eFining, which converts green hydrogen and carbon dioxide into e-fuels.

Honeywell recently committed to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. This commitment builds on the company’s track record of sharply reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and facilities as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help its customers meet their environmental and social goals.

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BASF, which has said it is seeking an exit from its energy business Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL), has attracted deal interest from companies including TotalEnergies and Equinor for the oil and gas unit, said Reuters citing German newspaper Handelsblatt.

BASF CEO Martin Brudermueller, who is due to resign in April 2024, aims to find new owners for a number of BASF's non-core assets, including Wintershall and its catalytic converter business known as ECMS, before his departure, the newspaper cited company and financial sources as saying.

Chemicals giant BASF has been seeking to float Wintershall Dea, a joint venture in which Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment firm LetterOne holds a minority stake, on the stock exchange, but Russia's invasion in Ukraine has put those plans on ice.

Earlier this year, BASF said it was also considering a sale of Wintershall Dea. The energy business exited Russia, which previously accounted for about half its oil and gas production, after saying its assets there were de-facto expropriated.

Harbour Energy (HBR.L) is also interested in buying Wintershall Dea, but a transaction would likely be too large for the British oil and gas company, Handelsblatt said. BASF and Harbour Energy declined to comment. Equinor and TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

We remind, BASF is to produce cathode active materials (CAM) from recycled metals in Battle Creek, Michigan, for use in lithium-ion batteries produced by Nanotech Energy. The two companies will partner with American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), a lithium-ion battery recycling company, and TODA Advanced Materials, which has experience in producing specialised CAM precursor and metal hydroxide.

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