[ Petrochemicals ]
[ Petrochemicals ]
Plastic bags and cardboard waiting to be transported for reprocessing . Photo : wikipedia , Cjp24 .
include Coca-Cola ’ s bottle made of 100 % plant-based plastic ; Dow and New Energy Blue ’ s collaboration to develop bio-based ethylene from corn residue ; and Sumitomo Chemical ’ s pilot facility ( under construction ) to produce propylene directly from ethanol .
Biodegradable plastic Recycling , incineration or consigning waste to a landfill can be avoided if one
Recycling essentials ( 3 )
Each UK household produces a tonne of waste per year . 80 % of UK household waste is recyclable , but only 45 % of household waste is in fact recycled . Most commonly recycled plastics : PET ( water bottles and plastic trays ), HDPE ( milk cartoons and shampoo bottles ) and PP ( margarine tubs and ready-meal trays ). Harder to recycle : PVC ( piping ), LDPE ( food bags ) and PS ( plastic cutlery ). Still harder to recycle : crisp packets , salad bags and plastic wrap . Non-recyclable : bioplastics , composite plastic , plastic-coated wrapping paper , cling film and polycarbonate . In general , the lower the resin count , the harder it is to recycle . makes plastics that can biodegrade or compost on its own . One of the leaders in this field is Danimer Scentific , which is collaborating with Chevron Phillips to make polyhydroxyalkanoate ( PHA ), synthesised from lactones produced using Danimer ’ s proprietary catalyst technology .
CCS / CCU Carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) has become a well-established technique in several industries , ranging from steelmaking to oil & gas and
Example of a CO 2 recovery plant from Messer .
petrochemicals . Carbon capture and utilisation ( CCU ) is relatively new . Recycled CO 2 has several uses : it can be converted into polyether used in mattresses , while researchers at the UK Centre have used CO 2 to make nylon . Linde and Heidelberg Materials are using BASF technology to build a CCU facility . Most of the resulting liquid CO 2 will be sold as a feedstock for the chemicals industry and into the food & drink markets . Messer has just announced a CO 2 recovery plant that will cater for the food & drink industry .
Fossil-free energy An important way to reduce carbon footprint is to use fossil-free energy such as renewables , hydrogen or nuclear power . Reliance has stated it will “ use solar energy to decarbonise our O 2 C business and use green hydrogen generated from renewable sources – and CO 2 as raw materials to develop a road map for new green chemicals , green fertiliser , and e-fuels .” TotalEnergies has announced it will generate electricity from green hydrogen with an electrolyser built by VNG . Dow and X-energy are exploring the possible use of a nuclear SMR ( Small Modular Reactor ) as an energy source .
Stainless steel In the chemical and petrochemical industries , stainless steel is used in storage tanks , heat exchangers , pressure vessels / reactors , cryogenic applications and tubes , pipes and fittings . Some processes test the materials to the limit : corrosion is more
www . stainless-steel-world . net Stainless Steel World June 2024 17