BP and SABIC partner on advanced plastic recycling to reduce fossil resources in petrochemical process

02 Mar 2021 --- BP and SABIC have signed a new agreement to drive a circular economy in the petrochemical activities at BP’s Gelsenkirchen, Germany, chemical production complex. 

The partnership will expand the production of certified circular products using SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio. SABIC’s mixed plastics create an alternative feedstock to the fossil resources used in conventional petrochemical plants.

“This is an important milestone in our vision of achieving up to 30 percent of our ethylene and propylene production from sustainable, recyclable raw materials by 2030,” says Wolfgang Stückle, vice president of BP’s refining and specialities solutions, Europe & Africa division.

“Advanced recycling has a crucial role to play in the current recycling mix as it can capture value from plastic waste streams traditionally ignored or discarded,” echoes Fahad Al Swailem, vice president, PE and Sales at SABIC. 

After successful trials in December 2020, polymer production using the alternative feedstock started at the BP-SABIC Gelsenkirchen site earlier this year.

True to the Trucircle
Circular polymers from SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio are produced using advanced recycling, converting low-quality mixed and used plastic, otherwise destined for incineration or landfill, into pyrolysis oil. 

Click to EnlargeThe new collaboration builds on a long-term relationship between SABIC and BP at the Gelsenkirchen production site.The oil, which acts as an alternative feedstock to traditional fossil materials, will be processed at BP’s Gelsenkirchen refining site and then used by SABIC in its Gelsenkirchen polymer plants to produce certified circular products. 

SABIC affirms the final material has identical properties to virgin-based polymers and allows plastics to be recycled again, with no loss of properties or characteristics. 

The company is further committed to helping create a new circular economy “where plastic never becomes waste.” 

“Advanced recycling allows us to increase the production of more sustainable materials and use our planet’s resources wisely, while reducing the use of conventional approaches such as landfill and combustion,” Al Swailem maintains.

The certified base chemicals from BP and the Trucircle polymers are recognized through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification plus (ISCC+) scheme that certifies content and standards across the value chain from source to end product. 

Gelsenkirchen site’s history
Decades ago, BP and SABIC began collaborating in petrochemicals at the Gelsenkirchen site, coined “the starting point” for the value chain of the chemical industry’s network in the northern Ruhr Area. 

The refining and petrochemicals site in Gelsenkirchen plays an important role within the chemical industry in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. 

BP operates one of the largest olefin plants in Germany, with a production capacity of around two million metric tons.

Click to Enlarge“Advanced recycling has a crucial role to play in the current recycling mix as it can capture value from plastic waste streams,” says Al Swailem.“It is a fantastic achievement on the part of the Gelsenkirchen team, after more than a year’s preparation, to set up the new initiative with our partners at SABIC,” comments Stückle.

Previous Trucircle endeavors
SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio has been in steady demand. Just last year, its certified polymers were integrated into packaging for tea, bouillon and pet food as well as beauty tubes for Estée Lauder and Beiersdorf.

SABIC and Plastic Energy collaborated on an advanced recycling unit in Geleen, the Netherlands, upscaling the production of certified circular polymers derived from used plastics. It is expected to become operational in the second half of 2022.

SABIC also began a pilot project with Schwarz multinational retail group using transparent vegetable film bags made with Trucircle polymers. Select Lidl and Kaufland stores in Germany introduced the 1 kg organic carrot bags between October and December 2020.

In 2019, BP developed an enhanced recycling technology called BP Infinia, enabling PET waste to be diverted from landfills or incineration. Instead, the PET is transformed back into virgin-quality feedstock. 

By Anni Schleicher

To contact our editorial team please email us at editorial@cnsmedia.com