SABIC partners with Kraton on certified renewable copolymers with carbon-cutting potential

14 Mar 2022 --- Kraton Corporation, a global producer of specialty polymers and high-value bio-based products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is partnering with SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation), a global chemicals company, to produce International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS Certified) renewable styrenic block copolymers at Kraton’s manufacturing facility in Berre, France.

The newly launched ISCC PLUS Certified renewable CirKular+ ReNew Series expands Kraton’s existing suite of solutions designed to advance the circular economy.

With up to 70% certified renewable content, the ReNew Series allows customers to use the mass balance approach and adopt ISCC PLUS certification to produce renewable products.

Earlier this year, Kraton produced CirKular+ ReNew Series Hydrogenated Styrenic Block Copolymers (HSBC) at the Berre plant using SABIC’s renewable butadiene from the company’s Truecircle portfolio of circular solutions.

CO2-reducing Butadiene
SABIC’s certified renewable butadiene is derived from animal-free and palm oil-free second-generation renewable feedstock, such as tall oil co-product from the wood pulping process in the paper industry, which is not in direct competition with human food and animal feed production sources.

Each kilogram of SABIC’s certified renewable butadiene reduces CO2 emissions by an average of 4 kg compared to fossil-based virgin alternatives.According to the cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment, from sourcing the raw feedstock to producing the monomer, each kilogram of the company’s certified renewable butadiene reduces CO2 emissions by an average of 4 kg compared to fossil-based virgin alternatives.

Additionally, each metric ton of this butadiene cuts fossil depletion by up to 80%, adds the company.

Circular initiatives
Kraton says the CirKular+ product line, which launched in 2020, enables high-performance, innovative solutions for the circular economy and plastics upcycling using a holistic approach to product life cycle.

Furthemore, the company says these products can help customers shift to renewable materials, improve product performance, lower carbon footprint, and drive the uptake of recycled plastics.

SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio spans a range of products and services, including design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified circular products from feedstock recycling of used plastic, certified renewables products from bio-based feedstock and closed-loop initiatives to recycle plastic back into high-quality applications and help prevent plastic from becoming waste.

“Kraton’s ambition is to enable the bioeconomy and play a role in advancing the circular economy. Value chain collaboration is instrumental in achieving progress toward a circular economy,” says Holger Jung, Kraton senior vice president and polymer segment president.

“This is an exciting innovation for our customers as it can help reduce the carbon footprint of fossil-based HSBC made in our Berre plant by up to 65%,” he asserts.

“Developing more [environmentally] sustainable solutions requires partnerships across the value chain,” adds Mohammed Al-Zahrani, vice president, chemical at SABIC.

“Our collaboration with Kraton for renewable butadiene as feedstock for Kraton’s polymers is another example of working together toward our common goals and confirms the broad interest from the chemicals industry in developing [environmentally] sustainable solutions for the future,” he concludes.

Last year, Mars Petcare launched what it says is the world’s first recycled packaging for wet pet food. Developed in partnership with Huhtamaki and SABIC, the pouches are created through chemical recycling.

Edited

By Natalie Schwertheim

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