Braskem Invests Millions to Boost Biopolymer Production in Brazil

TAGS:  Green and Bioplastics   

Braskem will expand its capacity to produce green ethylene, a raw material produced from sugar cane ethanol and used to produce renewable resins that capture CO₂ from the atmosphere. The industrial unit for this product is located in Triunfo, in Rio Grande do Sul, and the current capacity, of 200 thousand tons per year, will increase to 260 thousand tons per year. The expansion project will start in 2021, is budgeted at US$ 61 million and will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Commitment to Sustainable Development of Polymers

"The expansion of the production capacity of biopolymers reflects the growth in demand from society and our partners for sustainable products, which has increased considerably in recent years. This initiative also reinforces our commitment to sustainable development, which goes hand in hand with the values of the chain in which we are inserted and of our customers", explains Marco Jansen, global responsible for biopolymers at Braskem.

Braskem's studies for the production of biopolymers produced from sugar cane began in 2007, at the Technology and Innovation Center of the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex (RS), the largest and most modern research complex in the sector in Latin America. The company invested US$ 290 million in the construction of the industrial unit and, in 2010, presented to the market the first polyethylene (PE) of renewable origin to be produced on an industrial scale in the world, represented today by the I'm green™ bio-based brand.

Reduced Production of CO₂ Emissions

Braskem's commitment to creating solutions based on sugarcane is directly related to the company's sustainability strategy, which continues to invest more and more in products developed from renewable raw materials. Today, the portfolio of renewable resins is exported to more than 30 countries and is already used in products from more than 250 major brands, such as Allbirds, DUO UK, Grupo Boticário, Join The Pipe, Johnson & Johnson, Natura & Co, Nissin, Shiseido and Tetra Pak.

Braskem's renewable polyethylene maintains the same quality and versatility as the product of fossil origin, but with the advantage of capturing, throughout its production chain, up to 3.09 tons of carbon dioxide for each ton produced. In the production of renewable EVA the capture is up to 2.1 tons of CO₂ per ton produced. In the case of polyethylene, as the product has been manufactured by Braskem for 10 years, the estimate is that the solution has avoided the emission of 5.54 million tons of CO₂ in this period.

The expansion of the biopolymers production capacity will represent a reduction of 185 thousand tons of CO₂ in Braskem's goal of becoming a carbon neutral company by 2050. "Carbon neutralization is one of the most viable ways to minimize the impacts of climate change. In this sense, increasing our production of plastic made from sugar cane will bring significant gains for us and our customers worldwide in sustainability issues,"says Jansen. The executive also states that all steps in the process of expanding Braskem's production capacity for green ethylene will be carried out without interrupting current production, normally serving customers.

Source: Braskem