Page 50 - Plastics News August 2024
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FEATURE NEWS
linear operations to a circular model risk failure of bioplastic is biodegradable, but accounts for
due to government-imposed fines and consum- less than 1% of the global plastic production.
er boycotts.”
This could change, however, with oil companies
Alternatively, shifting to a circular economy Petronas and PTT investing to develop bioplas-
ahead of the curve would present opportunities tic production competencies.
for oil and gas companies looking to establish
themselves as ESG leaders, and creating, man- But, there are of course obstacles to develop-
aging and reusing circular polymers is proving to ment. The report states that “petrochemical
be of interest. companies are developing renewable feedstock
using agricultural and organic waste to produce
TotalEnergies, for example, has stated that it will bioplastics … The probable downside of using
produce one million tons of circular polymers by this feedstock is the availability of organic waste
2030. The production will increase their recy- in sufficient volumes to meet the market de-
cling options, and enable the company to meet mand. Shortage of feedstock may lead to un-
its ESG obligations. favourable practices, such as deforestation, be-
sides cost escalation in plastic manufacturing.”
The challenge lies in the nature of plastic. Made
up of polymer chains, the chain length reduces The report notes the particular oil and gas lead-
each time the material is recycled, meaning the ers in plastic management, identifying BP, Rep-
quality of the plastic drops. As a result, plastic sol, Shell, TotalEnergies, OMV AG, and Exxon-
can usually only be recycled two or three times, Mobil.
or new plastic must be added to improve quality.
However, the report also notes that companies
However, there has been progress in the area. “will need to rely on financial incentives from
The report notes the example of Saudi Aramco government establishments to productively pur-
and its partners, which successfully demonstrat- sue the circular economy objectives. This is be-
ed a chemical recycling process in July 2023 at cause of the high inherent cost involved in incor-
its SATORP refinery, jointly owned by Aramco porating a circular economy.
and TotalEnergies. The circular polymers de-
rived from the plastic waste have been given “Some companies have taken small steps to-
ISCC+ certification. wards this. Industry leaders such as ExxonMo-
bil, Shell, and TotalEnergies have set themselves
Bioplastic development is also showing promise, targets to increase plastic recycling at their fa-
and attracting interest from oil and gas compa- cilities.”
nies. Made from biomass (such as agricultural Source – Packaging Gateway
waste) rather than oil or gas derivatives, bio-
plastics are easier to recycle. Currently, over half
52 PLASTICS NEWS August 2024
