BASF launches chemically recycled products made in the USA

BASF has announced the launch of its ChemCycling project in the United States. It is the first time the Germany-based chemical giant has manufactured its Ccycled products in US soil, using pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste as feedstock.

The company has produced monomers that can be used for many BASF products manufactured in the US, including super absorbent polymers, engineered plastics, or polyurethanes, from pyrolysis oil processed at BASF’s and TotalEnergies’ Petrochemicals (BTP) facility in Port Arthur, Texas. The facility operates one of the largest steam crackers in the world, turning naphtha and light hydrocarbons into ethylene, propylene, and other chemical raw materials.

So far, the BASF had focused its ChemCycling activities at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany, where it fed pyrolysis oil into the production process, partially replacing fossil-based resources.

BASF uses chemically recycled feedstock for its broad portfolio of Ccycled products, attributed through an ISCC+ mass balance approach. Its customers have introduced Ccycled products in various industries like food packaging, medical, textile, and automotive. BASF says Ccycled products have the same properties as their fossil-derived counterparts.

The announcement comes weeks after TotalEnergies said it also started producing chemically recycled plastic at its plant in La Porte, Texas. The feedstock was also converted at the BASF’s and TotalEnergies’ BTP facility.

“As a pioneer in the industry for [chemical] recycling, BASF is building on its experience, innovative strength and great partnerships along the value chain to create a more circular economy for plastics,” said Dr. Gulay Serhatkulu, senior vice president petrochemical at BASF North America. “By using recycled raw materials at the beginning of the chemical value chain, plastic waste becomes a resource, creating value for the environment, society and the economy.”