As the range of available mass-balanced raw materials continues to expand, these materials are increasingly finding application in the production of carbon-reduced replacements for well-established chemicals and resins.
Now Covestro has announced that it plans to use mass-balanced phenol and acetone from Ineos’ Inviridis product range to manufacture polycarbonate. Ineos produces this phenol and acetone from bio-attributed cumene at its sites at Gladbeck and Antwerp sites, both of which are certified according to the internationally recognized ISCC Plus as well as the RSB standard.
With the Inviridis family, ‘we’re moving the industry toward a more climate-friendly economy for phenol and acetone without compromising its unique product attributes’, according to Gordon Adams, Business Director of Ineos Phenol.
The mass-balanced raw materials have a lower carbon footprint than petroleum-based products and are derived from a feedstock that is not in competition with the food supply.
For Covestro, switching to mass-balanced renewable raw materials will help to significantly reduce the company’s indirect emissions in the supply chain and enable it to offer products with a reduced carbon footprint. "In doing so, we’re helping our customers to meet their climate goals and advance the transition to a circular economy,” said Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro.
Polycarbonate is used in headlights and other automotive parts, but also in housings for electronic devices, light guides and lenses, medical devices, and many other high-value applications. The new products offer the same good quality as their fossil-based counterparts, said Lily Wang, global head of the Engineering Plastics segment. They provide a drop-in solution that customers can quickly and easily integrate into existing production processes without requiring any technical changes.
Covestro sees itself as a driving force behind the Circular Economy industry developing today. The company has created its so-called ‘CQ’ concept - which stands for Circular Intelligence - and consists of a family of productions featuring an alternative raw material base of at least 25 percent. The new polycarbonates, sold under the names Makrolon RE, Bayblend RE, Makroblend RE, and Apec RE, are part of the growing range of CQ solutions.