Neste will supply Japan-based chemical company Resonac Corporation with its renewable feedstock Neste RE, the company has announced.
The Finish refiner did not disclose the amount of feedstock it will supply Resonac with.
Resonac will use the 100% renewable feedstock at its Oita Complex in Japan to produce renewable olefins and derivatives. Its product portfolio includes basic chemicals and moulded plastics for automotive applications.
Marubeni, a Japanese general trading and investment conglomerate, will coordinate all logistical arrangements from Neste to Resonac.
Neste produces Neste RE from renewable waste, residue oils and fats, as well as waste plastics.
To produce renewable Neste RE, Neste uses its proprietary NEXBTL (“Next generation biomass to liquid”) technology, which turns bio-based oils and fats into pure hydrocarbons - fuels or feedstock for plastics production.
When produced from waste plastic, the process is slightly different: the waste is liquefied in a thermochemical liquefaction process, which turns it into pyrolysis oil that is used in Neste’s traditional oil refineries. In a steam cracker, Neste RE can be used on its own or in a blend and s reportedly a drop-in solution suitable for existing production infrastructure.
Polymers produced from Neste RE reportedly have the same quality as those made from conventional fossil feedstock. Neste has conducted a life cycle assessment study on the environmental impacts of using its feedstock. It showed a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of more than 85% over the life cycle when Neste RE produced from 100% renewable raw materials was used to replace conventional fossil feedstock in the chemical and polymers industry.
“We are very happy to work cooperatively with Neste and Marubeni to cater to the need for renewable olefins and derivative products in the market,” said Hirotsugu Fukuda, general manager of the olefins & derivatives business unit at Resonac. “Resonac’s Oita Complex has been ISCC PLUS certified. The Oita Complex will continue providing the market with renewable olefins and derivative products by applying a mass balance method based on the ISCC system,” he added.