Sumitomo Chemical’s New Facility to Commercialize Sustainable Polyolefin

 Sumitomo Chemical completed the construction at its Chiba Works (Ichihara, Chiba, Japan) of a pilot facility to manufacture ethylene using renewable ethanol as a raw material. The Company will verify an ethylene manufacturing technology at this new facility to commercialize polyolefin products that are environmentally sustainable and compatible with a circular economy and will provide samples to develop the market, with the aim of contributing to creating a circular economy.

Plastics such as polyolefin are essential materials for everyday life and are widely used in a variety of applications, such as automobiles, electronic devices, and packages and containers. Meanwhile, it has become a pressing global issue to recycle plastic products made from fossil resources and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated over their lifecycle, from production to disposal after use.

Circular Economy Initiatives

The new pilot facility at Chiba Works will produce ethylene from ethanol produced from waste by SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD., with which Sumitomo Chemical is collaborating on circular economy initiatives, as well as from bio-ethanol derived from biomass, such as sugarcane and corn. Leveraging the R&D and process engineering capabilities it has cultivated over many years, Sumitomo Chemical will work on the validation and scale-up of manufacturing technology for converting renewable ethanol into ethylene*1, while also working to produce, renewable ethanol-based ethylene, polyolefin products with quality equivalent to conventional polyolefin, with the aim of commercializing it in FY2025.

In addition, aiming to commercialize those polyolefin products as environmentally-sustainable products, Sumitomo Chemical will work to quantify their impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by life-cycle assessment using the Company’s proprietary carbon footprint calculation system. It will also begin an effort to obtain ISCC PLUS certification for those polyolefin products to manage them across its entire supply chain, from raw materials to finished products, by applying the mass balance approach. In addition, Sumitomo Chemical will launch a new website to provide customers with useful information on and promote the marketing of, its sustainable technologies and products. The Company will consider selling the renewable ethanol-based polyolefin products under its Meguri®4 brand, launched last year, to raise its profile in society and their value.

Source: Sumitomo Chemical