The_Catalyst_Review_January_2024 - 6

SPECIAL FEATURE
Polyolefins Catalysts
& Components
Technology Advances and Markets
Dr. Salvatore Ali
Roughly 400 million tons of polymers are produced globally each year. This sector is keenly affected by the emerging epochal transition
of chemical manufacturing from a linear fossil-based to a circular carbon-neutral and bio-centric economy, built on the use of renewable
sources of organic or inorganic carbon. This is demonstrated for polyolefins (PO) in Figure 1.
As consequence of the demand for regulatory and operational
attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
factors, large global brands and consumers are rapidly
transitioning to more sustainable materials with emphasis
on the recycled (especially polyethylene terephthalate [PET],
polyethylene [PE], polypropylene [PP] and polylactic acid [PLA])
and renewable-based plastics - paying, at least initially, some
premium on price.
It has been projected that the plastic mechanical recycling
rate could grow to 10-13% of global polymer demand in 2030
and 14-20% in 2040. Throughout the same duration, chemical
recycling could satisfy 4-8% of total polymer demand by 2030
and 6-10% by 2040 (see Figure 2), with the deployment of
more than $40 billion in capital investment over this decade to
be increased to a total of more than US$90 billion up to 2040
(Peng, 2022). Plastics producers are responding to the increasing
demand for sustainable materials, commercializing growing
volumes of plastic post-consumer recyclates (PCR) in cooperation
with recyclers and bioplastics, aligned with producers of
renewable feedstock (e.g., renewable naphtha, bio ethylene,
bio butane). Major chemical and polymer companies, alone
or in cooperation with others, are backing pyrolysis plants
or other chemical recycling processes for converting plastic
waste into hydrocarbon feedstock that can be turned into
plastics again. They see it as a way to capture more plastics
than is feasible with conventional mechanical recycling alone.
Market Variables
After a severe market slowdown in first part of 2020
associated with the pandemic, there was a robust recovery
and growth for plastics in the second part of 2020 and 2021.
Some weakening occurred in 2022 mainly because of the
slowdown in China (related to zero-tolerance COVID policies),
in the EU (high-energy prices and inflation) and US (interest
rate hikes to combat inflation). Polyolefins demand and
pricing have since rebalanced and even caused pressure.
In fact, the cost of catalyst raw materials such as alkyls
Figure 1. Towards a new PO circular value chain.
Source: Cefic 2023 modified by the author
Figure 2. By 2040 up to 30% of polymer demand could be based on polymer recycling
Source: Peng, 2022
6
The Catalyst Review
January 2024

The_Catalyst_Review_January_2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The_Catalyst_Review_January_2024