Materials News

Braskem on course with green PP and uses Ineos PE technology

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Braskem has been working on producing PP from sugar cane ethanol for a while. In 2008, the company produced its first sample made 100% from renewable resources, which was verified in accordance with ASTM D6866. It also has research projects for the green PP, including partnerships announced with Novozymes in 2009 as well as with UNICAMP and LNBio. It has also built a 200,000 tonne plant for the conversion of ethanol sourced from sugar cane to produce not only PP but also PE.

The company says its green PP will have the same technical, processability and performance properties as PP made using traditional production routes. It also says that a preliminary eco-efficiency study conducted in partnership with Fundação Espaço Eco shows that each tonne of green PP produced captures and sequesters 2.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Meanwhile, in an agreement with Ineos, Braskem will acquire licenses for Innovene S slurry and Innovene G gas phase technologies to produce HDPE and LLDPE. The companies will also jointly conduct R&D programmes for the slurry and gas-phase PE platforms.

The two Innovene S plants that will form part of the Etileno XXI complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico - a joint venture with Grupo Idesa - are scheduled to start up in 2015. These will produce a range of monomodal and bimodal HD and MDPE with a total capacity of 750,000 tonnes. Key targeted applications include pipe, blow moulded containers, injection moulded parts, film and rotomoulded tanks.