Projects
In a way, the industry is a victim of its own success. It is growing so rapidly that efforts to reduce its environmental footprint risk will almost inevitably fall short of what is required. Petrochemicals is a USD 37.5 billion industry (2021) projected to reach a value of USD 61.2 billion by 2028, with an annual growth rate of 8.5% between 2022 and 2028. Building (paints, coatings), transport and packaging are just some of the industries where demand is surging.
One of the major areas of growth is in North America, where competition has been enhanced by cheap shale gas and where some of the major players are headquartered. Among Chevron’s plans are the construction of a 1-hexene unit in Texas, a propylene unit in Baytown, Texas, and a polymers facility on the Gulf Coast. ExxonMobil has doubled its polypropylene production at Baton Rouge, and a large olefin facility using KBR technology is being contemplated.
In Europe, the focus is on Belgium. Here, Ineos is building a new olefin complex with an ethylene cracker, and Chevron is building an HDS unit and expanding its PAO capacity. The dominant player in Europe is BASF, which is modernising its chloroformate and acid chloride production at Ludwigshafen and building a new alkylethanolamines plant in Antwerp.
BASF is also active on other continents. With China’s Sinopec, the Verbund site in Nanjing, China, is being expanded, and its ester base stocks capacity in Jinshan is to be doubled; also, BASF gave final approval for the construction of a Verbund site in Zhanjiang. Elsewhere in Asia, Aramco is investing in a refinery with a steam cracker in South Korea.
The Middle East is also booming. Dow and Al-Hejailan Group have agreed to build a MDEA plant. Aramco, Sinopec and SABIC signed an agreement for the Gulei II refinery and cracker, and Aramco and TotalEnergies have agreed to build a new complex in Jubail. In anticipation of demand for equipment, Aramco has signed 59 new agreements with local manufacturers.
Bioplastics
If the petrochemicals industry is to become more sustainable, it must break free of its dependence on fossil fuels. However, there is little sign of this happening quickly. An obvious recourse is to rely on plastics that are bio-based or bio-sourced (i.e. wholly or partly derived from biomass); if these are also biodegradable or compostable, this is a bonus, though not all bio-sourced plastics biodegrade quickly. Currently, only 1% of plastics are bio-sourced, but the market is expected to grow over 10% per year between 2021 and 2030. The five largest producers are the USA, Germany, Brazil, and Canada.
Bio-sourced plastics are expensive compared to traditional materials because of the complex process used to convert corn or sugarcane. Apart from corn starch, other sources include milk, tapioca, and vegetable fats. Applications for PLA, one of the most common bio-sourced plastics, include plastic films, bottles, medical devices, and shrink wrap. Bio-sourced plastics can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require less energy to process; however, disposal or recycling can be a problem, as if they are mingled with conventional plastic, they can slow down the rate at which these break down and are liable to emit methane, a greenhouse gas. There is thus an urgent need to develop alternatives, such as waste-to-energy projects. A related problem is a lack of infrastructure to process bio-based plastics. These need to be treated separately from traditional plastics to avoid contamination of the latter.