Trinseo and BASF have announced today their intention to expand their businesses with the production of styrene based on circular feedstock.
The enhanced collaboration between Trinseo and BASF aims to increase efforts by both companies in the development and management of styrene featuring an improved environmental profile.
Trinseo has recently been procuring supplies of the synthetical chemical styrene based on circular feedstock from BASF for use in its Solution-Styrene Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) and polystyrene (PS) products.
There are two types of styrene that BASF can produce with a mass balance approach – renewable feedstock-based-styrene and styrene based on chemically recycled feedstock.
Both of these alternative feedstocks replace a certain amount of virgin fossil resources at the beginning of the value chain - leading to a reduction of CO2 emissions.
To produce BMB styrene, BASF replaces fossil resources like naphtha or natural gas with renewable feedstocks derived from organic waste or vegetable oils. When manufacturing Ccycled products, BASF uses pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste that is not recycled mechanically, e.g. mixed household waste or end-of-life tires, as a feedstock, thus contributing to plastics circularity.
The allocation process via the mass balance approach, as well as the products, are certified by an independent auditor.
“By creating synergy across the value chain, the Trinseo-BASF collaboration is an important move towards helping our customers reach their sustainability goals as well as the development of a truly circular economy,” said Nicolas Joly, vice president for plastics and feedstocks at Trinseo. “The initiative is also in line with Trinseo’s 2030 Sustainability Goals announced earlier this year.”
“CO2 emission reduction and a circular economy are BASF’s paramount targets. Using circular feedstocks instead of virgin fossil resources contributes directly or indirectly to an improved CO2 footprint of subsequent products,” added Klaus Ries, vice president for BASF’s Styrenics Business Europe.
“While our customer Trinseo procures biomass balanced (BMB) styrene for their downstream business already, styrene Ccycled will be available in the near future.”
