World’s first industrial-scale fossil-free plastics production complex to be built in Belgium
https://interestingengineering.com/science/fossil-free-plastics-production-facility?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_share
World’s first industrial-scale fossil-free plastics production complex to be built in Belgium
https://interestingengineering.com/science/fossil-free-plastics-production-facility?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_share
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The world’s first industrial-scale fossil-free plastics production facility is set to be established in Belgium. The facility will use Lummus’ proven sustainable polymer technology. Vioneo has Lummus as its facility’s polypropylene partner.
The complex will also be highly electrified using renewable electricity and use renewable hydrogen as key components to its operations.
wait, how? I skimed over the article and and it seems they didn’t say what source material they are using.
I wonder if this is the plastic that Lego wil switch to.
So instead of making plastic out of oil they make it out of something else, but it’s still hard to degrade in nature and causes microplastics?
This does not seem like a big win?
The way conventional plastics are made is by extracting fossil fuels, mostly natural gas but also oil, and then putting them in a large tank with some heat. The smallest chains of carbon are used for fuel, the high-value item that’s the reason so much oil and natural gas is extracted. Further down are stuff that’s less in demand, from petrochemicals that are longer chains to plastics that are even longer chains to asphalts that are really long chains and basically waste sludge that people have found a purpose.
Right now we’re near the apex demand for fossil fuels as solar and wind (with the assistance of battery technology), and that’s with the US government subsidizing fossil fuels heavily and trying their best to stop the growth of renewables. So, the demand for fossil fuels are going to decline. That means that less will be produced and so all the stuff that’s below in that separation chamber will rise in price as there’s less waste to utilize.
If plastics rise in price, then manufacturers shift to sustainable plastic-free packaging. Many packaging adjacent companies are already anticipating this and have research focused on this aspect.
But if people decide to simply build fossil fuel free plastic, well then we’re still seeing plastic everywhere and microplastics in everything.
That’s why while this development might sound like a good thing, it’s actually a really really bad thing. Shame on Belgium for allowing this!
Plastic is plastic is plastic. Stop using and making it and use metals, ceramics or biodegradable materials like carton or natural fibers cloth. At least when those reach end of life, even if mishandled are inert and harmless.