Neste will supply Korea-based Lotte Chemical with its renewable feedstock Neste RE, the company has announced.
The Finish refiner said it could not disclose the amount of feedstock it will supply Lotte Chemical with.
Lotte Chemical will use the 100% renewable feedstock at its Korean sites to produce various common types of plastics and chemicals. Its product portfolio includes polymers, monomers, basic petrochemicals, high performance plastics, as well as recycled plastic and biopolymers.
Neste produces Neste RE from renewable waste, residue oils and fats, as well as waste plastics.
To produce renewable Neste RE, Neste uses its proprietary NEXBTL (“Next generation biomass to liquid”) technology, which turns bio-based oils and fats into pure hydrocarbons - fuels or feedstock for plastics production.
When produced from waste plastic, the process is slightly different: the waste is liquefied in a thermochemical liquefaction process, which turns it into pyrolysis oil that is used in Neste’s traditional oil refineries. In a steam cracker, Neste RE can be used on its own or in a blend and s reportedly a drop-in solution suitable for existing production infrastructure.
Polymers produced from Neste RE reportedly have the same quality as those made from conventional fossil feedstock. Neste has conducted a life cycle assessment study on the environmental impacts of using its feedstock. It showed a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of more than 85% over the life cycle when Neste RE produced from 100% renewable raw materials was used to replace conventional fossil feedstock in the chemical and polymers industry.
“We are looking forward to increasing the share of renewable solutions in collaboration with Lotte Chemical,” said Jeroen Verhoeven, vice president value chain development for renewable polymers and chemicals at Neste. “Together, we can pave the way to more sustainable supply chains and lower emissions for a wide range of sectors and applications.”
Lotte Chemical is also involved in chemical recycling. It operates a pilot pyrolysis plant which started producing chemically recycled polycarbonate in 2022. The company plans to expand its capacity to 50,000 tonnes/year by 2025.
Lotte Chemical also operates a PET depolymerisation plant at its Ulsan facility with a 4,000 tonne/year capacity. It plans to expand its capacity to 110,000 tonnes/year in 2024, and to reach 340,000 tonnes/year by 2030.