Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell.
Plastics aren't going away anytime soon, and they will continue to remain vital in the changing world of the future.
"We've seen the value of plastics and how they enable everyday life," said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, speaking during "Sustainability & Circularity: The Changing World of Petrochemicals" at CERAWeek by IHS Markit. He explained that plastics have a role in everything from personal hygiene products to medical PPE.
Plastics are also integral in the switch to electric vehicles. Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Dow, said plastic, silicone and polyurethane are all materials that go into the internals of electric vehicles that do not often go into combustible- engine vehicles. These materials help seal off batteries from the elements as well as go into the technology that reduces noise vibrations in the electric automobiles.
"We really think plastics are going to enable [electric vehicles] over the long term," Patel acknowledged. "And generally speaking, chemical value chains will be critical for [electric vehicles] to grow in market share."
“We really think plastics are going to enable [electric vehicles] over the long term.”— Bob Patel, LyondellBasell
Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Dow.
Fitterling said one of the biggest hurdles in the business today is that the economy is very linear and materials are just disposed. However, there are steps the industry is taking to tackle the issue of plastic waste.
"First, we don't like to see waste in the environment. So how do we deal with the infrastructure and make sure it doesn't get out into the environment? That could be through managed recycling facilities, even managed landfills," he said.
The second step is designing materials to be more recyclable, and the third is the action of recycling -- both making the option available to the consumer and making sure the materials are recycled after they've been put in a bin.
"There are $80 billion - $120 billion worth of raw-material value in all the materials we dispose that can be turned into raw materials for reuse and the upcycling of plastics, and that's what we're working on, what all the players in the industry are working on," Fitterling continued.
"Closing the loop is what's important here," Patel added.
Molecular recycling
One of the primary challenges in recycling is collecting and sorting waste, Patel said. Most of the waste in developed nations such as the U.S. ends up in landfills.
"We've got to find a way to recover the value in that waste," he said.
Patel offered that molecular recycling could be a potential long-term solution to these challenges. Molecular recycling takes mixed-plastic waste, converts it back into feedstock and then puts it in the front-end of the compactor to create ethylene, polyethylene or polypropylene, he explained.
Molecular recycling also means less sorting than traditional recycling, which is a current hurdle in recycling plastic waste. Another benefit of molecular recycling is the products that come from this process are FDA-approved as virgin resins.
"We believe this can be done at a much larger scale than mechanical recycling," Patel said. LyondellBasell is currently conducting extensive research into molecular recycling, while also utilizing mechanical recycling and bio-based feed-stocks.
While he sees this as a potential longterm solution in circularity, Patel admitted it's not an immediate fix.
"I think we're probably three to five years away from the scale our industry is used to," he said.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Sullivan also participated in the discussion.
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