Mitsui Chemicals to produce renewable plastic from Neste's bio-naphtha

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Mitsui Chemicals will use waste-based bio-naphtha supplied by Neste to produce renewable plastics on an industrial scale in a first for Japan, the companies said Thursday.

Mitsui will use Neste's 'RE' branded product to make renewable ethylene, propylene, C4 fraction and benzene, and process them into basic chemicals such as phenol, or plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

The quality and properties of the finished product will be identical to that made using fossil feedstocks, while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the product life cycle, said Neste.

"Neste RE is a drop-in product with a chemical composition and quality on par with virgin fossil feedstock, fully suitable to existing production and logistical infrastructures, while also the end products are similarly recyclable as the conventional fossil-based products," Jeroen Verhoeven, Vice President Production Partners told Quantum.

Mitsui Chemicals and Toyota Tsusho also intend to acquire International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), which is widely accepted in Europe as a system for the certification of products from bio-based feedstock.

"Aiming to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, Mitsui Chemicals is looking to help bring about a circular economy by pursuing the two pillars of recycling and the use of bio-based alternatives for its chemical and plastic products," said Hirahara Akio, Managing Executive Officer for Corporate Sustainability at Mitsui Chemicals.