Biomass PTA Supply Chain Being Established

Biomass PTA Supply Chain Established Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Oriental Petrochemical (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. and Marubeni Corporation announced they have agreed to establish a supply chain for biomass-derived Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) produced from biomass naphtha. Production of biomass PTA is planned to begin in Taiwan in 2024. Idemitsu Kosan will produce biomass paraxylene (PX) from biomass naphtha using the mass balance method. This will subsequently be converted to biomass PTA by OPTC, a PTA producer within Far Eastern New Century Group, a PET manufacturing company based in Taiwan. Marubeni will coordinate the establishment of the supply chain and manage the marketing of biomass products. PET resin, the raw material for PET bottles, consists of approximately 70% PTA and 30% ethylene glycol. Therefore, PET resin derived entirely from biomass can be produced using biomass PTA and biomass ethylene glycol. While biomass ethylene glycol has become increasingly popular, replacing petroleum-derived PTA with biomass-derived PTA has proven to be a challenging process. Biomass naphtha, the raw material for biomass products, is produced from renewable materials such as plants and can therefore reduce CO2 emissions compared to naphtha derived from petroleum. The biomass PX produced by Idemitsu Kosan holds the international "ISCC PLUS Certification," which manages and secures the supply chain of products manufactured from sustainable raw materials like biomass and permits the application of the mass balance method. OPTC will also obtain "ISCC PLUS Certification" in 2024. Through this newly established supply chain, the three companies aim to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in the plastics industry and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon lifestyle. Source