In the run-up to the upcoming EDANA Circular Nonwovens Forum, SNW caught up with speakers Gustaf Tobieson, Application Marketing Manager and Stephan Roest, Strategic Platform Leader Circular Economy Solutions, at polypropylene producer Borealis.
Haydn Davis: Over the last decade, issues surrounding sustainability have not necessarily been at the forefront of the nonwovens industry. This is clearly changing now with many companies throughout the supply chain adapting their working practices to come into line with this growing trend. How has Borealis reacted to the growing demand for more sustainable nonwovens products?
Gustaf Tobieson/ Stephan Roest: At Borealis we have invested into mechanical recycling and since 2016 are providing large volumes of post consumer recyclates to the market and yet it is difficult to re-use the mechanically recycled PP into new nonwoven applications. Now we can provide renewable plastics for nonwovens applications which leads to improved sustainability. We are also exploring new technologies in the field of chemical recycling and believe this could represent a circular potential for nonwovens both from supply and demand point of view.
Can you summarise for our readers the main focus of your presentation at the upcoming Circular Nonwovens Forum?
To bring the Bornewablesâ„¢ circular polyolefin products, manufactured with second-generation renewable feedstock to the market, providing a sustainable solution for demanding applications across various industries, like nonwovens.
Borealis and Neste announced their strategic co-operation for the production of renewable polypropylene last year. Can you update on how this collaboration is going?
Since then we have ISCC Plus certified our plants in Belgium and are now able to offer certified renewable PP to the market.
Are you seeing a growth in demand for polymers based on renewable feedstocks? Is there enough capacity of bio-based alternatives to conventional fossil-based feedstocks to meet this demand?
To drive towards a circular economy and reduce our impact on the environment, we are focused on offering a portfolio of solutions to the market. Next to recycling, reuse and Design for Recycling (DfR), the use of renewable raw materials is decoupling plastics from fossil feedstocks. Borealis is offering multiple options to enable the transition to a circular economy.
Yes, we see a growing demand in the market for polymers based on renewable feedstock. Different types of renewable feedstocks are now utilized for the production of polymers and we believe renewable is one piece of the solution.
In a fully circular economy for plastics, the polymers are kept longer in the loop with recycling and the fraction that comes from virgin will be much lower. Renewables allows for a portion of the portfolio to be completely decoupled from fossil.
Are there any quality issues related to bio-based polymers particularly for the downstream partners in the packaging, automotive, healthcare, and appliance industries?
One of the key benefit is that Polyolefins produced from renewable feedstock are drop-in solutions: this allows that we can make a wide variety of high demanding grades with same mechanical properties as our virgin grades – and same product safety and recyclability.
Where are we in terms of physically verifying and measuring bio-based content?
In order to increase the use of renewable bio-based materials in our industry a transparent mass-balance method needs to be applied. This mass balanced approach allows the industry to produce renewable products in an efficient way.
Having said that, in one of our facilities in Belgium, we do have the possibility to produce in campaigns to control the physical content from renewable sources to 30-50% measurable renewable content.
How important a role are the polymers and chemicals industries playing in the fight against climate change?
Looking at the challenge we are facing to stay below the 1,5-2 degrees temperature increase on earth in the next 3 decades, we fully embrace our role as we look to reinvent for more sustainable living. The goal is to limit (by 66%) the use of fossil resources emitting CO2 in our atmosphere. Even though the polymer industries only consumes 8% of fossil feedstocks, we also need to do what we can, to keep the fossil in the ground and look for alternative sources, like recycling or renewable feedstock.
Are there any other future plans that you would like to share with our readers?
We are currently working on certifying more of our production locations to ISCC Plus to enable mass balance production of circular feedstocks, such as renewables. This will enable us to supply circular PP and PE from these locations in the near future, and broadens the offering of the Bornewables portfolio to our customers and to the market.
How important are events such as the Circular Nonwovens Forum when it comes to raising awareness and progressing the issues around circularity in the nonwovens industry?
The nonwovens industry very important to consumers and Borealis. Given our focus it is a natural fit to work together with this industry to improve circularity. Events like the Circular Nonwovens Forum allows us to work circularly to close the loop for the and support in the transition to a circular economy.
The online Circular Nonwovens Forum takes place on 13 October from 13.00 to 15.00 CET. For further details CLICK HERE
