Showing 1–20 of 93
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Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities – Short Version (PDF)
NewMarkets & Economy, Technology
12 Pages
830 Downloads830 Downloads
2024-02
FREE
830
DownloadsAdvanced recycling technologies are developing at a fast pace, with new players constantly appearing on the market, from start-ups to giants and everything in between – new plants are being built, new capacities are being achieved, and new partnerships are established. Due to these developments, it is difficult to keep track of everything. The report “Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities” aims to clear up this jungle of information providing a structured, in-depth overview and insight. It has an exclusive focus on profiling available technologies and providers of advanced recycling including the addition of new technologies and updated/revised profiles. Furthermore, for the first time a comprehensive evaluation of the global input and output capacities was carried out for which more than 340 planned as well as installed and operating plants including their specific product yields were mapped.
Further information:
The new report “Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities” differs from the old report “Chemical Recycling – Status, Trends and Challenges” as follows:- All technology provider profiles from the old report included + updated to 2023.
- Overall >120 technologies and providers (vs. >70 technologies and providers in the old report)
- Global capacities
In summary, this report is suitable for interested readers who have already dealt with the advanced recycling topic and are looking for an up-to-date overview of all identified providers and a detailed description of the technologies.
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Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities (PDF)
NewMarkets & Economy, Technology
276 Pages
2024-02
3,000 € – 10,000 € ex. tax
Plus 19% MwSt.
licenceAdvanced recycling technologies are developing at a fast pace, with new players constantly appearing on the market, from start-ups to giants and everything in between – new plants are being built, new capacities are being achieved, and new partnerships are established. Due to these developments, it is difficult to keep track of everything. The report “Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities” aims to clear up this jungle of information providing a structured, in-depth overview and insight. It has an exclusive focus on profiling available technologies and providers of advanced recycling including the addition of new technologies and updated/revised profiles. Furthermore, for the first time a comprehensive evaluation of the global input and output capacities was carried out for which more than 340 planned as well as installed and operating plants including their specific product yields were mapped.
Further information:
The new report “Mapping of advanced plastic waste recycling technologies and their global capacities” differs from the old report “Chemical Recycling – Status, Trends and Challenges” as follows:- All technology provider profiles from the old report included + updated to 2023.
- Overall >120 technologies and providers (vs. >70 technologies and providers in the old report)
- Global capacities
In summary, this report is suitable for interested readers who have already dealt with the advanced recycling topic and are looking for an up-to-date overview of all identified providers and a detailed description of the technologies.
DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.52548/WQHT8696
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RCI’s Internal Survey: „How to enable the transition from fossil to renewable carbon in the chemical and material sector“ (January 2024)
NewPolicy, Sustainability & Health
3 Pages
280 Downloads280 Downloads
2024-01
FREE
280
DownloadsIn a comprehensive member survey in summer 2023, the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) has collected ideas and opinions on what is needed to enable the transition from fossil to renewable carbon in Europe. The feedback paints a clear picture and is a call to action.
The European chemicals and materials sector is under pressure. RCI members, representing a wide range of these sectors, see many common elements in the key challenges and how to address them. High energy and raw material prices, as well as the need to defossilise carbon demand to meet CO2 emission targets, particularly in so-called “Scope 3” emissions, are some of the issues frequently raised.
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RCI’s scientific background report: “Non-level playing field for renewable materials vs. fossil in Life Cycle Assessments – Critical aspects of the JRC Plastics LCA Methodology and its policy implications” (January 2024)
NewPolicy, Sustainability & Health
44 Pages
864 Downloads864 Downloads
2024-01
FREE
864
DownloadsCritical aspects of the JRC Plastics LCA methodology and its policy implications
This RCI Scientific Background Report was mainly motivated by a study published by JRC in 2021 with the title: “LCA of alternative feedstocks for plastic products”, commonly referred to as the JRC Plastics LCA Method (Nessi et al. 2021).
Alternative feedstocks refer to the same three feedstocks that RCI defines as renewable carbon: biomass, CO2 utilisation and recycling. The study describes a methodology developed by the JRC to compare the environmental performance of alternative feedstocks with fossil-based plastic products. However, the methodology has also been subject to criticism from various stakeholders, mainly from the bio-based sector, eliciting responses from the JRC.
This RCI report is mainly aiming to provide additional context to highlight issues that might arise with implementation of the JRC Plastics LCA methodology, and dives deeper into five aspects:
- The fossil footprint is likely underestimated, not transparent and lacks regional differentiation
- Renewable feedstocks are more cirtically evaluated than fossil feedstocks
- Methodological inconsistency and different regulatory support between energy and material use of renewable feedstocks
- Biogenic/Atmospheric carbon uptake cannot be transparently visualised at factory in PEF / JRC Plastics LCA methodologies
- The methodology should acknowledge the wider interface of sustainability assessment, policy design and landscape
The report contains several recommendations to remedy the above-mentioned aspects.
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RCI’s scientific background report: “Case studies based on peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessments – Carbon footprints of different carbon-based chemicals and materials” (November 2023)
NewSustainability & Health
39 Pages
1352 Downloads1352 Downloads
2023-11
FREE
1352
DownloadsIn this brochure, the RCI (https://renewable-carbon-initiative.com) presents five peer-reviewed LCA case studies – representing the highest possible scientific standard – that examine the carbon footprint of materials and products made from renewable carbon. These case studies are on products from RCI member companies Avantium (NL), BASF (DE), IFF (US), Lenzing (AT), Neste (FI) and all LCAs have been peer-reviewed by external experts. The LCAs have been summarised by experts of nova-Institutes sustainability team.
The case studies visualise that there are not only competitive materials and products made of renewable carbon already on the market, but that they also come with significantly lower carbon footprints ranging from 30–90%.
A key aspect of replacing fossil carbon with renewable carbon is the gained circularity of carbon. The less additional fossil carbon is added to our above-ground cycle of atmosphere, biosphere and technosphere, the smaller will be the amount of carbon emissions that have to be balanced out with expensive atmospheric removal and underground storage of carbon.
It is essential to recognise that the carbon footprint of renewable carbon-based materials is not automatically close to zero for two primary reasons:
- Fossil energy in the value chain
- Ongoing innovation and optimisation
All in all, the here presented materials and products show reduced carbon footprints already today, which lowers the remaining emissions gap so that less CO2 needs to be removed from the atmosphere in the future. At the same time, these materials and products still have significant potential to further reduce emissions in the future.
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EU27+3 Advanced Recycling Waste Input Capacity (PNG)
Markets & Economy, Technology
1 Page
29 Downloads29 Downloads
2024-03
FREE
29
DownloadsInstalled input capacities for different advanced recycling technologies in EU27+3.
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Installed and Future Advanced Recycling Production Capacities EU 27+3 (PNG)
Markets & Economy, Technology
1 Page
35 Downloads35 Downloads
2024-03
FREE
35
DownloadsInstalled and future production capacities of naphtha, monomers and polymers through advanced recycling in the EU27+3.
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EU27+3 Advanced Recycling Product Output Capacity (PNG)
Markets & Economy, Technology
1 Page
29 Downloads29 Downloads
2024-03
FREE
29
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Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) Webinar slides – February 2024 (PDF)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
61 Pages
1339 Downloads1339 Downloads
2024-02
FREE
Free Shipping1339
DownloadsThis document contains a generic set of slides to introduce the concept of renewable carbon and the Renewable Carbon Initiative. The focus of this webinar was the latest scientific background report: “Non-level Playing Field for Renewable Materials vs. Fossil in Life Cycle Assessments – Critical aspects of the JRC Plastics LCA methodology and its policy implications”.
In addition, three RCI member companies shared their expertise on renewable carbon, defossilisation and sustainable carbon cycles.
AllocNow (speaker: Daniel Bochnitschek) talked about how the increasing demand for sustainable and low carbon products is driving the need for specific and comprehensive information on product carbon footprints. AllocNow discussed why standardisation of sustainability accounting methodologies is critical and how a data-driven approach can help create transparency at scale.
Econic Technologies Ltd. (speaker: Liz Manning) spoke about the opportunities and challenges of quantifying the sustainability impact of key products in complex manufacturing supply chains.
SCS Global Services (speakers: Miguel Ruiz and Jéssica Marcon Bressanin) highlighted its certification activities, focusing on biofuels and circular materials schemes, as well as greenhouse gas accounting methodologies.
More information at https://renewable-carbon-initiative.com/media/library
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830 Downloads
2024-01
FREE
830
Downloads -
Nora and her flyphone on renewable carbon (Comic)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
2 Pages
448 Downloads448 Downloads
2024-01
FREE
448
Downloads -
Advanced Recycling Conference 2023 (Proceedings)
Markets & Economy, Policy, Sustainability & Health, Technology
2023-12
150 € ex. tax
Plus 19% MwSt.Press
release Add to
cartThe proceedings of the Advanced Recycling Conference 2023 (28-29 November, https://advanced-recycling.eu) contain conference presentations, the conference journal, sponsor documents and the press release. Download of the conference journal incl. the program.
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The Green-Claims-Directive – What Companies Need to Know (PNG)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
1 Page
208 Downloads208 Downloads
2023-12
FREE
208
DownloadsSo far, companies can use terms such as “climate-neutral”, “recyclable”, “environmentally friendly” or self-created logos, which are intended to emphasise the environmental friendliness of a product, to advertise products and services without third-party verification. With the proposal for the Green Claims Directive, the EU wants to change this practice. The aim is to test and certify the green claims by an external testing authority. This would require a scientific verification. This graphic provides companies with an initial overview of what the new EU proposal could mean for them.
Lean more about this topic and join our nova-Session “Sustainability Claims under New EU Legislation” (7 February, 13:00-15:00 CET, online): https://events.renewable-carbon.eu/event/green-claims-directive
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The Green-Claims-Directive – Was Unternehmen wissen sollten (PNG)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
1 Page
66 Downloads66 Downloads
2023-12
FREE
66
DownloadsBisher können Firmen Begriffe wie “klimaneutral, “recycelbar”, “umweltfreundlich” oder selbst kreierte Logos, welche die Umweltfreundlichkeit eines Produkts hervorheben sollen, ohne Prüfung durch Dritte für die Bewerbung von Produkten und Services nutzen. Mit dem Vorschlag zur Green Claims Richtlinie will die EU diese Praxis ändern. Ziel ist die Prüfung und Zertifizierung der sogenannten green claims (Umweltaussagen) durch eine externe Prüfstelle. Notwendig dafür wird dann ein wissenschaftlicher Nachweis. Mit dieser Grafik können sich Unternehmen einen ersten Überblick darüber verschaffen, was mit dem neuen Vorschlag der EU auf sie zukommen könnte.Erfahren Sie mehr über dieses Thema und besuchen Sie unsere nova-Session “Sustainability Claims under New EU Legislation” (7. Februar, 13:00-15:00 CET, online): https://events.renewable-carbon.eu/event/green-claims-directive -
Explorative Scenario – Carbon Embedded in Chemicals and Derived Materials (PNG)
Markets & Economy, Policy
1 Page
497 Downloads497 Downloads
2023-10
FREE
Free Shipping497
DownloadsFigure from the RCI Carbon Flows Report 2023The nova October 2023 update shows a steady increase in the share of bio-based chemicals from 8% in 2020 to 20% in 2050. CO2-based chemicals require a lot of investment to become relevant after 2030, with strong growth between 2040 and 2050. The recycling of virgin fossil chemicals and plastics dominates the recycling sector until 2035. After 2035, bio-based, CO2-based and recyclates increasingly dominate the recycling sector. -
288 Downloads
2023-10
FREE
288
DownloadsThis position paper describes that our understanding that new thinking and terminology are required to achieve climate targets and secure a sustainable carbon supply
Comprehensive carbon management goes beyond CO2 emissions, capture and long-term storage, to which it is often reduced to. It decouples the whole industry from fossil feedstock, eliminates the use of fossil carbon wherever possible and allocates renewable carbon (from biomass, CO2 and recycling) as efficiently and effectively as possible where carbon use is unavoidable. The aim is to achieve the lowest possible CO2 emissions, reducing the need for Carbon Dioxide Removal to achieve net zero, and to provide a secure supply of renewable carbon to all dependent industries such as chemicals and materials. Only when carbon is recognised as a raw material in carbon management strategies can truly sustainable carbon cycles be achieved. With a proper comprehensive carbon management, the carbon-reliant material and energy sectors will be defossilised and the remaining energy sector will be decarbonised. And only for the remaining share of truly unavoidable emissions, carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture and storage should come into play.
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RCI’s scientific background report: “RCI carbon flows report – Compilation of supply and demand of fossil and renewable carbon on a global and European level” (Oct. 2023)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
92 Pages
2110 Downloads2110 Downloads
2023-10
FREE
2110
DownloadsThe Carbon Flows report is a compilation of supply and demand of fossil and renewable carbon on a global and European level. It provides a comprehensive understanding of today’s carbon flows and what it means to replace fossil carbon with renewable carbon in the materials and chemicals sectors. It’s main intent is to provide a uniform and transparent data basis for a future carbon management that can be used and shared by industry, associations, policy-makers, science and alike.
In the last five years, the mindset around carbon has changed fundamentally. Of course, there is no way around the fact that the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere pose an existential threat to life on Earth. But at the same time, carbon is the main component of our food, the basis of all organic chemicals and plastics, and the backbone of life on Earth.
In the chemicals and plastics sectors in particular, almost 90% of the carbon used as feedstock is fossil carbon. This fossil carbon must be replaced by renewable carbon from recycling, biomass and CO2 by 2050 to avoid a further influx of fossil carbon into our technosphere and atmosphere.This report provides a comprehensive, detailed and updated carbon flow data basis that significantly surpasses previous publications, containing more than 35 figures and tables with corresponding descriptions of methodology, source material and data. All data have been corroborated as best as currently possible by scientific publications, feedback from experts and additional research. Remaining gaps and differences are transparently depicted and explained as well as possible.
The nova experts assessed data from a multitude of sources. A wide range of data on material flow are used to compile a comprehensive inventory of carbon stocks and flows. The sectors covered include all applications of organic carbon from fossil resources and biomass production, from raw materials through utilisation to final end-of-life. This includes use of carbon for feed and food, for materials, for energy and for fuels. A special focus is put on the carbon demand in the chemical and plastic industry today and tomorrow, with several figures specifically zooming into this sector and including scenarios for a full defossilisation by 2050.
The Carbon Flows report is designed to be a living document that we would like to update every one to two years if possible. This also means that we look forward to your feedback, additional input, new data and suggestions from any interested party. Please directly contact the main author of the study for this: ferdinand.kaehler@nova-institut.de
DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.52548/KCTT1279
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RCI’s scientific background report: “Renewable carbon as a guiding principle for sustainable carbon cycles (Update)” (September 2023)
Policy, Sustainability & Health
51 Pages
772 Downloads772 Downloads
2023-09
FREE
772
DownloadsWhy It Is Right and Necessary To Choose Renewable Carbon as a Guiding Principle for Sustainable Development in the Chemicals and Materials Sectors
The Scientific Background Report on “Renewable Carbon as a Guiding Principle for Sustainable Carbon Cycles – Why It Is Right and Necessary To Choose Renewable Carbon as a Guiding Principle for Sustainable Development in the Chemicals and Materials Sectors“ was RCI’s first major publication and forms the basis for the concept and strategy of the RCI. Together with input from all members, the RCI has worked on an updated version – In this second edition, the following main changes have been implemented:
- New IPCC data on greenhouse gas emissions from the 6th Assessment Report (published March 2022) have been integrated.
- To establish proper data baselines, entirely novel carbon flows data have been integrated.
- The initial eleven policy recommendations were further sharpened, fine-tuned and concretised through lots of feedback from talks with politicians, NGOs, industrial actors, the bio-based, CO2-based and recycling sector, energy experts and many other stakeholders. Further political demands resulted from these discussions as well as recently published RCI position papers and consultations, which are now also integrated into the paper.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, the inflow of fossil carbon must be reduced quickly and in high volumes. The EU has started pushing for decarbonisation in energy and transport sectors, but has largely ignored chemical and material industries. These sectors require carbon-based feedstocks and cannot be “decarbonised,” so tackling embedded carbon in these industries is crucial. This paper proposes an approach to minimize environmental impact and maximize the reduction of GHG emissions.
DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.52548/CXFS7519
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RCI’s position paper: “Commission proposal for a Green Claims Directive (GCD) – Towards science-based substantiation of claims and accurate biogenic carbon accounting” (September 2023)
Policy
3 Pages
129 Downloads129 Downloads
2023-09
FREE
129
DownloadsTowards science-based substantiation of claims and accurate biogenic carbon accounting
The Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) wholeheartedly endorses the Green Claims Directive’s (GCD) mission to provide consumers and businesses with reliable, comparable, and verifiable information to facilitate sustainable choices.
In our position paper, we emphasise three aspects that, in our view, require additional attention to maximise the impact of the GCD and support products and solutions derived from non-fossil, renewable-carbon-based feedstock from biomass, CCU or recycling.
1. Science-Based Life-Cycle Assessment Methodologies: RCI welcomes the acceptance of several life-cycle assessment methods for substantiating environmental claims but emphasises the practical importance of maintaining flexibility in the upcoming trilogue negotiations. We also call for clarification on how to determine if an environmental impact is considered “significant.”
2. Differentiated Biogenic Carbon Accounting Methodology: The RCI advocates for enabling the possibility to better reflect uptake of atmospheric CO2 via biogenic carbon (and principally any process that captures CO2 from the atmosphere) in product assessments. In general, biogenic carbon in LCA is neither credited with carbon uptake through biomass at the beginning nor with the emissions (e.g. from incineration) at end of life. While this is from a proper LCA point-of-view valid and recommended, it leads to issues for stakeholders reporting their biogenic product’s carbon footprint at factory gate, because the uptake of atmospheric carbon cannot be shown and the conceptual advantage over fossil products gets lost. At the same time, we are aware of misleading “carbon negative” claims and argue that only full cradle-to-grave LCAs should qualify for such B2C claims.
3. Ensuring a Reliable Verification Mechanism: Recognising the need for mandated verification of environmental claims before B2C communication, RCI acknowledges the potential challenges posed by these resource-intensive processes. We want to stress the importance of an effective approach and an extended transition period to enable authorities, verifiers, and the industry to smoothly adapt to these processes and mitigate potential delays in communicating claims for innovative products.
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Explorative Scenario – Carbon Embedded in the Heavy Oil Fraction. (PNG)
Markets & Economy, Policy
1 Page
40 Downloads40 Downloads
2023-07
FREE
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DownloadsFigure from the RCI Carbon Flows Report 2023