MOSCOW (MRC) -- US bioplastics company Danimer Scientific is working with Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) on developing technology for lower-cost manufacturing of biodegradable polymers, said the company.
Through this collaboration, Danimer will evaluate the use of CPChem’s loop slurry reactor design to develop a continuous reactor system in the manufacturing process for Rinnovo™. If successful, this reactor design is expected to increase utilization of future manufacturing plants, drive higher production volumes and lower overall costs, as compared to the polymerization reactor design currently used in the production of Rinnovo™.
Stephen E. Croskrey, Chief Executive Officer of Danimer, said, “CPChem’s loop slurry technology is one of the world’s most renowned processes for producing polyolefins efficiently and economically. This collaboration enhances our strategy of accelerating the production of our biodegradable polymers to better serve our customers and reduce the environmental impacts of plastic waste."
First introduced in 1961, CPChem’s loop slurry processes produce a wide range of resins for a variety of applications. Today, the technology, through CPChem and its licensees, accounts for a significant portion of high-density polyethylene production worldwide. Jim Telljohann, Senior Vice President, Research & Technology of CPChem noted that, “This collaboration with Danimer is illustrative of CPChem’s commitment to advance programs in support of our product sustainability, circularity and climate efforts."
Jeff Uhrig, General Manager and President of Danimer Scientific Catalytic Processes, said, “As the proven industry standard of efficient, reliable polyethylene production for 60 years, CPChem’s loop slurry design is believed to be well suited to provide similar benefits for the production of Rinnovo™".
Danimer, which recently went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), has a plant in Winchester, Kentucky, and last month it expanded with the acquisition of November.
As per MRC, Chevron signed a memorandum of understanding with carmaker Toyota to explore the development of "commercially viable, large-scale" hydrogen businesses in the US. The partners would investigate the market potential for light-duty and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles, along with the supply options for such demand.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
Danimer is a pioneer in creating more sustainable, more natural ways to make plastic products. For more than a decade, its renewable and sustainable biopolymers have helped create plastic products that are biodegradable and compostable and return to nature instead of polluting our lands and waters. Danimer’s technology can be found in a vast array of plastic end products that people use every day. Applications for its biopolymers include additives, aqueous coatings, fibers, filaments, films and injection-molded articles, among others.
MRC