Sumitomo Chemical and Maruzen Petrochemical's Chemical Recycling Technology Project Selected as a NEDO Green Innovation Fund Project

Feb. 18, 2022

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Keiichi Iwata; "Sumitomo Chemical") and Maruzen Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaru Nabeshima; "Maruzen Petrochemical") announced today that their joint project to produce olefins by direct decomposition of waste plastics (the "Project") has been selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as one of the projects for R&D Item 2, "development of technology for producing chemicals from waste plastics and rubber," of NEDO’s plan titled “Development of Technology for Producing Raw Materials for Plastics Using CO₂ and Other Sources" in a Green Innovation Fund project.

While plastics are widely used in a range of applications around us, they pose some pressing challenges to the world, such as the reduction of waste plastics discharged to the environment and the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from their production using fossil resources as raw materials. One of the solutions to these problems is chemical recycling technology that uses waste plastic as a raw material instead of fossil resources. In particular, development of efficient chemical recycling technology for polyolefin plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, which account for about 60% of the waste plastics generated in Japan*, is strongly desired.

In this Project, Sumitomo Chemical and Maruzen Petrochemical aim to establish a technology for producing raw materials for basic chemical products, such as ethylene and propylene, directly from waste polyolefin plastics with high efficiency by 2030. Sumitomo Chemical will accelerate the development of chemical recycling technology, which it has been jointly researching with Muroran Institute of Technology since March 2020. Maruzen Petrochemical, meanwhile, will utilize existing naphtha crackers and its operational know-how to study the separation and refining of the raw materials for basic chemical products, including ethylene and propylene, obtained by the chemical recycling technology that Sumitomo Chemical is developing, as well as check the quality of the byproduct oil and consider using it as a raw material in the naphtha crackers.

Sumitomo Chemical has defined contribution to the mitigation of environmental impact as one of the material issues to be addressed as management priorities, and is, as part of its efforts to achieve this, accelerating the development of chemical recycling technology in collaboration with other companies and academia. In December 2021, the company also formulated its grand design toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and is working to fulfill its “obligation” to bring the Sumitomo Chemical Group’s GHG emissions close to zero, while, at the same time, making “contributions” to reducing GHG emissions across society through its products and solutions.

Maruzen Petrochemical, operating two ethylene plants in its Chiba site, recognizes efforts toward decarbonization as an important issue. The company will work on this Project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and will also strive to provide carbon dioxide-free production technology and petrochemical products in the future, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire supply chain, including its business partners.

Utilizing their technologies as well as know-how they have accumulated, Sumitomo Chemical and Maruzen Petrochemical will advance efforts to implement chemical recycling technology in society for manufacturing raw materials for basic chemical products directly from waste polyolefin plastics.

*Source: An Introduction to Plastic Recycling in Japan 2021, issued by Plastics Waste Management Institute

Overview of the Project

Project term: 10 years, from FY2021 to FY2030
Project scope:

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