Interview “Finding alternatives to fossil-based naphtha is crucial to defossilization of the chemical industry.”

Related Vendors

nova-Institut GmbH Chemiepark Knapsack

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

Michael Carus, Founder and Managing Director at Nova-Institute shares his views on replacing fossil-based naphtha with alternative naphtha in refineries and crackers. He also elaborates on the advantages and challenges of incorporating alternative naphtha in existing refineries and crackers.

The chemical industry is a hard-to-abate sector but the introduction of innovative technologies such as CCUS as well as alternatives to fossil-based feedstocks has made it possible for industry players to achieve their goals of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. What are your thoughts on this?

Michael Carus: In recent years, a number of reports have been published on what a net-zero chemical industry could look like in 2050. Almost all the reports came to a similar conclusion for the carbon embedded in chemicals and polymers: The chemical industry needs to move from fossil carbon to renewable carbon: biomass, CO2/CCU (carbon capture and utilization) and recycling, mainly chemical recycling. The three renewable carbon sources can defossilize the chemical industry by replacing virgin fossil carbon from the ground in 2050 ... between 70 and 100 %, depending on the report. And the remaining share of fossil carbon will have to be offset by CCS (carbon capture and sequestration).