SK geo centric exports benzene made from used oils

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SK geo centric exports benzene made from used oils

Published: 21 Jun. 2022, 15:42

SK geo centric produced and shipped 2,000 tons of renewable benzene on June 14 at the company's Ulsan terminal. [SK GEO CENTRIC]

SK geo centric is exporting renewable raw materials for plastics, the company said Monday.

SK geo centric, a chemical company wholly owned by oil refiner SK innovation, produced 2,000 tons of renewable benzene, which is used to make plastics, from naphtha extracted from used cooking oil and used palm oil at its Ulsan plant.

The naphtha was supplied by Neste, a Finnish oil company, and the 2,000 tons of renewable benzene SK geo centric produced was shipped to Covestro’s polyurethane manufacturing factory in Shanghai on June 14, according to SK geo centric.

Covestro is a German chemical company that produces polymer materials including polyurethane, which is plastic used in many applications.

“We are delighted to export our first renewable-benzene produced with 100 percent renewable Neste RE feedstock,” said Choi Woo-hyuk, SK geo centric vice president heading the aromatic business unit. “SK geo centric will actively work with Covestro and Neste as we mark the first collaboration of this kind in the Asia-Pacific region.”

As manufacturers across all sectors strive to cut carbon emissions, demand for renewable and recycled materials is rising, explained SK geo centric.

The three companies plan to further expand their partnership.

"With renewable solutions available, we are now entering the phase of scaling up their usage in the chemical industry," said Mercedes Alonso, Neste's executive vice president of renewable polymers and chemicals.

Alonso emphasized that “to make this ramp-up a success, we’ll need to establish collaborations along the value chain – and this one between three sustainability-minded partners is a prime example of how the industry can do just that."

"I am very pleased that through this collaboration we continue to ramp up the market for such sustainable alternative materials,” said Sucheta Govil, chief commercial officer of Covestro. "Using such materials is attractive because it will also help [customers] achieve their climate goals."

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]