In the new corporate strategy for BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) unveiled by CEO Martin Brudermüller in November 2018 – see Plasteurope.com of 21.11.2018 – a key goal is to achieve CO_₂-neutral growth up to 2030 by optimising existing processes and gradually replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, while at the same time developing “radically new” low-emission production processes. Central to the plans, as Brudermüller said at a research press conference in Ludwigshafen, is an “ambitious” CO_₂ management scheme at group level.

As an essential step toward reaching the new climate protection targets, the CEO, who is also chief technology officer, said large-scale reduction in carbon dioxide emissions will be required and clearly in focus. For BASF, in contrast to other chemical and plastics producers such as compatriot Covestro (Leverkusen; www.covestro.com), using waste CO_₂ as a raw material in production will not play a singularly important role, as it is only suitable for use in “selected applications,” he said. The group does have its eye on using CO_₂ in production of super absorbent polymers, however.

As it trials new climate friendly technologies, BASF among other things will be looking at olefins, the heart of the plastics production chain. Traditionally run on fossil fuels, steam crackers are the chemical industry’s largest source of CO_₂, as Brudermüller noted. However, by replacing natural gas with renewably generated electricity to break down naphtha into olefins and aromatics, the group’s research has shown that CO_₂ output could be slashed by up to 90%. To test its findings, BASF over the next five years will work toward developing what it believes will be the world’s first electrical heating concept for steam crackers. In parallel, its engineers will conduct material tests to determine which metals can withstand the high electrical currents needed for a reactor operating at a temperature of 850 °C.

In developing low-emission processes, BASF has assessed that the amount of CO_₂ emitted through cracking could also be “significantly reduced” through dry reforming of methane and using this as a feedstock for olefins to replace naphtha. A new process the group has developed achieves this by creating a CO_₂-rich syngas that can be transformed into olefins with dimethyl ether (DME) as an intermediate step. In cooperation with industrial gases producer Linde (Munich / Germany; www.linde.com), it is preparing to market new high-performance catalyst systems that could complement or supersede the potential electrical heating of the cracker furnace.

As one of the few areas where it is eyeing use of the principal greenhouse gas as a feedstock, BASF is looking at producing sodium acrylate – a key starting material for super absorbent polymers – from ethylene and CO_₂. The BASF-backed "Catalysis Research Laboratory" (CaRLa) at the University of Heidelberg in Germany has already successfully closed the catalyst cycle for this reaction, Brudermüller said, while BASF’s engineers have made “important progress” in scaling up the process. At test scale, at least, the new route to superabsorbents has reportedly shown potential for using ethylene and CO_₂ to supplement around 30% of the usual fossil fuel volume – in this case propylene. An industrial-scale trial could show whether this approach is stable and energy efficient, the CEO said.