German chemicals and plastics giant BASF (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) has introduced a range of PVC plasticisers said to be based on renewable and chemically recycled feedstock to save fossil resources and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Classified as biomass-balanced (BMB) plasticisers, the products include “Hexamoll” DINCH BMB, “Palatinol” N BMB, “Palatinol” 10-P BMB and “Plastomoll” DOA BMB. The products are made using bio-naphtha or biogas derived from organic waste or vegetable oils. BASF said its mass-balance approach and the BMB plasticisers are validated by German sustainability certification scheme REDcert2 (Bonn; www.redcert.org).

“The mass-balance approach enables us to process renewable and recycled feedstocks together with fossil raw materials in our existing efficient production network and to allocate their share to specific products,” said Diana Brunnenkant, head of plasticisers marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Customers can use the BMB plasticisers as a drop-in replacement for their fossil-based counterparts. They also have the same specifications and technical properties as conventional plasticisers, BASF said.

In addition, BASF has launched Hexamoll DINCH “Ccycled”, a non-phthalate plasticiser based on chemically recycled feedstock. In the manufacturing process, pyrolysis oil obtained from previously non-recycled plastic waste is used instead of fossil resources. The oil is supplied by partners as part of BASF’s “ChemCycling” project.

The Germany company launched the ChemCycling initiative in 2018 and has been building up a network of partners since (see Plasteurope.com of 21.11.2018).