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Capci Database for sustainable chemistry

Knowledge Base: Climate protection in the production and use of chemicals

Identifikation Keys / Drivers & Barriers

Identifikation Keys / Drivers & Barriers Database:

Providing practical solutions for GHG mitigation also includes the environmental, social, and economic dimensions. This addresses Drivers & Barriers as key factors for the large-scale application and dissemination of a specific solution and assigned to individual Identification Keys.

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Alternative Materials and Feedstocks

A feedstock can refer to raw materials that are unprocessed and whose purpose is to be used as an input material in manufacturing processes. Feedstocks are usually natural materials including ores, wood, and coal, but biomass in general and secondary resources such as waste and carbon dioxide itself are lately considered also as feedstock as technological advances have allowed the processing of such materials that are usually deemed as undesired. In industries, feedstocks are more related to materials used for energy production or fuels. For chemistry, in particular, feedstocks play an important role to support reactions at plant scales.

Drivers:

An economy based on biomass for large-scale utilization. An economy that generates value from waste. General drive to reach a carbon-free or low carbon economy and hold increasing global temperatures. Create new markets for bio-based products. Cleaner technologies and products translate into less costs for early climate adaptation. Generate jobs around biorefineries and other technologies needed for the manufacture of fossil-free chemicals. Support trade of new and cleaner products and feedstocks from South to North. Jobs for people in rural areas where biomass is mostly produced. Alternative materials and feedstocks help mitigate the increasing costs of fossil resources. Bioeconomies and waste economies are becoming an increasing global trend.

Barriers:

Accessibility of biomass decreases with a rise in its demand. The cost of alternative feedstocks can rise due to conflict and political instability. Transport and logistics of high feedstocks volumes remain costly. The cost of sustainability certifications for poorer farmers is the main barrier to producing organic bioproducts. Alternative and eco-firendly products are expensive and can mostly be bought by a minority of the population. Cheap costs for the industry to access alternative sources can rebound when paying for externalities. Farmers and waste traders are at the mercy of unstable prices and low wages.

Drivers:

Limit extractive practices for fossil resources. Make use of feedstocks that can be recirculated and sustainably produced for long periods. Prevent the deterioration of valuable ecosystems using waste biomass. Using nature's cyclic capacity to reduce dependence on petroleum. Develop cleaner chemicals with the aid of renewable materials.

Barriers:

Difficult to track alternative feedstock supply chains, especially biomass. Waste and other materials can have a higher environmental impact if not treated accordingly. Increasing biomass production can increase land-use change, increase fertilizer use, and put higher pressure on water availability. Major biodiversity loss. Excessive use of resources when looking to replace fossils energy values.

Drivers:

Need for a globally agreed policy to phase out petroleum feedstock where possible. Increase regional competitiveness with future-oriented resource management legislation. Address the need to balance economy, environmental protection, and labor. Move towards regulation that replaces funding of fossils and other harming substances. Incentivize the use of feedstocks in small economies when large-scale production is not possible. Provide economic and support tools for small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs.

Barriers:

Missing regulations for sustainable feedstocks requires companies to make large investments without the support of political bodies. Legislation protects big producers while small farmers are left with bigger financial and technical challenges. In several countries (e.g. Thailand) farmers are not allowed to sell certain biomass to chemical producers. The transition towards sustainable resource and material use is largely impacted by global events. The production of sustainable products is not legislated and several processes remain highly pollutant for products that are sold as sustainable.

Drivers:

Diverge corporate ownership of land to local communities where most social issues persist. Generate value from the work of rural communities. Replace conventional products with alternatives that are more consequent to environmental and social health. The need to increase employment opportunities. Transmit and create knowledge for new generations based on practices, processes, and chemicals that are burden-free. Opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs to participate in the creation of more sustainable communities.

Barriers:

Farmers and waste traders are usually badly paid by refineries and waste management facilities. Vulnerable communities are exposed to higher contamination risks when exposed to toxic material sources. In the case of biomass production, the violation of several social factors including justice, employment rights, wages, and working conditions is usually normality. A lack of networks and collaboration can slow down the replacement of conventional materials, chemicals, and chemical products.

Drivers:

Need for new chemicals and materials for the development of parts and products for renewable energy technologies. To phase out plastics and several other polluting products. Transit to technologies and products based on sustainable principles. Make the best possible use of waste and other discarded materials with low-cost technologies. Generate processes to enhance chemical properties with non-fossil resources. Use biotechnology and other advanced techniques to replace polluting mass production where possible. Research and develop new processes that are thought to abolish conventional manufacturing techniques. New environmentally-friendly extraction technologies to improve extraction of high-value compounds. Digitalization is facilitating and accelerating the use of alternative materials enabling knowledge sharing, stakeholder communication, and supply and demand of waste and biomass streams and other material innovations. Alternative technologies are proven to replace conventional energy carriers such as ammonia, methanol, or hydrogen.

Barriers:

Alternative feedstocks such as waste are usually highly mixed and polluted with varied chemicals. The energetic and technical costs of separating value resources from different waste types remain a hurdle. Most alternative materials and feedstock innovations remain at a laboratory scale. The physical and chemical properties of certain chemical products impede the development of economically and technically feasible products. Most current technologies for alternative feedstock production are still in the pilot phase. The potential to produce greener Ammonia, Methanol, Ethylene, and Propylene relies heavily on investment, technology transfer, stakeholder collaboration, and accessibility. Financial and technical challenges to replacing fossil-based chemicals while recycling also increase amounts of waste.

Economic Foresight study on R&D for the European Industry

Opportunities and Obstacles in Large-Scale Biomass Utilization

Guidance for a biorefining roadmap for Thailand | en | OECD

Feedstocks for the chemical industry
Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (BIGCC) Pyrolysis (Plastic waste and other waste) Green Ammonia Power-to-X (PtX) Biomass as Feedstock Lignocellulosic Biomass and Waste Streams Sugarcane Bioplastics Methane from Raw Biomass (Biomethane) Synthetic Methane from Waste Biomass (Biomethane) Amino Acid-enriched Animal Feed Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Liquid Ammonia Olefins from synthetic methane + oxidative coupling of methane Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Green Methanol Solar Biomass Gasification Waste Biomass as Chemical Feedstock Alternative Materials and Feedstocks BTX via methanol-to-aromatics (MtA) Synthetic Naphtha/Methane from Electrolytic H2 and CO2 Polyols from Natural Oils Aqueous Phase Reforming Plasma gasification Plastics-to-Fuels
Business Models

A business model represents how a business or organization tries to create and capture value in a specific operative context. The chemical as well as other industries are looking to replace known linear models (take, make, waste) with the most resilient and resource-efficient alternatives having into consideration increasing demands for better sustainability performance. With the introduction of digitalization in all industry segments, business models in the chemical industry are being challenged to offer competitiveness and ensure socio-ecological responsibility. It is crucial for the chemical industry that business models are updated or developed to meet future challenges not only on an economic but also on an environmental level, especially given the pressure that events such as the climate crisis are putting on the industry. From basic chemicals to application-oriented solutions, materials, or other product innovations, business models describe the success factor a company will have in a long term.

Drivers:

Build the foundation for a sustainable transition in the chemical industry. Bring responsible investment into the efforts to combat anthropogenic climate change. Exploit the economical advantage of emerging trends and technologies. Become increasingly profitable with sustainability criteria in markets that are demanding major social and environmental orientation. In comparison to conventional business models, sustainability and circular business models aim to create value from resource and energy waste. Purpose-driven businesses are an increasingly powerful trend needed for organizational resilience and adaptation in the long term.

Barriers:

Limited and bureaucratic subsidies or support for innovators. The need to survive competition deters organizations to shift toward other business models. Markets trends change rapidly and companies need to accommodate innovation in shorter periods. Top management and investors skepticisms. The transformation towards sustainability imposes on organizations managerial, competitive, operative, and financial challenges. The journey from business as usual to sustainability is not yet fully embrace and it has shaded the purpose of sustainability under false claims or greenwashing. Risk of shifting towards inefficient or unsustainable operational models. Chemical industries are well equipped and know to take advantage of new business models (e.g., circular economy) but need to take major risks to accommodate circular products and services into markets.

Drivers:

Sustainable and social-oriented business models are key to achieving the chemical industry climate change goals. Extend the use of resources to prevent virgin resources to come to the markets unnecessarily. Minimize the financial, social, and environmental compensation costs of externalities. Improve resource utilization. Deliver products and services that prevent GHG emissions. Create value where energy and resources need to be saved. Sustainable businesses support companies to achieve climate change targets without losing sight of profitability. Options such as resource recovery can have a positive impact on nature, society, and the economy.

Barriers:

Corporate sustainability is a criterion to fulfill without significant materialization of changes in corporate policies. Environmental commitments can potentially stay on paper without managerial commitment and legislative support. The rise of Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) can lead to potential positive changes but it has also led to misinterpretation of environmental and social achievements by companies that usually comply on paper with criteria but have a questionable reputation.

Drivers:

Make better commitments towards sustainability through more adaptive and responsive business models. Prepare for increasingly demanding and stringent environmental regulation. Navigate better to challenges imposed by product/material use. Sustainable business models can mobilize policy-makers to introduce support for sustainability-oriented companies. Sustainable business models attract the support of organizations and help companies to comply with either voluntary or regulatory sustainability standards.

Barriers:

No security or support for alternative and disruptive business models. Lack of performance indicators that can ensure the achievement of sustainability targets. Unclear decision-making criteria in the political context can lead companies to embrace sustainable business models. Inadequate regulatory mechanisms can lead to short-term sustainability. Uncertainty of the impacts of taxes (e.g., carbon taxes) to influence the business model of well-established and profitable companies. Redistribution of operational risk will differ and impact different chemical subsectors and their supply chains, making the case for sustainability more difficult to be leveraged.

Drivers:

Change people's perception of the value of products and materials through influential business initiatives, and cleaner services and products. The need for an operational shift impacts organizational culture as well as consumers. Solidify business ecosystems for cooperation, sustainable products, and service development. Respond quickly to opportunities that arise from end-consumer demands. Attract investors that are focused on social and environmental commitment The chemical industry can directly influence the entire supply chain by introducing radical changes based on sustainability future-oriented criteria.

Barriers:

A change in the business image does not mean a change in the business model. False business claims are misleading the overall purpose of sustainability. The social and environmental dimensions are increasingly integrated but concrete changes in organizational performance are not yet fully visible. Viewpoints regarding the sustainability of a company's business model can vary depending on factors such as people's cultural and societal background, perception and understanding of economics, and view of socieltal challenges and environmental issues. The sustainability of a business is directly related to organizational performance. Sustainability values can sharply differ from organization to organization.

Drivers:

Waste streams and the technical challenges to maximize these material sources are channels for direct technological development that can eventually modernize the industry. Maximizing the time and cycles in which materials can be used is a source of business opportunities and optimization of supply chains. Take advantage of emerging technologies, digitalization, and new market trends. Accelerate the optimization and creation of clean manufacturing processes. Address the issue of energy-intensive processes while reducing also the content of toxic components. Open opportunities to improve downstream processes performance e.g., with the development of clean chemical manufacturing processes.

Barriers:

Not all innovations and technologies will be fit to provide sustainable answers claimed by organizations. Late adopters could enjoy temporary success while risking the misuse of technology in efforts to remain competitive. Companies that fail to understand the situation of their markets, products, technologies, and customer changing tendencies are likely to lose investment and track of current and future industrial developments as well as opportunities for innovation.

Sustainable and circular business models for the chemical industry: circular economy playbook for chemical companies.

Business Models Addressing Sustainability Challenges—Towards a New Research Agenda

Adapting your operating model to the next normal: The next big move in chemicals

Chemical Leasing Credit Lines for Investment in Climate Friendly Tech Facility Management (FM) GHG Calculation Tools Business Models GHG Protocol Pre-owned and rental of Environmental Technologies
Emission Reduction

Emission reduction are processes, products, technologies, or systems that are aimed at decreasing the amount of GHG emissions that could result in the production of a particular chemical product. In this category, best practices have been selected considering a higher environmental performance in comparison with conventional practices. Although all best practices included in the CAPCI knowledge base do have a potential for emission reduction, best practices specially included in this identification key are those that are purposely developed to reach a significant reduction of atmospheric pollutants, toxins, and any other undesired GHG as listed in the IPCC Scientific Assessment of Climate Change, Chapter 1: Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols.

Drivers:

The organization Science Based Targets (SNTi) indicated that the chemical sector accounted for 14% of petrol oil by 2018. The costs of end emissions of this amount of petrol per year are enough to invest in emission reduction measures and transit towards alternative feedstocks. Chemical demand is projected to grow quicker than other industries by 2030 signifying an exponential increase in carbon emissions, hence, causing an increase in costs for reduction and adaptation measures as well as payments of GHG emissions taxes. These and the fact that ER measures will become expensive in the long term are a few of the signals for chemical producers to start implementing their emissions reduction strategies as early as possible, making the current and future economical challenges an opportunity for sustainable growth while contributing to long term GHG emission reduction.

Barriers:

Costs for emission reduction measures varied significantly from country to country, company to company, and from sub-sector to sub-sector. SMEs and start-ups are less likely to be able to cover costs of emissions reduction but more likely to be less exposed to the challenges of transiting from conventional to sustainable operations. Without the certainty of the cost to pay for emitting GHG emissions, organizations cannot find the best time to invest in emission reduction measures. Low pressure from investors to reduce emissions. Not all clients are willing to pay for increasing costs of cleaner products.

Drivers:

Avoiding direct emissions from manufacturing and production processes is one of the main drivers for organizations to reduce costs and along the way toxic emissions. Companies can potentially benefit from the increasing availability of mechanisms and initiatives to reverse, slow down and prevent GHG emissions. Reducing up to 70% of industrial emissions to prevent global warming by 2050 below 2˚C is a matter of concern but also an opportunity for impactful commitment. Abatement of GHG in and by the chemical industry and beyond is key to achieving any climate goals. Science-based targets remain a good option for strategic emission reduction based on real-time enabled by internationally collected and proven data. Chemical subsector-specific guidance can help reduce environmental impacts but not eliminate carbon emissions.

Barriers:

Continous use of hydrocarbons in chemical products instead of energy-related processes results in higher emissions at the product's end of life. Estimations of end of life emissions are only based on assumptions as many times material composition is complex and waste management practices for specific waste groups are a mix of landfill, incineration, and mechanical recycling. Not all chemical subsectors are willing to adopt or follow scientific-based approaches (including scope 3), mostly internal organizational goals and regulatory recommendations (scope 1 and 2).

Drivers:

Emission caps or fines are expected to increase as a measure to reduce overall emissions. Complying with "Net-zero" commitments is becoming part of national and international commitments. Fulfilling industrial regulations is essential for organizations to survive rapid market conditions that are also influenced by global challenges including climate change. Surging carbon taxes and regulatory mechanisms are a sign that companies need to accelerate the implementation of ER measures.

Barriers:

Scope 3 emissions (supply chain) are still voluntary, difficult to track, and of less importance for most organizations. Scope 3 data (downstream processes and product end of life) remains a challenge faced by the chemical industry as several providers do not collect or share data. The increasing pressure to cut down emissions makes uncertain the way that policy will be developed and implemented. Unclarity to connect sector capacity, industrial and organizational criteria with current and future policy.

Drivers:

Information, communication, and cooperation are the base to raise public awareness. Provider engagement targets as a tool to help achieve emission reduction goals. Increase the involvement of investors to extend the overall impact of sustainable practices. Integrate NGOs and advocacy groups that can support the industry in finding alternatives to reduce emissions. Need to strengthen stakeholder commitment toward emission reduction targets.

Barriers:

Missing awareness of different ER measures is a challenge to involve stakeholders. Lack of interest from providers to collect data impedes the proper measure of emissions across a chemical producer supply chain (scope 3). Low expectations on providers to commit to sustainability practices and the implementation of effective data collection systems that can help to identify leverage points for emission reduction and mitigation. Overall public interests remain dispersed in a world of conflicting visions and increasingly complex global challenges.

Drivers:

Simple technical solutions for emission reduction are becoming common and widely available (e.g. NACAG). Availability of best practices and best technologies increases as innovation focuses on emission reduction. Companies are free to choose and explore solutions that fit their necessities without following other market trends. The chemical sector despite its continuous aim for optimization is still on the way to developing and scaling innovations that can either eliminate emissions or function with alternative feedstocks and alternative energies.

Barriers:

Chemical subsectors are diversed, have a variety of different processes and levels of technologies, mix of products, and exposure to varied regional and market circumstances. There is not a single technology that is fully functional for all chemical companies. Technology readiness and and willignes to quick adoption of high-CO2 advanced technologies remains still too low. The Iternational Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that it could take up to 25 years to replace all the chemical production capacity around the world, meaning that the challenges a long the way are too uncertain to ensure the expected GHG emission reduction.

Barriers, Challenges, and Opportunities for Chemical Companies to Set Science-Based Targets

Industrial energy use and carbon emissions reduction in the chemicals sector: A UK perspective

IEA - Energy Technology Perspectives 2020
Pyrolysis (Plastic waste and other waste) Electrically Heated Steam Cracker Furnaces (E-furnace) Waste Heat Recovery Green Ammonia Electron Beam Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Power-to-X (PtX) Biomass as Feedstock Methane Pyrolysis Lignocellulosic Biomass and Waste Streams Sugarcane Bioplastics Methane from Raw Biomass (Biomethane) Synthetic Methane from Waste Biomass (Biomethane) BTX Aromatics via Biobased Ethanol Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Credit Lines for Investment in Climate Friendly Tech Monitoring and Measuring of Emission to Air Emission Concentrators Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs) Liquid Ammonia Condition Monitoring Olefins from synthetic methane + oxidative coupling of methane Chemical Looping Advanced Conventional Processes Nonselective Catalytic Reduction (NSCR) Solar Decomposition of Natural Gas Low Carbon Hydrogen Production (Blue Hydrogen) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Co-generation Advanced Process Control Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Green Methanol Solar Biomass Gasification Carbon Capture and Storage Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Chemical Products Waste Biomass as Chemical Feedstock GHG Calculation Tools Carbon Capture and Utilization Tail gas catalyst abatement Emission Reduction Chemical Recycling GHG Protocol BTX via methanol-to-aromatics (MtA) Catalytic Cracking Synthetic Naphtha/Methane from Electrolytic H2 and CO2 Reduction of Gas Flaring Polyols from Natural Oils Catalytic Recuperation Oxidizer (CATOX) Thermal Recuperative Oxidizer Vapor Combustion Unit (VCU) Carbon Footprint Survey Aqueous Phase Reforming Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plastics-to-Fuels Membrane filtration High Temperature Heat Pumps (HTHP) Solar Cooling / Trigeneration
Energy Efficiency

This option relates to best practices with significant or positive energy efficiency potentials that can be implemented to reduce the GHG intensity of the chemical industry in particular sub-sectors. In general, efficiency gains can be seen as a mix of continuous retrofits of existing plants to reduce the specific energy consumption (usually incremental improvements) and replacement of old plants/building of new plants by using state-of-the-art technologies that could lead to better performance of chemical plants or infrastructure related to chemicals production.

Drivers:

Respond to increasing energy costs. Improve competitiveness by allocating saved energy costs to other optimization mechanisms. Several energy efficiency measures do not require capital expenditure. In general, the main driver to implement energy efficiency options is cost savings.

Barriers:

The high price of energy-efficient processes is paid by early adopters. This group is rather small but serves as a leader to show by example the potential of energy efficiency tech. Late adopters can enjoy lower risk but low rates of return and long payback periods for expensive investments remain main as main barriers. Hidden and unanticipated costs of investment. Access to capital is particularly challenging to SMEs, for example obtaining grants for energy efficiency can consume significant time and labor resources due to complex bureaucratic processes.

Drivers:

Avoiding emissions from energy provision. The chemical industry relies heavily on oil and it is directly impacted by oil availability and prices. The chemical industry has a tremendous potential to positively transform several other industrial sectors across the supply chain, as many products and services do require chemical products. The society and environment overall can benefit from a chemical industry that operates using the best available technologies, toxic-free products, and processes.

Barriers:

Where environmental protection and legislation is lacking energy efficiency technologies could potentially fail to show expected efficiency. Uncontrolled pollution or excessive land change for the development of new facilities could imply potential environmental trade-offs including ecosystem degradation or exacerbating water scarcity. In many circumstances, there are no incentives to prevent socio/environmental externalities.

Drivers:

Tailor legislation and incentives to small and medium-sized enterprises as usually major legislative packets are written for large organizations.

Barriers:

Missing incentives for energy efficiency lead to limited investment or transformation of obsolete processes. Legal criteria to fund and promote energy efficiency tech is key to supporting industries that want to lead or embark on the energy efficiency pathway. Local-oriented legislation can underestimate the importance of industrial energy efficiency, this thereof affects the organizational interpretation of the law.

Drivers:

Increasing employee commitment has a direct impact on performance that can lead to energy savings (via e.g., better work practices). Aiming to increase public profile. Facilitate access to products and services with a lower environmental footprint.

Barriers:

Missing stakeholder awareness and lack of public participation deteriorate the possibility of communities being part of the decision-making process. The concept of energy efficiency is rather vaguely understood when looked at from a technical context. Businesses expect direct individual behavior with the introduction of energy-saving methods. Energy performance can be unbiased and not completely disclaimed.

Drivers:

Technology serves as a catapult to transform industries with the support of digitalization, the Internet of Things, and other advanced technologies that can support industrial innovation, management, and optimization. Product quality is largely affected by energy and material efficiency as resources can be likely invested in material and energy expenditures rather than product development.

Barriers:

Implementation of technologies differs from the adoption of energy-efficient technologies. While available technologies could be potentially implemented several options are not completely adopted due to challenges in the technical performance of existing plants, costs, or lack of trained /skilled personnel who can manage technically complex projects. This aspect is a particular barrier for SMEs. Kelly et al. reported that approximately 50% of the industry's cost-effective energy efficiency measures are never implemented. There are in general technical risks to implementing energy efficiency mechanisms/technologies. Lack of accepted protocols to verify energy performance (variable can include: operational setting, product, chemical component, company size, etc).

Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (BIGCC) Waste Heat Recovery Energy Efficiency Management Systems (EBEMS) Heat exchanger network (HEN) Advanced Heat Management via Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Co-generation Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) Energy Efficiency Reduction of Gas Flaring Plasma gasification Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) High Temperature Heat Pumps (HTHP) Solar Cooling / Trigeneration
Energy Recovery

Energy recovery offers a wide range of possibilities to extract the energetic value of waste energy (e.g., heat or gas) resulting at different stages of a production system and cycle it back into the same system or other surrounding infrastructure or plants. There are several energy recovery paths depending on the waste content and the technologies available. Usually, three types are common: 1) thermal conversion, 2) chemical conversion, and 3) biochemical conversion. However, energy recovery can also be attributed to capturing and reusing energy that is released in the form of heat to the air or water. For the chemical industry, energy recovery is a significant contributor to preventing heat contain in gases or energy in waste to be lost either in the atmosphere or through the decomposition process. The potential for energy recovery techniques is widely studied and several technologies and methods are available to help businesses prioritize resource efficiency and energy production through alternative routes.

Drivers:

ER offers a wide range of technologies that lead to important reductions in energy costs. The cost of investment for some technologies can be recovered in shorter periods, especially when energy prices remain high and incentives for ER become increasingly more attractive to meet climate targets. Costs of fuels and payments for emissions can be reduced when implementing ER methods. Recovering energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the most attractive opportunity for companies that aim to increase sustainability and prevent financial penalties in the long run. ER techniques provide opportunities for big to small producers as the variety of technologies and energy recovery options are rather abundant in the market for ER technologies. The development of technologies by the industry is an opportunity for innovation, market aperture, minimization of associated capital costs, and reduction of payback periods. Dissemination of best ER practices can aid and guide small-scale facilities and producers in identifying cost-effective heat recovery opportunities.

Barriers:

Streams with a high chemical activity that damage equipment surfaces will lead to increased maintenance costs. Big chemical plants are more exposed to higher costs caused by failure, experimentation, and pioneering the use of new ER technologies. Investment in ER equipment can be difficult for small producers where lack of financial support remains a problem. Technologies such as thermo-chemical treatment of waste constitute an economical barrier as the calorific value of waste in some countries does not provide a cost-effective and profitable opportunity to implement effective ER measures. Most of the costs of ER methods are related to pollution control equipment. High operating costs of ER technologies result from maintenance, part replacement, and the installation of pollution controls and other equipment. Payback periods for a small producer can be longer.

Drivers:

ER methods and technologies directly avoid GHG emissions from fossil-based energy provision while increasing the efficiency of chemical plants. Any form of ER implies better resource utilization and therefore reduction of unwanted emissions. The impacts of biological waste (e.g. methane) can be mitigated through bio-chemical conversion processes (examples are bio-gas, bio-hydrogen, and bio-ethanel) while providing renewable sources for alternative feedstocks and energy production. As a biological waste, municipal waste pollution can be significantly reduced through thermo-chemical ER making use of processes such as gasification, pyrolysis, and liquefaction. ER is a powerful source to mitigate the effects of climate change and prevent environmental pollution.

Barriers:

Excess heat or waste energy from chemical plants is often lost and dumped into the environment and with it, an opportunity for cost reduction and optimization is lost. ER through waste-to-energy processes requires sophisticated heat exchangers that operate at temperatures where dioxin and the accumulation of other polluting components are maximized. The risk of exposure to toxins from some ER processes or technologies can be increased when proper exhaust gas purification technologies are not put used. ER represent a risk of pollution when incorrect or inefficient solutions are integrated into chemical production systems.

Drivers:

Incentives for energy efficiency provide the route to implement more ER initiatives. Regulatory frameworks are essential to make ER a compulsory activity for chemical producers but they need to go with the hand of funding or the neccesary support, especially for small producers. Some ER technologies including waste-to-energy or bio-chemical recovery need to be legislated to prevent any unwanted environmental effects. The regulation provides the statutory guidance for risk and safety as well as the limitations that ER technologies have, in particular for atmospheric release of untreated pollutants

Barriers:

Lacking a legislative framework for environmental protection provides space for organizations to prevent investing in pollution control technologies. Countries in transition have a propensity to be less efficient in the implementation, supervision, and control of ER processes. ER plans and strategies without sound environmental management are likely to have lower socio-environmental performance. Innovation for better ER practices is not possible without scientific advances, industrial commitment, and political support.

Drivers:

Increasing public concerns for the quality of air, water, and other resources. ER can be used to provide heat, warm water, or energy to households. The ER sector together with the chemical industry can both provide opportunities for employment and improvement of living conditions. Dissemination of lessons learned across the industry can help mitigate the low perception of ER and reduce the associated economical and technical risks of some ER practices.

Barriers:

Public concerns regarding ER through techniques such as waste-to-energy remain a controversial topic due to the possible negative impacts of fly hash (ash resulting from the stack that contains the majority of hazardous components) or the implication of burning materials that could be recovered or treated through other waste management means. The use of bio-chemical options for energy recovery can represent a risk where improper handling of chemicals/waste is done without the supervision or guidance of experts. Chemical plants with poor maintenance and reliability programs are more likely to risk failures and accidents.

Drivers:

The high application potential for recovered energy through waste heat recovery and other in-plant ER techniques. ER technologies have a better possibility of implementation and performance where the temperature of a process is higher. Most of the opportunities for ER are in processes in the medium (400˚C to low (100- 400˚C) temperature ranges corresponding to the exhaust of combustion and energy (heat) from parts, products, and the equipment of process units. Existing ER equipment can be optimized or retrofit to maximize the prevention of losses. Lowering the costs of ER technologies and increasing the resistance to operational physical constraints of equipment can reduce the number of replacements of e.g. heat exchangers when they are damaged due to continuous thermal cycling.

Barriers:

ER might complicate or alter the performance of environmental control and abatement equipment. Implementing technologies where the temperature of heat rejection is lower implies the limited achievement of maximum energy recovery. Despite the opportunities for ER in low-temperature ranges, the methods for energy recovery remain an issue to recapture energy losses as low-temperature heat dissipates more rapidly than high-temperature heat. Often uneconomical heat exchangers are required to achieve the best ER performances in low-temperature processes. Despite optimizations and high efficiencies achieved in the chemical industry, emissions and by-products result in any chemical system. Energy and material efficiency can be significantly increased but pollution in the form of entropy (the potential energy of the state will be less than that of the initial state) is unavoidable. Selecting the most favorable method can be challenging due to the wide range of technologies. Heat recovery materials can fatigue due to continuous thermal cycling. If the schedule for the heat sources does not match the schedule for the heat load, additional systems may be required for heat exchangers. The lack of enough space for retrofitting and installation of new equipment is often an issue that only advanced and smaller in size technologies can resolve.

Waste Heat Recovery: Technology and Opportunities in U.S. Industry (energy.gov)

Waste heat recovery technologies and applications

Optimising energy recovery and use of chemicals, resources and materials in modern waste-to-energy plants
Chemical Leasing Electrically Heated Steam Cracker Furnaces (E-furnace) Waste Heat Recovery Heat exchanger network (HEN) Advanced Heat Management via Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) Energy Recovery Plasma gasification Thermal Energy Storage (TES) High Temperature Heat Pumps (HTHP)
Industrial Cooperation

In comparison to Joint Initiatives, industrial cooperation occurs mostly between chemical producers or in general, between a variety of organizations who can mutually benefit from e.g., resource cirulation (including material, energetic, economical or even labour). This means that all cooperative processes between industrial partners are done to meet industrial as well as business goals. The chemical sector one of the most important sectors in economical and societal development has increasingly seen the formation of industrial initiatives aiming to tackle common industry challenges such as pollution, GHG emissions, or toxicity of processes and products. The entire industry is undergoing accelerated changes impulsed by climate change and material resource constraints, therefore, industrial cooperation is key to eliminating burdens, increasing competition, and sustainability but also providing solutions that are future-oriented and climate neutral.

Drivers:

Shared infrastructure, knowledge, and best practices. Create new value chains with strategic partners. Increase possibilities to access financial resources. In the chemical industry collaboration has a long history, but opening more opportunities to enhance industrial partnership can help companies to access markets and consolidate better their products, participate in economies of scale, and therefore make better use of financial assets. IC promote the chemical industry and improve its practices through operational, tactical, and strategical collaboration.

Barriers:

Strategic and cultural fit can compromise the success of collaborative efforts. Misalignment of goals, practices, and policies can lead to unfair competition. Operational dependence is a drawback for partners that look for profitability in other markets. Building collaboration between small companies can be expensive and time-consuming due to a lack of multistakeholder group work experience. Collaboration can help to access materials and feedstocks but also create disadvantages for companies that struggle to procure materials in their market, hence leading to economical disadvantages between partners.

Drivers:

Helps to assess and decrease the potential environmental impacts. Industrial cooperation can lead to improvements in overall sectoral sustainability. Collaboration can reduce risks of safety incidents and create best practices to manage efficiently and safely dangerous substances and risk scenarios. Reduce waste and other unsustainable use of resources through e.g., industrial symbiosis. Increase sustainability of industrial parks (e.g., eco-industrial parks).

Barriers:

Collaboration without sustainable purpose can lead to excessive and unsustainable use of resources. Responsibility for environmental criteria can fall in the hands of a few partners preventing achieving an overall sustainable performance across the stakeholder spectrum. Operational risks could be unequally distributed, leading to the disadvantage of small organizations or inexperienced partners.

Drivers:

Faster adaptation and compliance with more rigorous environmental regulation. Give a single voice to the industry to channel common interests. Decision-makers in the chemical sectors can formulate crossfunctional recommendations to provide support for cooperation and other benefits for the industry.

Barriers:

Collaboration without well-formulated targets can decrease the clarity of governance. Collaboration might lead to a lack of transparency and decrease organizational responsibilities within the collaborative framework. Difficulties to achieve unanimity on standards, operational procedures, financial quotes, GHG emission reduction targets, and other socio-economical and environmental commitments.

Drivers:

Fully integrate the 3 dimensions of sustainable development while creating value through businesses that can generate both social and financial profit. Higher public acceptance. Enable and support interregional cooperation. Access to industry local/regional knowledge. Possibilities to increase project participation with different stakeholders. Increase collaboration. Collaboration allows access to specialized competencies. Improve customer services.

Barriers:

Safety and security governance can be neglected when focusing only on the financial aspects of collaboration. Trust and commitment are sensible values that can affect trust between partners. Lacking transparent communication mechanisms can lead to a conflict of interests and miscommunication issues. Unclear agreements can lead to unfair distribution gains of collective achievements. A decline in social stability can risk the success of any collaborative effort.

Drivers:

Increasing need for sectorial competitiveness, innovation, and industrial optimization. Develop approaches to solve unique regional issues. Drive R&D through cooperation. Swapping of technologies and best practices can be facilitated while allowing for improving production processes and volumes. Reduce the risk of losing investment in innovation and technologies. Improve collaboration across the value chain.

Barriers:

Excess reliance on partners can increase operational dependence. Partnership with higher numbers of participants can increase the times and costs of research and development as well as increase the possibilities of unwanted knowledge spillovers. Costs of innovation can increase when the location of the partnership is not situated in the same region. Infrastructure connectivity and supply networks remain a challenge to companies that operate in countries in transition.

Investigating the factors facilitating (A.O.Safety and Security) collaboration in the chemicals sectors

University-Industry cooperation: challenges and limitations
Chemical Leasing Credit Lines for Investment in Climate Friendly Tech Facility Management (FM) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Co-generation Best Available Techniques (BAT) for preventing and controlling Industrial Pollution Industrial Cooperation
Joint Initiatives

Joint Initiatives are programs and structured strategic agendas developed in conjunction with several partners, either from industrial sectors, private or public organizations, governments, or other civic organizations. Such initiatives are formed and developed to aim for a common goal by addressing major societal challenges that could be tackled cooperatively and more holistically. In the chemical industry, several initiatives are focusing on improving the sustainability performance of the industry, in which best practices, technology transfer, knowledge, and support for regulatory mechanisms are also interchanged.

Drivers:

The cost of implementation and the overall economical load of industrial transformation can be alleviated through cooperation and partnership. Estimate relations between competitors through single goal-driven initiatives. Reduce costs of investment and innovation. Strengthen business activities following a common industrial purpose. Help JI members to align on common development goals.

Barriers:

Joint initiatives can benefit committed partners but membership is no guarantee of increased economic benefit. JI is not legally binding and can lead to partners exiting a commitment. Access to assets can be disproportionally distributed.

Drivers:

Common vision and efforts to reduce emissions. Increase the environmental performance of all involved stakeholders. Develop measures to reduce environmental impacts in the long term. Enablig quick scaling of sustainability solutions. Promote and accelerate the use of low-carbon emitting practices. Improve global manufacturing and management of chemicals. Reduce the CO2 footprint of chemical production. Improve coordination of joint efforts to tackle environmental issues caused directly or indirectly by the chemical industry.

Barriers:

Joint initiatives in different jurisdictions use and interpret the law differently. Slow response to local circumstances can compromise the achievement of JI goals.

Drivers:

Possibilities to shape and advise in the development or transformation of policies. Improving the development process of standards and quality audits. Engage holistically with stakeholders to fulfill sustainability requirements and challenges. Help policy-makers to identify priorities regarding GHG emission reduction and other long-term sustainability goals. JI is useful to promote chemical policy reforms. Provide democratic spaces for stakeholders.

Barriers:

Confront rigid regulations to promote a joint initiative agenda. Exposure to double audits and assessments. JI is not always legally recognized. Expectations of JI can be out of the legislative scope.

Drivers:

Build long-term relationships with industrial and non-industry partners. Increase engagement of international partners amid increasing complexity to tackle global issues. JI can support dialogue between several stakeholders. Increase inclusive and diverse participation in public and private organizations. Reach communal agreements to reduce biased perceptions of activities taking place in the chemical industry. Promote decent work and participation in the chemical industry. Joint initiatives are useful to experiment and use integrated approaches to holistic management.

Barriers:

The development of a common vision can be challenging if all involved parties do not agree of reaching a consensus to achieve targets and goals. The risks of JI failure could be disproportionally distributed leading to heavy organizational losses (e.g., time, money). Joint ventures can increase sectoral segregation. Without a common cultural approach, JI can risk a conflict of cultures.

Drivers:

Need to accelerate the development of low-carbon environmentally friendly technologies and industrial solutions. Gain efficiencies in using new technologies and methods before they enter the market. Allocate more resources to innovation development.

Barriers:

Access to technological resources can decrease over time. Rapid technological change can push stakeholders to compromise on the quality of processes already in place.

Towards Net-Zero Emissions Policy priorities for deployment of low-carbon emitting technologies in the chemical industry

Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing

17 Advantages and Disadvantages of Joint Ventures

Examples of Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) in Europe
Energy Efficiency Management Systems (EBEMS) Credit Lines for Investment in Climate Friendly Tech Life Cycle Metrics Guideline Best Available Techniques (BAT) for preventing and controlling Industrial Pollution Joint Initiatives Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Management and Digital Tools

The identification key aims to highlight best practices that are useful for businesses to take a more sustainable and holistic approach to the overall business environment. The chemical industry in particular has a potentially transformative effect that can drive other industries towards social and ecological oriented practices and management tools to provide ways to help managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to make better decisions. However, bringing organizational change while maximizing economic outcomes often leads to management dilemmas that put sustainability on a second plane. For this reason, management tools have been also integrated as they can provide options to make sustainable business models and sustainability strategies more feasible for companies. Not all management tools are useful equally for all industries and not all tools are useful for business management per se. Hence, the collection of management tools included in the knowledge base does provide alternatives to industries in general. Some tools are for example sustainability metrics, energy performance metrics, CO2 emission management, cost reduction analysis, supply chain management, decision-intelligent systems, and many others. A tool or a set of tools can be used in particular business circumstances having into consideration the needs and goals of the business and how the organization is looking e.g., to increase sustainability performance overall.

Drivers:

Cost optimization through better process management. Improvement of organizational performance via digital managerial solutions. Compilation of data is useful to find possibilities for cost reduction and favorable investments. Several managerial tools are low-cost and can potentially increase overall company revenue. Start-ups and SMEs are likely to benefit due to their affinity to new technologies and modern management business options. Young companies that inherently adopt digitalization are immediately avoiding the costs of adapting e.g. to Industry 4.0 or other advances in technology. Value can be scaled up significantly making use of managerial tools that are supported by digital initiatives. Sales and marketing of companies that adopt digitalization can be exponentially expanded by e.g. allowing access to unexplored markets.

Barriers:

Initial costs of implementing digital solutions can be overwhelming to many companies with old and well-established non-digital processes. Several companies are still unsure of the economic advantages that digitalization can offer despite knowing the possibilities for organizational improvement of operational effectiveness.

Drivers:

Environmental performance can be radically increased with solutions that are designed to focus exclusively on preventing externalities. Emissions, water quality, toxicity, and many other variables in terms of environmental concern can be better managed and solved via digitally driven innovations. Management can use data to understand the sustainability context with more precision. Environmental impacts can be better anticipated with the aid of digital innovations that can provide a better scope of existing environmental challenges.

Barriers:

Digitalization can distract stakeholders on issues that are pictured unclearly in the digital world. Greenwashing can be used through digitalization to provide misleading information regarding plant performance, product, or company operations and sustainability criteria. Not all managerial tools are feasable for all companies and choosing the wrong options could potentially lead to risk of operational failure with catastrophic consequences for people and the environment. Refusing to adapt to better practices can compromise revenue at environmental costs.

Drivers:

Modernization of regulatory mechanisms for upcoming technologies can lead to positive transformations that enhance democratic participation and influence of companies to lead positive change. Outdated legislation can be easily tracked and improved with data assessments and data records which can hold key information to improve decision making. A legal framework that adopts digitalization as part of the industrial transformation process can provide doors for innovation and new products, processes, and technologies that can later be translated into investment options, more sustainable products, and better outcomes for society overall.

Barriers:

Legal bodies are still too slow to respond to digital transformation even in industrialized countries. The chemical industry is still reluctant to digitalize in some parts of the world. According to Deloitte for example, about 50% of worldwide chemical enterprises are falling behind in digital transformation.

Drivers:

At the same time that challenges increase, people, business owners, and managers do have more options to understand the overall business context, access to better information, and therefore create awareness as well as to find better options for decision making or societal participation. Digital tools offer the chance to the commons to follow up on trends, understand better business practices and therefore communicate and learn from organizational commitment via digital innovations.

Barriers:

The advance in technologies can rapidly overpass employees and management capacity to level up with new trends. Organizations that fall behind the change to new technologies can be more dramatic and difficult to manage, hence, people remain reluctant to improve and change. When global value chains are part of the chemical production some chain links can fall behind the current transformation happening somewhere else. This impacts directly people's performance and understanding of increasingly complex global supply chain mechanisms. Despite access to digital solutions the messages and information can be easily manipulated, this could lead to misleading information that impacts people's behavior and points of view towards chemical products, chemical producers as well as other industrial sectors.

Drivers:

Direct improvement of operational productivity and efficiency. Several tools and digital innovations are intuitive and do not require substantial investment in training. Innovation such as machine interfaces can provide chemical plants real-time and precise access to data collection as well as insights that can lead to better production, better practices, and strongly connected infrastructure. Management can find benefit from a wave of innovations that are game-changers in the way businesses are developed and managed. With the use of digital management tools emissions, materials, equipment performance, and many other variables can be better controlled, tracked, and therefore optimized.

Barriers:

Standards and conventional practices can be seen as a barrier to implementing most modern and rapid tools that can directly improve production as well as general organizational management. Movement such as Industry 4.0 can be seen as a potential pathway for improvement but delays in integrating processes that are digitally driven require time and modern infrastructure in-plant and across geographies and all the supply chain. Cybersecurity remains a strong concern, especially for chemical plants that can be prone to external manipulation.

Digital Transformation: Are chemical enterprises ready?

How Digitization is Transforming the Chemical Industry

The future of digitalization in the chemical industry
Energy Efficiency Management Systems (EBEMS) Energy Management Systems Facility Management (FM) Monitoring and Measuring of Emission to Air Condition Monitoring Advanced Heat Management via Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) Advanced Process Control Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) Life Cycle Metrics Guideline Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Chemical Products GHG Calculation Tools Best Available Techniques (BAT) for preventing and controlling Industrial Pollution Management and Digital Tools GHG Protocol Carbon Footprint Survey Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Process Simulation

Process simulation consists of the development of a digital model-based representation of chemical, physical, biological, and other technical processes as well as operational units. Software is used to operate, treace, manage and simulate production systems, thus giving options to engineers to have better control and understanding of the overall system performance. Process simulation offers the possibility to use so-called dummy data or real-time data to test different aspects of a production line until the right conditions for optimization are found through experimental and iterative processes that are based on intelligent decision-making. Usually, simulated processes have a lower risk of failures, higher energetical performance, and better possibilities to control processes even before an actual production plant is designed and constructed.

Drivers:

Cut costs of optimization through a better understanding of the process. Speed up research while decreasing R&D costs. Avoids the need for costly testing.

Barriers:

Simulating complex processes can be expensive and time-consuming when technical and human resources are not allocated properly. However, simulations do incur lower costs than running physical experiments. Adopting advanced simulation technologies helps companies step up and dive into different markets.

Drivers:

Prevent and reduce negative impacts of processes and systems that have none gone through simulated evaluation. Allow chemicals and engineers to understand the better chemical, production processes and the possibilities for environmental performance optimization. Serves as a protection mechanism for organizations that want to test new technologies without incurring real externalities.

Barriers:

Simulation technologies provide possibilities for optimization but can also lead to an increase in the use of resources and energy as production capacity could increase.

Drivers:

New simulation technologies are pushing regulatory bodies to adapt and support state-of-the-art and future innovation.

Barriers:

There are no standards to help process engineering focus on best practices. The lack of standards helps increase innovation but makes the compatibility of process simulation packages more challenging. Customer support remains an exclusive service offered by private simulation vendors at high costs, thus, limiting the use of such products to small companies despite available open-source simulation packages.

Drivers:

Facilitates interaction of personnel between the plant, processes, and products providing better tools to understand on-time operational status. Process simulation alleviates the working load of plant workers and reduces operational risk by running simulated experiments. Prevents incidents and accidents that couldn’t be discovered without simulation.

Barriers:

There is limited adoption of process engineering beyond research and development departments. Simulating processes is a specific skill and only small groups of professionals are familiarized with simulation technologies.

Drivers:

Simulation offers the possibility to test and run different process setups without the need to use the physical plant assets. Simulations help to identify errors and possible failures. Businesses that opt for simulation solutions can make better use of machinery and materials as overall performance can be modeled and improved via simulation. Process simulation is helpful to optimize production processes across the life cycle. Provide experts with new capabilities to interpret experimental results.

Barriers:

Not all organizations have the possibility to access or make substantial use of simulation tools due to a specific lack of interest in specialized people and equipment. The performance of hardware equipment is still in development and the speed of the data process can constrain software packages. Many simulation processes need simplification before being used by chemists or engineers. The increasing use of digital tools for simulation will need more sophisticated infrastructure and connectivity between process elements and systems for rapid data storage and flow.

Multidisciplinary simulation and design exploration in the chemical and process industry

Process Simulation - Fit for the future? - DECHEMA
Advanced Process Control Process Simulation Carbon Footprint Survey Aqueous Phase Reforming
Processes and Technology

Processes are the backbone of material transformation from feedstocks to final chemical products. Raw materials pass through different transformational stages with the aid of technologies to activate chemical reactions needed to obtain finished products. Processes are set up differently for several production industries although common production setups are similar for conventional chemicals. Energy consumption, resource efficiency, and quality of products are directly impacted by how processes are developed and the technologies used for manufacturing. Processes and technologies are therefore important to achieve GHG emission reduction and dependency on fossil-based material inputs as innovation and new processes development are enablers of sustainability across any type of industry.

Drivers:

Innovation is the main driver for companies to invest and amplify portfolios towards sustainable processes and operations. The hydrogen economy or the bioeconomy are examples of surging economic paradigms that are attracting investment and major attention to new approaches, as they provide different solutions and pathways toward industrial de-fossilization. Rising customer expectations can be a driver to implementing and investing in climate-friendly technologies. Climate neutrality and sustainable resource management imply significant opportunities for new PTs, business models, and other benefits that will become more evident along the way. In general, innovation in PTs results in major investment, new markets and better ways to reduce long term costs.

Barriers:

High prices for new plants/processes remain a barrier for small companies with lower financial budgets. Organizations that aim to implement advanced PTs need to evaluate the overall chemical industry ecosystem, market, and customer behavior and comply at the same time with increasingly tight regulations. The transformation of the industry and the total implementation of climate and environmentally friendly PT requires massive mobilization of economic, physical, material, and human resources. For many companies finding and defining a balance between Growth and transformation means taking risks and making business commitments. The increasing global interconnectedness of supply chains makes companies more vulnerable to economic volatility caused by resource scarcity or accessibility.

Drivers:

PTs are key to reducing industrial emissions across the entire product life cycle. The impacts of waste can be better managed with PTs that are facilitating e.g. chemical recycling of plastics. PTs that are developed for circularity reduce the dependence on raw feedstocks while decreasing also energy consumption. Climate-friendly PTs are essential to reduce and mitigate the GHG emissions of the chemical industry from SMEs to big chemical producers.

Barriers:

Other potential environmental impacts might occur with new processes. Industrial carbon neutrality imposes several challenges considering for the chemical sector that carbon remains the base for several chemicals. Advance PTs can increase productivity or reduce emissions but also create conditions for unexpected trade-offs.

Drivers:

Improving investment conditions for "green" technologies. Most regulatory industrial frameworks need to adapt and evolve to make possible the implementation and mass adoption of climate-friendly PTs. Governance and capacity for PT development can be significantly improved with regulatory resources that are allocated in the direction of eco-friendly solutions.

Barriers:

Missing incentives for substituting unsustainable production processes remain a barrier for several organizations that are willing to make use of climate-friendly solutions. Current legislation still supports conventional and polluting practices. Information and data on processed performance, overall process and technology emissions and other valuable data for climate performance remain highly undisclosed. The chemical industry still struggles to introduce Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and act upon specific targets that can be impacted by new PTs. Disclosure of carbon emissions due to PTs remains slow and its only changing due to increasingly stringent regulation.

Drivers:

Digitally connected processes that generate value for the producer and the client are widely spread. Advanced technologies include internet platforms to ensure better customer interaction. Advanced PTs are helping to connect physical assets in industrial plants through digital solutions. Connectivity is making stakeholders more aware of performance, process quality, and other variables that are useful to identify leverage points for sustainability improvements. New PTs interlink global stakeholders and help build trust between parties for collaboration and strategic planning.

Barriers:

Hyperconnectivity can increase reliance on third parties. The social benefits are possibly seen in the long term due to the high costs and early stages of sustainable processes and technologies. New PTs bring industrial restructuring that can impact labor and employment opportunities. New occupational risks emerge with the advent of new PTs. Women's share and participation in the evolution of technologies remain an issue of inclusion. New PTs provide solutions to climate challenges but do not tackle more important social challenges.

Drivers:

The shift toward electric-based processes, the use of alternative raw materials, and technological advances in downstream processes are drivers that can help organizations to meet CO2 emission reduction goals. High energy efficiency processes and low to null emissions technologies are signaling an increasing interest and need to shift towards advanced and climate-adapted processes. The replacement of fossil-based products or processes is becoming more plausible thanks to advances in processes that can work with alternative and greener feedstocks ( e.g., green hydrogen, biomethane, etc). New processes to replace fossil-based energy carriers are allowing the use of existing infrastructure while increasing connectivity to renewable electrification. Digitalization is unavoidable and it is an efficient set of technologies that are enabling the improvement of internal as well as external processes and activities. The combination of best practices and best available technologies can generate innovation and new insights for plant performance optimization. Sensors and measuring technologies provide real-time performance data to help chemists, technicians, managers, and engineers in developing strategies for better PTs. Automated plants with intelligent analysis can provide operational self-adjustments, better reliability, and therefore, automatic reduction of labor hours and costs.

Barriers:

The issue of mass balances in circular processes remains a complex topic, especially with technologies aiming for chemical recycling. Achieving carbon neutrality through PTs requires companies to rethink the use of feedstocks, current technologies, energy sources, the life cycle of products, and the entire value chain. Increasingly connected and digitalized PTs increase the possibilities of cyber-attacks. Current and coming PTs innovations will support the reduction of energy consumption and reduction of CO2 emissions, however, the prospect of commercial exploitation of several technologies in the chemical sector remains uncertain, and not all chemical producers will be in the position to acquire, invest or develop so-called "green" technologies.

Chemicals 5.0 on the rise: Europe as a strategic blueprint for the world
Processes and Technology BTX via methanol-to-aromatics (MtA) Catalytic Cracking Synthetic Naphtha/Methane from Electrolytic H2 and CO2 Polyols from Natural Oils Catalytic Recuperation Oxidizer (CATOX) Thermal Recuperative Oxidizer 3D printed polypropylene reactors Plasma gasification Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plastics-to-Fuels Membrane filtration
Product

Physical goods, materials, and chemicals are produced with the purpose to fulfil a functional need. Products can be ingredients for the production of chemicals, chemical recipes, and substances, chemicals, or marketed products for public consumption. Products included in this category are products and services with lower carbon and environmental footprint. Independent of their material composition, products do have direct environmental impacts as finally raw materials and energy are needed for their manufacture. Hence, the development of more sustainable products is essential for the reduction of overall GHG emissions as they can make a difference regarding climate change specifically during their production and their end of life.

Drivers:

Marketing of "green" products can lead to premium prices. Increasing cost of fossil based chemicals is leveraging the development of non-fossil products and feedstocks.

Barriers:

Low costs for fossil-based or conventional products remain a main barrier to focus on the production of better products. Cost-effectiveness of greener products is lower in comparison to fossil-based products. Low margin gains push producer to ignore environmental concerns.

Drivers:

Sustainable products are develop to avoid emissions over the life cycle, from resource extraction over use-phase (e.g. combustion of fuel) to disposal. Toxic free and circular products are expected to reduce impacts on human and natural environments. The externalities of producing unsustainable products can be drastically changed by designing and producing toxic free and harm free chemical products and substances. Products manufacture with renewable energies have significant lower emissions than conventional products. Green products can help cleaning or removing unwanted toxins.

Barriers:

Other potential environmental impacts along the life-cycle (e.g. end-of-life). The main sources of land and water degradation are the result of using and over-using polluting chemical products such as synthetic fertilizers, hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

Drivers:

Demand, labels, quotas or targets for "green" products, ban of fossil-based or conventional products, premium for "green" products are a set of mechanisms useful to push the design, development and production of clean products. Hence, leading to the devleopment of new services, new business models, less dependance on fossils and stronger regulatory frameworks to phase out conventional and expensive subsidies of fossil resources.

Barriers:

No support of "green" products from the government.

Drivers:

Increasing public awareness and demand for "green" products, higher quality of products, less toxic products is a key element for companies that seek to compete in future markets where polluters are seen as undesired by the general public. Organiaztions are more receptive to public scrutiny as climate change challenges push for drastical industry solutions. Better products mean also better life quality. The transformational power of green chemicals and products can trascend across industries and societies.

Barriers:

No higher willingness to pay for "green" products, as awareness and uncertainty are low. Willignes to pay for "sustainable" products steadily increase but the market remain accesible and affordable to a minority. Adoption of new market and products is costly, time consuming and can lead to another type of "consious" consumerism.

Drivers:

New products require new knowledge, new techqniques and better processes that can legitimate the sustainability of a product. Technical aspects of development can be both a driver and a barrier as usually in initial phases of development SMEs or start ups fail to massify production or compete with conventional producers who have access to wider resources. Advances in Green Chemistry allow optimization and development of green pharmaceuticals, green solvents, bio-based transformation of materials and use of renewable sources. Greener and higher quality producst evluated through life cycle assessments and other sustainability tools to have preference in markets and have less environmental impacts. Startups and entrepreneurs have the possibility to avoid costs of replacing old technologies and focus exclusively in sustainable innovation of products and business models.

Barriers:

Greener or sustainable products remain technically and economically behind conventional options where well stablished supply chians and common industrial applications exist. Several greener chemicals exist and are produced globally but the production methods remain highly dependent upon old infrastructure and material providers that cannot or are not willing to integrate higher sustainability criteria. Technical feasibility across the overal production is mostly achieved in well stablished industries or by businesses that benefit from technology, funding, and knowledge transfer.

Guidance for a biorefining roadmap for Thailand | en | OECD

Roadmap of the Kopernikus PtX project (English/German)

Economic Foresight study on R&D for the European Industry

Green Chemistry : Challenges and Opportunities
Chemical Leasing Green Ammonia Electron Beam Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Power-to-X (PtX) Biomass as Feedstock Methane Pyrolysis Lignocellulosic Biomass and Waste Streams Sugarcane Bioplastics Methane from Raw Biomass (Biomethane) Synthetic Methane from Waste Biomass (Biomethane) BTX Aromatics via Biobased Ethanol Amino Acid-enriched Animal Feed Liquid Ammonia Solar Decomposition of Natural Gas Low Carbon Hydrogen Production (Blue Hydrogen) Biocatalysts Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Green Methanol Solar Biomass Gasification Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Chemical Products Waste Biomass as Chemical Feedstock Solvents Carbon Capture and Utilization Product Chemical Recycling Synthetic Naphtha/Methane from Electrolytic H2 and CO2 Polyols from Natural Oils Aqueous Phase Reforming Plasma gasification Plastics-to-Fuels Solar Cooling / Trigeneration
Regulation

Regulatory frameworks to impulse the transition of the chemical sector towards more sustainable practices is in place in some countries and under development worldwide. However, there are still different regulations and guidelines.

Drivers:

Financial benefits or subsidies for "green" products and sustainability-aligned organizations. Increasing pressure from stakeholders to fulfill environmental and social requirements (e.g., ESG). Regulation that is developed to support sustainable growth is allowing space for resilience to an increasingly challenging future. A big customer sector around the world is ready to pay for better products. Move the market towards the support of greener economies. Possibilities of cost reduction when productivity increases (e.g., higher efficiency and process optimization).

Barriers:

Companies and organizations respond to regulation with false claims or partially implemented sustainability strategies. Stringent regulation can increase organizational costs if enough support is not directed to help organizations transition toward fossil-free economies. Prices of raw materials that are regulated can increase. The transition towards a "greener" economy is expensive and regulation usually benefits big corporations.

Drivers:

Emission reduction can be heavily achieved with regulation that is fiercely implemented. Prohibit the flow of polluting substances. Push the development of clean and toxic-free products. Stop the use of cheap and harmful chemical compounds in countries with unstable and conflicting political management. Prevent operational risks and fatalities. Help to minimize pollution and maximize resource use. Support the work of public/private organizations that positively influence the overall performance of the chemical industry.

Barriers:

Impacts of pollution will be paid by the general public without strong and consistent regulation. Environmental concerns are not yet fully included in industrial regulation despite increasing efforts. Environmental law has less influence than other types of legislative bodies.

Drivers:

Subsidies for sustainable practices. Increase overall people and environmental health. Provide sufficient mechanisms to support a just and transparent post-fossil transition. Regulation in the chemical sector does have the capacity to impact several industries across the supply chain due to their dependency on chemical products. Create strong emission standards. Set realistic and attainable resource management goals. Make notification of new substances for approval before their commercialization. Impose pre-market standards before product commercialization.

Barriers:

Missing regulations for "green" feedstocks, processes, and products. Several international regulatory initiatives remain non-binding. Although commitments exist, there is not yet an overall set of laws to develop targets and commitments that push for definitive action. The taxonomy of regulation for the chemical industry can have negative effects on costs for transition, social impacts due to higher costs of products, as well as socio-economic insecurity. Regulation that affects the chemical industry indirectly impacts other industries and the entire supply chain.

Drivers:

Public awareness to use and manage chemical products more responsibly in households and communities. Legislative protection for communities. Enable the control and supervision of chemical polluters in low-income countries. Prioritization of product safety, identification, the composition of ecological information, and other clarificatory data.

Barriers:

The advantage of big players to access regulatory resources can shadow the efforts of small and innovative companies as well as vulnerable communities. Regulation usually ignores the bottom layers of societal organizations. Intellectual property can be lost when the owner of ideas and innovation is not protected.

Drivers:

Push organizations to acquire the latest and cleanest technologies. Enhance research and development. Set the phase of change in terms of technological development. Provide pathways and guidelines for technology development. Because the output of a chemical producer is the output of another firm, chemical design and development could transform entire industries. Push technology developers to limit residual outputs of new processes. Need to enhance the chemical industry and its efficiency and the sustainable production of commodities and goods. Provide access to affordable and simple technologies to help non-chemials prevent chemical incorrect chemical handling.

Barriers:

Regulation can enhance development but also impact innovation when it touches the creativity aspects of chemists and engineers. Several innovation initiatives are lost due to stringent and unfavorable protective regulations. Regulation serve both as a tunnel for development and stagnation.

Regulation and Innovation in the Chemical Industry

Impact of regulation on the chemical industry

Facility Management (FM) Life Cycle Metrics Guideline Regulation Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Renewable Sources

Natural resources include all components of the natural world. These comprise renewable (biotic) and non-renewable (abiotic) raw materials, physical space, area/land, environmental media i. e. water, soil and air, flow resources such as geothermal energy, wind power, tidal and solar energy, and all living organisms.

Drivers:

RS provides an alternative value creation route and a potential option to replace fossil resources. Renewable resources that are managed effectively pose a significant opportunity for organizations to ensure profitability in the long term. RS is increasingly seen as the best option to avoid the financial burdens of using fossil resources. Moving towards RS is an adaptation measure to prevent paying increasing costs of fossil-based raw resources. RS are an open source for the creation of new economic paradigms such as bioeconomy or the circular economy.

Barriers:

The volatility of costs is directly linked to resource availability and the stability and sustainability of supply chains. Without long-term resource management perspectives the risk of economical failure increases. The availability of raw renewable resources is becoming more challenging for both developed and developing nations. Complete reliance on renewable resources declines in the long term as competition and shift towards a fossil-free economy require major exploitation of renewable resources. Economic growth decreases as resource availability decreases. The cost of natural renewable resources is underestimated, considering that the accelerated decline of ecosystems and the impacts this event has on all efforts for human development is usually not quantified. Overexploitation of land, water, and biomass is due in part to miss allocation of domestic prices and subsidies, lack of awareness, and other human behavioral factors.

Drivers:

RS can significantly reduce or avoid emissions from fossil feedstocks. Focus on environmental assets can increase the potential for protection and environmental justice. Disattached the chemical industry (at least partially) from fossil resources, especially when renewable energy and renewable feedstocks are used. Global interest to reduce carbon emissions is supporting the development of better practices for renewable resources and renewable energies.

Barriers:

The requirement to access critical resources is becoming more stringent. Increasing the use of renewable resources is a synonym for environmental damage. Resource over-exploitation is linked to property rights, land monopoly, and land grabbing, as well as socio-political constraints.

Drivers:

Newmarket-based policy instruments are needed to protect renewable resources in the long term. Non-compliance leads to large economic sanctions. Promote quotas, bans, licenses, and regulatory mechanisms that ensure the sustainable management of RS. Need for transparency in the trading of resources. Regulatory frameworks that ensure traceability and sustainability across the supply chain. Regulatory frameworks that enhance the sustainable use of RS. Funding and support for chemical subsectors that allocate resources for the replacement of fossils as well as the reduction of GHG emissions. Improve labeling and certification as compulsory mechanisms to prevent resource over-exploitation.

Barriers:

Reconciling economic growth, social justice, and environmental constraints requires the development of progressive, holistic, and future-oriented policies. Missing incentives for using renewable sources. Subsidies for unsustainable feedstock are difficult to replace due to vested interests. Voluntary programs are not enough to ensure the correct allocation and use of RS.

Drivers:

Public engagement to protect and use renewable assets. Breach the gap between RS producers and industrial users. A tendency to shift towards regenerative and more sustainable resource use practices. An increasing appreciation of the general public for natural assets. A wider understanding of the need to make effective and sustainable use of RS. Increasing public awareness of chemical products and services that are compatible with current and future global environmental challenges. Information disclosure allows space for stakeholder participation and better conflict resolution. Need for extended producer responsibility.

Barriers:

Access and availability of natural resources are linked to political and social conflicts. Sustainable management of resources is detrimental partially due to inappropriate policies and incentives for people to exploit resources. Cultural differences make it difficult to agree on international commitments for natural resource management.

Drivers:

Higher technical potential for renewable sources (solar/ wind/ others). Making effective use of resources accelerates the selection of the best technologies that can ensure the elimination of emissions and other unwanted wastes. Development of novel and clean technologies that minimize or eliminate reliance on fossil resources. Increase the innovation ecosystem by relocating creative efforts towards renewable resources. Increasing interest from scientists and innovators to focus on the development of green products and technologies. Other forms of RS such as waste and by-products keep proving to be extremely useful to tackle environmental issues, especially thanks to the technological advances in new chemical and other scientific fields.

Barriers:

Low technical potential and availability of renewable sources (solar/ wind/ others) in particular world regions. Technology choices are made by political decisions and economic agents rather than innovators. Most technologies or products based on renewable resources are not yet fully scaled.

Renewable resources in the chemical industry: Breaking away from oil?

Natural Resource Management: Challenges and Policy Options

The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: The governance challenge

BEPS 2.0 – Observation from an energy and chemicals perspective

Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (BIGCC) Green Ammonia Power-to-X (PtX) Biomass as Feedstock Lignocellulosic Biomass and Waste Streams Sugarcane Bioplastics Methane from Raw Biomass (Biomethane) Synthetic Methane from Waste Biomass (Biomethane) BTX Aromatics via Biobased Ethanol Amino Acid-enriched Animal Feed Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Solar Decomposition of Natural Gas Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Green Methanol Solar Biomass Gasification Waste Biomass as Chemical Feedstock Renewable Sources BTX via methanol-to-aromatics (MtA) Polyols from Natural Oils Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Plastics-to-Fuels Solar Cooling / Trigeneration
Research and Reports

The identification key Research and Reports aim to differentiate scientific and industrial efforts published in the form of reports, white papers, journals, position papers, or other research-based activities. In general, the best practices included in CAPCI knowledge base are publicly available research and reports that are mainly focused on climate change, GHG emission reduction, energy efficiency, best practices, technology, and innovation. RR provides a literary background based on facts and serve as a medium to transfer knowledge for organizations and by organizations.

Drivers:

Provide a scientific base to make decisions impacting the financial performance of an organization. RR is useful to learn about the economical status of industries, help identify investment opportunities, learn from competition and provide a wider scope of current world trade and financial situation. RR directs routes for decision-making that can lead the company to generate major revenue and overall better adaptation to trends. RR help to identify leverage points that are useful for companies to change operational criteria and financial strategies. RR provides insights into market trends and economic mechanisms providing detailed information on specific topics.

Barriers:

RR can be vast and difficult to interpret. Not all companies have the capacity to execute projects that can lead to valuable research and report products. RR can mislead companies regarding trends and industrial activities when unreliable sources are used in the decision-making process. Research can be extremely expensive and only possible for big organizations.

Drivers:

RR helps companies to understand in-depth current environmental issues and how could the industry with specific practices benefit the environment. Reports are essential to indicate companies on the status quo of different global trends, considering that global challenges such as climate change or ocean acidification need specific understanding and the chemical industry should not ignore available scientific perspectives.

Barriers:

There is no certainty that organizations could adopt and implement recommendations contained in the research. RR can be misleading and only focus on aspects that are beneficial for a minority of organizations. Several reports and research is developed by organizations with a questionable public reputation. Research can be manipulated if is not supervised by trustworthy public/private bodies.

Drivers:

Based regulation on proven science-based and factual data. Validate decision-making through in-depth research. Helps to minimize policy development efforts by compiling useful information. Helps organizations to learn from best practices and make use of available studies to bring new knowledge into existing, current, and future regulatory developments.

Barriers:

RR can lead to improper decisions when the informative material is miss understood or manipulated.

Drivers:

Provides the public a better opportunity to learn about current industrial issues. Empowers employers, managers, and other stakeholders to learn, update their knowledge, and awareness of new trends. Help stakeholders to access a wide variety of data that can support organizational efforts to implement sustainability practices.

Barriers:

Several reports and research can be difficult to understand and lead to misinterpretations. In the case of chemical products, ingredients, preparations, processes, technologies, and other aspects of the industry are mostly reserved for professional stakeholders or the well-informed public. The general public might not be interested in or don’t know how to make use of or access available data.

Drivers:

Research and reports are an informative source to discuss current advances, learn from scientific developments, see other industrial advances, and help engineers, chemists, and many other professionals to relate to proven and reliable data that can serve as input for projects. RR gives an idea of how technical advances or innovations work. Detailed reports are key for professionals to learn from their field. RR gives the background of industry-based analysis, thus, allowing organizations to look into available solutions that can benefit the organization. Connects interdisciplinary thinking that is especially useful when talking about global issues such as climate change, pollution, or chemical toxicity and its impacts.

Barriers:

Some materials can be expensive to access. Several reports can be developed by organizations with particular interests. RR can be significantly complex, especially in the chemical industry.

Research, innovation and renewal in the chemical industry

Guidance for a biorefining roadmap for Thailand | en | OECD
Synthetic Methane from Waste Biomass (Biomethane) BTX Aromatics via Biobased Ethanol Energy Management Systems Carbon Capture and Storage Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Chemical Products Best Available Techniques (BAT) for preventing and controlling Industrial Pollution Research and Reports BTX via methanol-to-aromatics (MtA) Thermal Recuperative Oxidizer Vapor Combustion Unit (VCU) Electrical Energy Storage (EES)
Resource Efficiency

Resource efficiency identification key includes techniques, technologies, or best practices that aim to optimize the use of energy and material resources needed for the production, manufacture, or development of chemical products where the final goal is preventing or eliminating any sources of waste. Resource efficiency techniques can range from systems and their components (in terms of infrastructure needed for production) to management of resources considering optimal use of primary and secondary resources to any other form of resource management that aims to extend the value and use of resources. As raw material scarcity increases, resource efficiency techniques are significant to minimize environmental impact, make better use of resources including energy and incentivize the development of strategies, products, and services that can combine scientific, knowledge, with know-how, regulation and investment.

Drivers:

The need to reduce costs (e.g. through Material Flow Cost Accounting) provides a panorama of possibilities to reduce material and energy consumption. Keep providing opportunities to create wealth and enhance living standards by shifting to more effective patterns of resource use. RE provides a sustainable road for organizations to remain competitive and profitable in the long term. RE doesn't only prevent investment and purchase costs but the need to access complex supply chains or depend on unsustainable providers. The increasing competition for raw resources makes materials and energy costs more expensive. Global circumstances are evidence for organizations to prevent unnecessary resource use and reduce consumption where possible. RE provides an opportunity to develop purpose-oriented business models. The circular economy provides opportunities to extend resource usability while opening spaces for new ventures and industrial innovation. RE can be translated to an immediate increase in profits. The way a business uses resources can lead to success, survival, or bankruptcy.

Barriers:

Profitability and competitiveness are factors pushing industries to make unsustainable use of resources. The costs of materials across supply chains remain steadily increasing. RE requires a different approach to making businesses and many organizations are not financially or technically ready to shift to better practices. Costs of energy and materials do not always reflect the environmental impacts of utilizing such resources. Savings achieved through RE can be out-phased by the economic growth obtained through resource RE itself (Jevons paradox).

Drivers:

By increasing industrial resource productivity, the sources of pollution and emissions are largely cleaned up. The chemical industry is a key player to develop methodologies and processes to reach climate targets as well as to provide solutions to optimize resource use across supply chains. Environmental degradation is prevented any time that alternative material sources such as waste are used. Sound management of resources across the material life cycle leads to better decisions on consumption and use. The chemical industry can reduce water consumption and purify the water used in production plants as well as treat effluent gases. Like energy efficiency, resource efficiency does have a direct positive impact on environmental protection and GHG emission reduction. Eco-labelling of chemicals can help ensure or prevent the misuse of chemicals in general. The lower the need for the extraction of raw resources the lower the impacts on climate change (e.g. less energy for extraction, processing, transport, and use).

Barriers:

An increase in living standards has caused a steep increase in material consumption and therefore in environmental impacts. Planetary boundaries have been already pushed beyond the "safe operating space", especially in industrialized countries where resource consumption is higher. The use of land for agriculture and pastures needed to cover human needs increases steadily, in particular cases in South-East Asia, Africa, and South America. The attractiveness of biomass as a replacement for fossil resources constitutes a need to raise production in croplands. Land for biomass production versus land for food production remains one of the central challenges of resource use and resource efficiency. Expansion of croplands to produce feedstock has a direct detrimental effect on biodiversity, ecosystems, and therefore human health. Increasing difficulty to prevent habitat loss and land-use change due to increasing demand for raw resources, especially in countries with unstable political systems.

Drivers:

Preventing conflict of interests due to material scarcity. Accessing government funding for the implementation of resource-efficient systems and methods. Changing polluting and resource-consuming products and processes can be more effective than reducing volumes of goods and services. Imposing restrictions on untraceable resources can potentially decrease unsustainable practices at the production source. Policy for resource efficiency is an elemental mechanism to prevent material scarcity in the long term.

Barriers:

The ability to overcome transparency issues is linked to the lack of transboundary control and conflicting regulatory frameworks. The work of local authorities to implement and supervise resource use can be limited due to region-specific constraints. Particular industrial sectors remain reluctant to comply with regulations, especially due to conflicting issues on costs, changes in production procedures, the release of information to the public, and other practices. The regulation to control resource extraction in one country does not have an effect in countries where economies are transitioning to more wealthy societies, this means that resources saved in one country are being heavily used in others. Certifications and labeling do contribute as preventive tools but several standards and certification programs remain voluntary or directly developed by the industry with limited support from the legislation. Labor policy receives less attention than resource and material efficiency due to the inherent complexity of the value chains, market conditions, and management of holistic issues.

Drivers:

Sustainable consumption and production are two important concepts that offer alternatives to consumers and producers to decrease resource use. Resource efficiency has the property to allow industries and consumers to keep enjoying current living standards in the long term. Sustainable public procurement is a mechanism allowing public bodies to offer better options to access resources by ensuring that environmental regulations and social aspects are respected. Consumer information programs developed by chemical producers can guide consumers to make better decisions when buying and using products. Certification and labeling of chemical products are perceived as effective information tools that allow producers to create awareness and prevent unwanted externalities caused by chemical misuse. Social innovations ( e.g., educating for sustainability) can have positive behavioral impacts on professionals, industries, and the public sphere.

Barriers:

An economy of abundance and overconsumption alienate consumers from the real impacts of a linear economy. Industrialized nations tend to underestimate the impacts of overconsumption patterns, especially the impacts at the bottom level of society in countries where resources are usually extracted. Resource efficiency is mainly linked to the economic aspect of the business although several attempts to increase professional awareness of resource efficiency are being put in place. Results of behavioral change are seen mostly in the long term, are linked to changing socio-political circumstances, and are mainly focused on specific societal groups (e.g., well-educated or wealthier societies). Poorer nations tend to make less sustainable use of resources as sustainability is not an immediate priority.

Drivers:

Achieving resource efficiency in chemical manufacturing is equal to achieving energy savings, material savings, environmental protection, and drastic reduction of overall GHG emissions at the producer level as well through the entire supply chain. RE brings opportunities for modernization and accelerates market readiness to commercialize mass cleaner technologies. Technology is both a source for RE and innovation. Green chemistry and eco-innovation are alternatives to replace the conventional development and production of traditional chemicals. Trends for an innovative and environmentally conscious culture are a source to deliver better products, processes, and technologies that result consequently in better resource utilization.

Barriers:

The technological advance of resource-efficient technologies is one of the causes of rebound effects where higher productivity with lower material and energy consumption leads in the end to major resource use. Calculating the environmental stress linked to resource consumption and through particular technologies is not a simple process. Startups and SMEs have limited technological capacity in comparison to bigger competitors.

Barriers to Resource Efficiency Innovations and Opportunities for Smart Regulations (wupperinst.org)

Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic Implications

Going Green: Chemicals Fields of action for a resource-efficient chemical industry

Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities
Chemical Leasing Pyrolysis (Plastic waste and other waste) Energy Efficiency Management Systems (EBEMS) Power-to-X (PtX) Enzymatic Polymerization Facility Management (FM) Liquid Ammonia Heat exchanger network (HEN) Chemical Looping Advanced Conventional Processes Low Carbon Hydrogen Production (Blue Hydrogen) Biocatalysts Advanced Heat Management via Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Co-generation Advanced Process Control Membrane Technology Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) Carbon Capture and Utilization Resource Efficiency Chemical Recycling Catalytic Cracking Reduction of Gas Flaring Plasma gasification Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plastics-to-Fuels High Temperature Heat Pumps (HTHP)
Technology Optimization / Refurbishment

Optimization technologies are those aimed to improve the overal performance (energy efficiency, resource use, operational cycles, etc) of production processes. On the other hand, refurbishment of production and manufacturing equipment or power supply equipment is an option for energy gains that can be achievable for organizations that aim for quick and cheaper process optimization. Defective equipment can be repaired and old equipment can be updated when its physical and mechanical configuration allows it. Many times costs of new equipment represent a constraint for small organizations that seek to optimize energy consumption. Hence, technology refurbishment is an option to update machinery by accessing equipment that is no longer needed in more complex industrial setups and that is proven to be in good operational conditions. This type of solution can be categorized as part of a circular economy. It is practiced across the world but has major acceptability in countries where technology availability is limited and where industrial facilities are less complex. Technology refurbishment can significantly reduce the costs of energy consumption. However, refurbishment has its technical limits due to operational constraints and in some cases investing in new technology can be a better option in the long term.

Drivers:

Cost reduction is the main driver to invest in refurbished equipment and look into plant optimizations. Prevent costs of new technology investment. Plant optimization is crucial for business competitiveness, especially for commodity producers. Market availability to trade old for new equipment. Refurbishment equipment does not ensure extra expenses for re-certification as usually traders need to assure product functionality, testing, and other regulatory legislation. The optimization and refurbishment of equipment are a direct contribution to the circular economy.

Barriers:

High refurbishment costs for optimizations with a low level of change when equipment has been modified for particular processes.

Drivers:

Avoiding emissions from constructing a new plant, lower emissions through optimized technology. Extending the life of the equipment and therefore preventing the use of raw resources. Refurbishment programs boost certification processes for better energy and environmental performance.

Barriers:

Some refurbished technology might still not be fit to meet climate change industrial requirements despite improving environmental performance.

Drivers:

Incentives for adaptation via funding from private or public channels can attract businesses to look for cleaner and more suitable technological options. Equipment re-certification is a common process that serves safety and for companies to ensure that used equipment does perform as expected. Usually, standards and certification programs are in place to support the wide use of refurbished equipment. TO-TR is a win-win opportunity for companies to meet and set climate targets without investing in expensive advanced technology.

Barriers:

Missing incentives for refurbishments.

Drivers:

Open employment possibilities for business models that focus on circular economy practices. Provide opportunities for employment that closes the bridge between conventional and advanced technologies. Increase availability of skilled labor that can be more familiar with particular industrial technicalities. Like new equipment, refurbished and optimize equipment help to update safety and environmental requirements and therefore decrease the risk of industrial accidents and in-plant incident risks.

Barriers:

Missing understanding of potential benefits.

Drivers:

Improve existing processes with suitable and less costly equipment. Avoid complete transformation making use of fully funcional and less expensive equipment. TO-TR can minimize plant breakdown times and therefore help to meet production deadlines. Refurbished equipment can be install and used faster in comparison to new equipment which needs to be tested and pre-run prior to full utilization. Used or refurbished equipment can be found faster in the market in comparison to new equipment. Performance data of used or optimized equipment usually come with maintenance and reliability histories and technical data to prove equipment functionality or prior failures.

Barriers:

Refurbished equipment could potentially have a lower lifespan than new equipment when improper refurbishment processes and replacement parts are not used.

Implementing Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies in the Chemical Industry: A Way Forward

Equipment Refurbishment and Upgrades

CFD based rigorous optimization in the chemical industry
Pyrolysis (Plastic waste and other waste) Electrically Heated Steam Cracker Furnaces (E-furnace) Power-to-X (PtX) Enzymatic Polymerization Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs) Heat exchanger network (HEN) Advanced Conventional Processes Nonselective Catalytic Reduction (NSCR) Low Carbon Hydrogen Production (Blue Hydrogen) Biocatalysts Advanced Heat Management via Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) Advanced Process Control Membrane Technology Power-to-Liquids (PtL) Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon Capture and Utilization Tail gas catalyst abatement Best Available Techniques (BAT) for preventing and controlling Industrial Pollution Technology Optimization / Refurbishment Chemical Recycling Catalytic Cracking Reduction of Gas Flaring Catalytic Recuperation Oxidizer (CATOX) Vapor Combustion Unit (VCU) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plastics-to-Fuels Membrane filtration
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