sustainability
Feedstocks for chemicals
Today, about 99.5 percent of the energy used to produce plastics is derived from petroleum and natural gas. What about the future? Do bio-based and renewable feedstocks have the potential of making a positive contribution?
Yes. As with any feedstock, however, the use of these alternatives needs to be founded on a science-based approach, including a Life Cycle Assessment. In the case of bio-based feedstocks, such an assessment needs to include the effects on fresh water supplies and the availability of arable land.
Allowing for aggressive estimates of their growth – about 12 percent annually - by 2030 bio-based feedstocks would still represent less than 5 percent of feedstocks for petrochemical production. That’s based on annual research conducted by ExxonMobil that includes data from trade associations, publications, public announcements and internal estimates.
That makes hydrocarbons the primary feedstock for years to come. And even though these are finite resources, there’s good news about their efficient use and availability.
Currently, only about 4 percent of worldwide fossil fuel consumption goes into the production of petrochemicals. For every unit of energy required to produce plastic, 16 units of energy are saved in the application of that plastic. Examples range from home construction materials that promote energy savings to lightweight plastics that cost less to transport.
And what about petroleum supplies? According to the U.S. Geological Survey, two trillion barrels of conventional oil resources remain. That’s twice the amount produced and consumed from the dawn of human history to date. Then there’s at least an additional one trillion barrels of unconventional oil resources such as heavy oil and shale oil.
