Circularity
Closing the loop on chemicals
Like many nations, Singapore has been grappling with the issue of waste disposal for years, and the situation has only worsened with time. According to a report by the World Bank, global waste generation is expected to grow by 70% to 3.4 billion t/y by 2050. The only landfill in Singapore, the Semakau Landfill, is projected to run out of space by 2035 based on the current waste disposal rate.
To tackle this issue, Singapore has taken several steps towards a circular economy. The government launched the Zero Waste Masterplan in 2019, which aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills by 30% by 2030. This initiative is supported by the Plastics Recycling Association of Singapore (PRAS), launched in 2021 to enhance Singapore’s capability in plastics recycling by bringing together various stakeholders, including companies, institutions, and government agencies to exchange knowledge and best practices on plastic waste management and recycling.
Furthermore, the Resource Sustainability Act, introduced in 2019, has put in place an Extended Producer Responsibility framework for three priority waste streams: eletrical and electronic waste, food waste, and packaging waste, which includes plastics.
We spoke to various chemical industry leaders in Singapore who expanded on how they are contributing to developing a circular economy. The CEO of Borouge Pte Ltd, Rainer Hoefling, showcased an all-polyethylene (PE) pouch, and described the various challenges in developing mono-material packaging products - which include ensuring reliable sealability, good mechanical properties, and thermal stability. The result is a packaging solution that is easier to recycle and that has less energy and resource-intensive manufacturing processes. “We are actively developing advanced mono-material designs that will enable post-consumer packaging to be easily recycled,” said Hoefling.
“Looking around in this room, almost every item here was manufactured - at least in part - using chemicals, including the clothes we are wearing. This is why chemical companies, including HELM, need to be creative and pivot away from fossil fuels and find a way of reducing our energy consumption, finding bio and circular solutions.”
KEW Hui Chin, Managing Director and President Chemicals Asia, HELM Asia
The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive stipulates that all plastic packaging must be reusable or recyclable in a cost-effective manner by 2030. Post-consumer recycled content (PCR) is not yet mandatory in packaging in any Asian country, nevertheless, it is probable that Asian manufacturers, particularly those that export heavily to Europe, will make the first move and incorporate circular solutions, such as mono-material packaging products, to meet these targets. “There is a dynamic environment around circularity, and different regulations in different countries are fostering initiatives and collaborations to build effective collection and recycling systems,” said Thomas Leudi, senior partner, head of chemicals at Bain & Company.
Wilson Chew, the chairman at Fortrec Chemicals & Petroleum, explained how Fortrec has pioneered a distillation process for oil refinery bottoms, thus preventing the bottoms from being incinerated. The output of this distillation process can be used as a feedstock for solvents to be used for coatings and paints, for example. Dr. Chew described how increasing demand for sustainable solutions is attracting refineries that may have previously overlooked this process. “With the growing sustainability push, more refineries are providing us with their bottoms since this leads to significant carbon savings for them,” he said.
Fortrec’s managing director, Ajay Bhattacharya, stated that re-purposing of refinery bottoms in this way has been proven to save 3.3 tons in carbon emissions for every ton of refinery bottoms distilled.
Thomas Leudi of Bain & Company. described how circularity is becoming vital in all aspects of the Asian chemical market: “Companies are diversifying into alternative feedstocks and increasing their use of recycled materials. Companies in Thailand, for instance, are making a push into biofeedstocks for bioplastics. The emergence of bio-refineries for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel production provides a low-carbon feedstock alternative for petrochemical products.”
Producing biofuels and re-purposing oil refinery bottoms are of course not simple processes. There are other ways of promoting circularity that, although less technically complex, can still yield great environmental benefits. Diversey’s Southeast Asia vice president, Sherif Fahmy, explained the ‘Plastic Shreds’ program, where single-use plastic waste is shredded into plastic chips, which are then used as gravel replacement in the building of horizontal structures such as village roads, pavements, and basketball or badminton courts. “Circularity-based initiatives like this make perfect business sense, on top of the environmental and societal benefits they bring,” he said.
On the specialty chemicals side, there are also various ways of incorporating circularity into operations, and for those involved in the food and ingredients markets, opportunities can arise in the form of natural ingredients. Seow Hoon Tan, executive chair of Maha Chemicals (Asia), a specialty chemicals distributor focused on the ASEAN region, explained: “The trend towards natural ingredients is prevalent all over Asia due to the rising middle-income group. This group values treating themselves better and is willing to pay for healthier and better-quality products.”
Singapore, having pioneered carbon tax in the region, is a frontrunner when it comes to sustainability. In order to safeguard its prominent manufacturing capabilities, its government is acting to ensure the foundations are in place for corporate stakeholders to build upon. ERM’s South & Southeast Asia managing partner, Wei Chee Liew, mentioned the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiative that mandates companies to report their packaging usage and their Reduce, Reuse, Recycle plans. In addition to this, Liew outlined how Singapore is exploring alternative feedstocks to promote circularity: “The government is exploring various feedstocks, with plastic being one of them. For instance, recycled plastics could be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in plastic production”.
Singapore’s rapid development over the past four decades has come with a seven-fold increase in waste. As with most sustainability challenges, if the issue is to be solved, collaboration and partnerships across industry and government are necessary. As new technologies enable cheaper and better recycling processes and recycled products, Singapore is ensuring that it has the right legislation in place to facilitate the shift from a linear to a circular economy.
“We are increasingly supporting companies in the APAC region that are producing chemicals related to renewable energy or the EV market. A recent example is a client who developed a new catalyst that uses atmospheric carbon to produce a commonly used polymeric substance. This project reduces carbon emissions by functioning as a carbon sink.”
Willi Muenninghoff, Health Sciences Regional Director - Asia Pacific, Ramboll
Article header image courtesy of IMCD Group