A newly issued report explores how the European chemical industry can become carbon-neutral by 2050 while maintaining its competitiveness. “Low Carbon Energy and Feedstock for the European Chemical Industry” — prepared by the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (Dechema), Frankfurt, and issued by the European Federation of Chemical Engineering, Brussels —focuses on the main building blocks used in high-volume upstream production processes (ammonia, methanol, ethylene, propylene, chlorine, benzene, toluene and xylene); these account for about two-thirds of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Dechema study analyzes technological options available and outlines conditions needed to ease the transition to carbon neutrality. It describes what is required to refurbish the current industrial base given today’s abundance of shale gas and low oil prices.
