Dow announces the commercialization of a plastics offering for the packaging industry made from bio-based renewable feedstock in partnership with UPM Biofuels, a producer of advanced biofuels.
Dow is incorporating renewable wood-based UPM BioVerno naphtha – a key feedstock used for plastics development – into its raw material slate, creating an alternative source for plastics production. Dow is using this feedstock to produce bio-based polyethylene (PE) for use in packaging applications such as food packaging to reduce food waste at its production facility in Terneuzen, The Netherlands. Dow is now planning to scale production and address the growing global demand for renewable plastics following a successful year-long trial program.
“The partnership between UPM and Dow illustrates our ambition to ensure the products we sell support the shift from a traditional linear economy towards a circular economy,” said Carsten Larsen, Dow’s recycling commercial director for Europe. “At the end of their useful life, products and materials are recovered as efficiently as possible so they can be used again. We are focusing on the sustainability properties of every polymer we bring to market by working with partners like UPM to source alternative feedstocks to minimize the amount of fossil resources required for production.”
UPM BioVerno naphtha is produced from crude tall oil, a residue of paper pulp production, at UPM’s biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland. Unlike many other renewable alternative feedstocks, feedstock production requires no additional land. The feedstock comes from forests that are managed sustainably.
Packaging made from this renewable feedstock can be fully recyclable as demonstrated by collaboration with brand owner Elopak, an international food and beverage packaging supplier based on paperboard. Dow’s bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE) resins are used to cover the fluid carton containers of Elopak and to manufacture carton caps, leading in a 100% renewable carton for beverages. In addition to reducing the CO2 footprint of the packaging during production and use, this was achieved without compromising the benefits of the original form of plastic-coated packaging.
“It’s exciting to work with Dow and Elopak in the production of a truly sustainable consumer product,” stated Panu Routasalo, vice president for UPM Biofuels. “We are pleased to help meet value chain demand for increased sustainability in packaging by providing highquality renewable naphtha for the market.”
This deal with UPM is the recent instance of Dow’s approach to make it possible for plastics to move into a circular economy by concentrating on resource efficiency and incorporating recycled material and renewable feedstocks into its production practices. For the supply of pyrolysis oil feedstock produced from recycled plastic waste, Dow also lately partnered with the Fuenix Ecogy Group based in Weert, The Netherlands.
Post-consumer plastics will continue to have value through these attempts through an expanded lifespan. These contracts also contribute to Dow’s engagement to include at least 100,000 tons of recycled plastics in its product offerings sold in the EU by 2025.
Source: Dow