Asahi Kasei to produce 'recycled' synthetic rubber in Singapore

Asahi Kasei has stepped up its sustainability efforts with plans to produce "recycled" solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) in early 2022
.

Asahi Kasei said in a Nov.
24 statement that it had entered into an agreement with Shell Orient Petroleum Ltd to supply "sustainable butadiene" derived from plastic waste and biomass
.

Asahi Kasei expects to produce SSBR at its facility on Bukom Island in Singapore by the end of the current financial year, which will run until March 2022
.

The move is part of the Japanese material supplier's strategy to transition to "sustainable raw materials" to reduce carbon dioxide emissions across the supply chain
.

Shell will produce "sustainable butadiene" through a mass balance method through two different routes: pyrolysis of waste plastics and biofeedstock
.

The first process is for Shell to convert waste plastics into pyrolysis oil at its plant in Bukom, which is fed into a naphtha cracker
.
The other is to use biological feedstocks as feedstocks for naphtha crackers
.

Asahi Kasei said the project would make it the "first in the world" to use butadiene derived from plastic waste, and the first Japanese company to use butadiene derived from biomass for SSBR production
.

According to the report, SSBR is mainly used in the manufacture of high-performance fuel-efficient tires, and the global demand for this tire is growing due to strict regulations and increasing environmental awareness
.

According to Asahi Kasei, SSBR can "significantly" reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles, and sustainable butadiene will further contribute to the sustainability of the automotive supply chain
.