Biorefinery platforms – Biobased naphtha

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Concept

- The term naphtha is used to describe petroleum distillate from the refining of crude oil or natural gas, which has the approximate boiling range of gasoline. It is one of the most important platforms of the oil & gas sector.
- Biobased naphtha comes from the refining of biobased feedstocks. For instance, through technologies as Fischer-Tropsch conversion or hydrotreating. It is the biobased counterpart of fossil naphtha.
- Naphtha is extremely volatile and highly flammable. It is also classified as carcinogenic.

Figure 1. Biorefinery platforms - Biobased naphtha

Applications

Biobased naphtha has the same applications as fossil naphtha:
- Base material for the production of high-grade gasoline by means of the catalytic reforming process (gasoline is refined naphtha).
- Feedstock for the petrochemical industry and its most important process, steam cracking. Pyrolysis is used to produce ethylene and co-products (propylene, butylene, butadiene). Ethylene and propylene are building blocks that are used, among other things, in the production of plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
- In the chemical industry, naphtha is used as a solvent for cleaning.
- Diluting agent in bitumen extraction. Closer to home, naphtha is also found in medicinal products and as a shoe polish additive, for example.

References

Some examples of the use of biobased naphtha through a mass balance approach and under certification schemes.

Producer: Borealis | Certification: ISCC PLUS.
Product: Polypropylene | Feedstock: Biobased naphtha produced by Neste from oils and fats.

Producer: Covestro | Certification: ISCC Plus.
Product: Polycarbonate | Feedstock: Renewable phenol produced from biobased naphtha which in turn is produced by Neste from oils and fats.

Producer: Dow Chemicals | Certification: ISCC PLUS.
Product: Polyethylene | Feedstock: Biobased naphtha produced by UPM Biofuels from talloil.
Dow Chemicals press release: “Dow and UPM partner to produce plastics made with renewable feedstock”, 24/9/2019.

Producer: DSM | Certification: ISCC PLUS.
Product: Dyneema® | Feedstock: Renewable ethylene produced by SABIC from biobased naphtha which in turn is produced by UPM Biofuels from talloil.

Producer: INEOS | Certification: Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.
Product: Polyolefins, PVC (BIOVYN) and styrenics (Styrolux and Styroflex).
INEOS website: “Enabling a circular economy for stirenics” (accessed on 04/11/2020).

Producer: LyondellBasell | Certification: REDcert2.
Product: Polypropylene and low-density polyethylene (Circulen range) | Feedstock: Biobased naphtha produced by Neste from oils and fats.

Producer: Vynova | Certification: ISCC PLUS.
Product: PVC | Feedstock: Renewable ethylene produced by SABIC from biobased naphtha which in turn is produced by UPM Biofuels from talloil. 
Vynova website: “Bio-attributed PVC” (accessed on 04/11/2020).

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