Premiere: Fortum makes biodegradable plastic from CO2

Espoo / FI. (dp) Fortum Recycling + Waste, a leading waste management and circular solutions company from Finland, has succeeded in producing biodegradable plastic from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from waste incineration at its plant in Riihimäki, Finland. This breakthrough, based on carbon capture and utilization (CCU), is a significant step towards reducing and utilizing industrial carbon dioxide emissions.

According to Tony Rehn, Head of Fortum’s Carbon2x program, the production of CO2-based plastic provides a new, sustainable raw material for the plastics industry: «I am very proud that our team is the first in the world to successfully produce biodegradable plastic entirely from carbon dioxide emissions. This is a significant step towards more sustainable plastic production. This kind of development work helps to reduce dependence on fossil-based raw materials and can create new circular economy-based business.»

Similar carbon capture development projects are underway in several industrial sectors globally, but the majority of them focus on the production of synthetic fuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

(Photo: Fortum Corporation)

Rehn: «Captured carbon dioxide should be utilized as a new raw material instead of storing it underground or releasing it into the atmosphere when using fuel. Utilizing captured CO2 is a much more sustainable option in terms of tackling resource scarcity in the future. Whereas carbon capture and storage is a linear solution that does not address the growing material shortage, carbon capture and utilization promotes circular economy.»

Fortum Recycling + Waste’s Carbon2x program piloted carbon capture and utilization in 2022. The program aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the incineration of non-recyclable waste and use them to produce sustainable products, such as biodegradable plastic.

Plastic is a superior material due to its versatility

Every year, Europe generates nearly 100 million tons of non-recyclable waste that is incinerated and utilized in energy production. According to Rehn, the wider implementation of the Carbon2x program’s innovation would mean that up to 90 percent of the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere from waste incineration could be captured and bound into products.

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Lightweight, durable, and easily modifiable, plastic today is an indispensable material in, for example, food packaging and consumer product manufacturing. According to Rehn, new sustainable solutions are needed for plastic production to complement recycled and bio-based plastics. Biodegradable, CO2-based plastic offers a significant alternative to the market because it has the same qualitative properties as traditional, fossil-based virgin plastics. Rehn clarifies: «We want to promote the circulation of materials comprehensively. We believe that a whole new category of sustainable plastics is emerging from products such as ours, even though the mechanical recycling of plastics is still needed.»

Closing the carbon cycle without microplastics

Biodegradable, CO2-based plastic can be recycled just like many other plastics, closing the carbon cycle. An additional advantage of biodegradable plastic is that even if it would end up in nature by accident, it decomposes and does not leave harmful microplastics in the environment.

According to Rehn, the Carbon2x program’s innovation is hoped to provide solutions not only for material production for food and cosmetics packaging, but also for other sectors such as toys and home electronics.

Rehn estimates that at this rate of development, the industrial production of biodegradable plastic made from waste incineration’s CO2 emissions could start as early as the end of the decade. The new «plastics born from CO2» brand will be introduced to the European market in November 2024.

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Background Information

Carbon Capture. Carbon capture (CCS and CCU) refers to technologies that remove carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases. Using capture technologies, the carbon dioxide generated in processes is captured before it is released with the exhaust gases. Currently, various research and development organizations have most commonly presented options for storing captured carbon dioxide, for example, under the seabed. However, the Carbon2x program believes that a more environmentally friendly and, in terms of resource scarcity, a better solution is to utilize captured carbon dioxide as new materials instead of storing it. This can reduce the use of fossil raw materials and return carbon to the material cycle.

Carbon Capture (CC) refers to the separation of captured carbon dioxide from the flue and exhaust gases of power plants or industrial processes, or alternatively directly from the atmosphere.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) refers to the long-term storage of captured and separated carbon dioxide underground or under the seabed.

Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), on the other hand, aims to convert captured carbon dioxide into various end products, such as fuels, chemicals, or materials.

Biodegradable plastics are materials that completely decompose into carbon dioxide and water in nature through the action of naturally occurring microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, or algae.