The use of renewable raw materials in the chemical industry, applying mass balance approaches

Renewable resources have a long tradition in the chemical industry. In fact, they were the first – and at that time also the only – inputs that could be used e.g. to produce dyestuffs or certain plastics. Today, naphtha (a mineral oil product) and natural gas are the dominant raw materials. They serve for the production of large-volume basic chemicals that account for large shares of value creation in the chemical industry. Not only plastics but also countless specialty products build on basic chemicals. But to this very day renewables – like vegetable oil, animal fat, starch or sugar – hold their own in special applications. It is worth noting that the use of renewables in the German chemical industry totals 2.7 million tonnes per annum, corresponding to ca. 13 percent of all carbon raw materials.

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