Throw in some palm oil, churn out plastic
Ronnie Lim Business Times 4 Jan 11;
(SINGAPORE) The Republic is studying the use of 'green' materials like palm oil, sugarcane and plant biomass as an additional, strategic feedstock for Jurong Island plants to produce chemicals and industrial polymers like plastics.
'With global concerns about the long-term sustainability of crude oil' - a raw material that the refining/chemicals sector here has traditionally relied on - 'the use of bio-based feedstocks becomes a compelling option,' the Economic Development Board (EDB) stressed.
So far petrochemical crackers here use mainly naphtha, and more recently heavy 'bottoms' like hydrowax from the refineries to produce the feedstock needed by downstream chemical plants.
The establishment of an LPG terminal to import the alternative liquefied petroleum gas feedstock is also being looked at, with 'bio-renewables' like palm oil and sugarcane offering a potential third feedstock option.
'EDB believes bio-based feedstocks could add a new dimension of chemical feedstock option on Jurong Island. The fast-growing bio-based chemicals industry would also create new economic opportunities for Singapore,' it said in a background note to a tender it called for a consultant to study this.
'We are keen to position Singapore as a leading location for biomass-to-chemicals conversion technologies,' EDB's director of Energy and Chemicals Liang Ting Wee said.
'Our geographical position in the middle of a region rich in biomass and strong logistics connectivity, coupled with integration opportunities to our chemical industry, will present interesting new opportunities for companies,' he told specialist chemicals news intelligence ICIS.com.
The potential raw materials Singapore is looking at tapping to help produce bio-chemicals include crops like corn, oil palm, cassava and sugarcane, as well as bio-feedstocks like sugars (including starch), bioethanol and palm oil.
Other potential bio-feedstocks it is investigating are lignocellulosic (plant) biomass, lactic acid, glycerol and succinic acid.
The probe into the use of bio-renewables comes under the Jurong Island version 2.0 initiative, which focuses on areas like feedstock options and infrastructure developments to create new competitive advantages for Singapore's chemicals sector.
Expected to be ready by mid-year, this initiative covers various areas under study like the LPG terminal, and harnessing waste heat for desalination and recycling of waste water. It is crucial given competition from rival hubs emerging in China and the Middle East.
Under its latest bio-renewables study, EDB said it wants the contractor to study areas including 'the landed costs of bio-based feedstocks in Singapore, competitive threats in accessing such feedstocks, as well as the infrastructure requirements on Jurong Island in order to support the bio-based fuels and chemicals sector'.
Phase 1 of the two-phased study will cover areas like 'comparisons between Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia where bio-based chemical manufacturing is likely to be carried out', and also government policies, competitive threats and opportunities that would affect Singapore's access to such bio-based raw materials.
From a logistics viewpoint, the consultant will also recommend possible storage sites on both Jurong Island and the mainland for the bio-feedstocks.
Based on the study outcome for phase 1, the appointed consultant will help the government to analyse in detail the top three bio-feedstocks that will create the greatest economic opportunity for Singapore 'paying particular attention to bio-chemicals rather than biofuels'.
