(Credit: Canva)Mitsubishi, in an agreement with Suntory Holdings and Eneos, will develop a supply chain for sustainable PET bottles derived from biomass.
The new supply chain across the three companies will be supplied with bio-based feedstock by Neste, which will be used as a raw material to replace fossil naphtha, a solvent created by distilling petroleum. The new supply chain will be more sustainable for PET bottles derived from biomass, such as used cooking oil. Neste manufactures bio-naphtha from biomass resources, such as cooking oil, and uses 100% renewable raw materials, such as waste and residue oils and fats.
PET bottles, or PET plastic, are made of clear, strong plastic that can be 100% recycled and made to be remade, according to the American Beverage Association. Mitsubishi is a well-known carmaker, but the corporation has 10 business groups spanning virtually every industry, including natural gas, industrial materials, chemicals solutions, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, automotive and mobility, food industry, consumer industry, power solution and urban development.
Eneos, an oil company based in Japan, then manufactures bio-paraxylene (PX) derived from bio-naphtha at its Mizushima Refinery in Okayama, Japan. From there, the supply chain moves to the production of bio-high purity terephthalic acid (PTA) and resin for bio-PET bottles (PET resin) using bio-PX. Suntory, a Japanese packaged goods company, utilizes the bio-PET resin to produce sustainable PET bottles for its products. Mitsubishi’s role in the supply chain is to manage the entire progression.
“This is the world’s first production of sustainable PET bottles using bio-PX derived from bio-naphtha on a commercial scale,” Mitsubishi said in a statement. “By the end of 2023, Bio PX equivalent to approximately 35 million PET bottles will be produced, which will be used as a raw material for Suntory's sustainable PET bottles in 2024.”
The newly developed supply chain will reduce carbon emissions compared to petroleum-derived products by introducing PET resin produced from bio-PX. The usage of biomass for PET bottles will also help reduce carbon and dependency on fossil fuels, Mitsubishi said. The company plans to continue to convert various fossil fuel-derived plastics to bio-based plastics.
The partnerships for the new supply chain come after Mitsubishi has worked on other ways to improve plastics recycling. The company’s chemical advanced materials business previously penned an agreement with Solvay to recycle medical equipment made with polysulfone thermoplastic.
Plus, Mitsubishi was among 39 companies that signed the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI), a 5-year, $100 million research and development initiative aimed at identifying and developing commercially viable new technologies and solutions for deep decarbonization of the power sector.
