Climate protection

Protecting the climate means securing our future

Safeguarding the future depends on our ability to mitigate climate change.

Climate change and its consequences are among the greatest challenges of our time.
In addition to immediate impacts like droughts and floods, the indirect consequences of climate change – such as resource scarcity – also pose a serious threat to peaceful human coexistence.

Alongside active environmental protection and the careful use of natural resources, the reuse of used goods and the exploitation of their inherent potential are important factors. Closed-loop recycling of hydrocarbons bound in plastics therefore makes a key contribution to climate protection.

Avoiding CO2 emissions through recycling

The production of plastics and their incineration at the end of their life cycle significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. However, this can be prevented via appropriate recycling processes. Efficiency criteria should guide the selection of recycling processes; ideally, with a cascaded approach: Mechanical recycling should be prioritized, and chemical recycling employed where mechanical methods are not feasible.

Legal requirements are driving the development of the circular economy

In response to rising public costs and a lack of market incentives to encourage environmentally responsible practices, policymakers are increasingly adopting new sustainability strategies. As part of the “Green Deal” and “Clean Industrial Deal”, the EU has defined a wide range of targets and introduced corresponding regulations. Thanks to its contribution to CO2 reduction, carboliq technology has the potential to play a key role in this transformation.

Climate protection through carboliq technology

carboliq technology makes a meaningful contribution to climate protection by preventing the CO₂ emissions that would otherwise result from incinerating plastic waste. In addition, the carboliq process does not use fossil fuels for heat generation, further underlining its sustainability. It also helps meet recycling and recyclate targets while reducing direct CO2 emissions associated with the search for additional fossil-based raw materials.

carboliq’s contribution—production of liquid secondary raw materials (CLR)

The CO2 savings achieved through the carboliq process reflect the difference between the direct and indirect emissions generated by the process itself and those linked to waste incineration and the use of virgin fossil resources. Depending on the type of plastic waste and the share of renewable electricity used to power the carboliq plant, up to five metric tons of CO₂ can be saved per ton of processed plastic.

carboliq’s contribution—recovery of monomers

The chemical conversion of plastic waste via the carboliq process can result in CO₂ savings that even surpass the emissions generated during the production of virgin plastics – provided the process yields monomers that can be directly resynthesized into high-quality polymers.

One example is the oiling of PE/PA multilayer films, which generates, among other outputs, caprolactam – a key raw material in the production of polyamide 6 (nylon). The value of this recovered raw material not only offsets the environmental impact associated with the electricity required but also compensates for the disposal of residual materials, treatment of the gas phase, and production of the catalyst used in the process.

The circular economy as a sustainable alternative to incineration

A carboliq plant with a maximum capacity of 16,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year can produce at least 10,000 metric tons of liquid secondary raw material (CLR). This results in annual CO₂ savings of between 30,000 and 50,000 metric tons. These reductions are achieved by eliminating the need for thermal treatment of plastic waste, and replacing fossil-based naphtha with the recovered conversion product (CLR). In this way, carboliq makes a significant contribution to meeting CO₂ reduction targets.

Scientifically proven CO₂ reduction

According to an expert report by the German Environment Agency (UBA) on the “Assessment of the potential and evaluation of thermochemical plastic recycling technologies”, the oiling of plastic waste reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 25% compared to conventional incineration processes (source: presentation by Dr. Vogel, UBA, DVI, May 7, 2024).