CHINAPLAS 2023: ExxonMobil displays new sustainable and high-performance solutions

In the energy transition, all net-zero carbon scenarios require society to meet its energy demands with fewer, or even negative, emissions. That will take multiple low-carbon technologies deployed at scale.

To lower greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations, ExxonMobil plans to invest US$15 billion through 2027 on initiatives to deploy technologies that it believes can have great impact in industries where reducing emissions is extremely difficult.

The first area is carbon capture and storage, which includes collecting industrial carbon dioxide emissions at the source and injecting it deep underground for safe, permanent storage.

The second is the use of hydrogen which, when coupled with carbon capture and storage technology, can generate the extreme heat needed in the industrial sector without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Finally, the company plans to quadruple the use of biofuels by 2050, so that biofuel will play a key role in reducing transportation emissions. They are likely to be the primary transition fuel for heavy transportation and aviation.

ExxonMobil displayed solutions for a broad range of applications including automotive, packaging, hygiene, construction, consumer products, etc.

Working together to decarbonize in the petrochemical industry

In June 2022, ExxonMobil, Shell, CNOOC, and Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate the potential for a world-scale carbon capture and storage project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

Initial assessments of the project indicate a potential to capture up to 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year from Dayawan’s industrial sector, supporting China’s ambition of carbon neutrality by 2060.

The project serves as a model for the chemical industry as one of the first petrochemical projects to be decarbonized. This also serves as a good example of how governments, companies and other stakeholders working together to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

On the other hand, an industry focus has been placed on extending the plastic life cycle.  As plastics play a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enabling modern life, lengthening its life cycle and deploying solutions to help reduce plastic waste are equally important.

To this end, ExxonMobil started up its first, large-scale advanced recycling facility and is progressing activities throughout the world with the expectation to have up to 500,000 metric tons of annual advanced recycling capacity by year-end 2026.

New sustainable solutions for recycled plastics

ExxonMobil demonstrated how it is “Creating Sustainable Solutions. Together” at CHINAPLAS. It featured solutions with sustainability benefits for advanced recycling of plastic waste in a broad range of applications including packaging, hygiene, automotive, agriculture, building and construction, and consumer products.

The downgauged air tube bags on display demonstrated how downgauged solutions can do more with less by using less material while helping to maintain or boost performance using its performance polymers.

Full PE stand-up pouch (SUP) for laundry beads.

Thermoformed packaging containing no polyamides. 

Solutions with sustainability benefits for recycling of plastic. 

The mono-material full PE stand-up pouches (SUP), full PE laundry bead packaging and thermoformed packaging containing no polyamides also demonstrated the solutions for recyclability by reducing the number of components, including those often considered more difficult to mechanically recycle.

Also on display were heavy duty sacks (HDS), trash liners, courier bags that incorporate recycled PE content, and Mobil lubricant bottles that incorporate recycled HDPE content and modified with Vistamaxx performance polymer to help enhance durability.

For materials in sensitive applications like food packaging, solutions made with ISCC PLUS certified-circular polymers through mass balance attribution that leverage Exxtend technology for advanced recycling of plastic waste can help broaden the range of plastic waste that can be recycled.

Innovative products for improved performance and meeting regulatory requirements

In addition, the company introduced a new product portfolio, which include ExxonMobil PP grades, Vistamaxx performance polymers, Achieve Advanced PP and an Exact plastomer medical grade, that complies with a number of regulatory requirements for use in a variety of medical applications such as syringes, springs, IV bags and bottles.  

The new Exceed S performance PE offers both stiffness and toughness while being easy to process.

Also featured was the new Exceed S performance PE which offers an industry-leading combination of stiffness and toughness while being easy to process, enabling converters to rethink film redesign for simpler solutions. It can help facilitate solutions with sustainability benefits by enhancing film performance, maintaining comparable performance at a thinner gauge, producing more durable mono-material film structures, or enabling the incorporation of high percentages of recycled content.