A three-year research project involving scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and LUT University has found a way to capture and convert carbon dioxide produced by the forest industry during waste incineration into polypropylene and polyethylene—raw materials used to manufacture common, everyday plastic products.
Polypropylene and polyethylene are currently produced mainly from fossil sources. “We investigated through pilot activities and modelling, how the biogenic carbon dioxide recovery chain can be adapted to existing petrochemical plants and the production of key basic plastics. For rapid and significant replacement of fossil feedstocks with renewable ones, technologies need to be adapted to the currently existing production facilities,” said Juha Lehtonen, research professor at VTT.
Study explores adapting petrochemical plants to use captured CO₂
Named Forest CUMP, the research delved into different technologies and mechanisms for producing renewable plastic raw materials from carbon dioxide and green hydrogen. For renewable feedstocks to quickly and effectively replace fossil-based ones, the technologies must be compatible with today’s industrial infrastructure. Given the high cost and long lifespan of hydrocarbon separation equipment, aligning renewable processes with current infrastructure makes sense.
“Our research showed that the low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch process is a technically and economically promising alternative for the production of renewable polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene. We can use Fischer-Tropsch naphtha directly in existing petrochemical processes as a feedstock for the above-mentioned plastics without major additional investments into current petrochemical units (e.g. distillation and separation processes or steam cracker),” added Lehtonen, in a media statement released by VTT.
He further noted that producing the necessary hydrocarbons through alternative routes—such as methanol synthesis or the high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch process—would demand significant investment in new production facilities.
Nordic countries hold unique potential for renewable carbon feedstocks
The Nordic countries, Finland included, hold substantial reserves of biogenic carbon dioxide that could replace fossil-based carbon feedstocks. This potential stems from large, relatively accessible sources of bio-based CO₂, particularly from forest industry facilities. Such concentrated and renewable CO₂ sources are uncommon elsewhere in Europe, making Finland and the Nordic region uniquely positioned.
According to Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, project manager of Finnish forest industry conglomerate Metsä Group’s carbon capture initiative, capturing wood-based carbon dioxide presents a major opportunity for Finland to develop new industrial value chains while reducing reliance on fossil raw materials. The experimental and pilot work carried out in the Forest CUMP project has provided valuable insights into using carbon dioxide as a raw material for plastics.
With a stable, year-round supply of bio-based carbon dioxide, Finland’s energy and hydrogen infrastructure is well-equipped to support the transition to renewable energy and hydrogen, with strong potential for large-scale green hydrogen production through water electrolysis using renewable energy.
The latest research shows that converting 10 million tons of biogenic CO₂ into renewable products would require about 60 TWh of renewable electricity, roughly 70% of Finland’s annual electricity consumption.
Processing 10 Mt of CO₂ and 1 Mt of hydrogen could produce 3 Mt of diesel, equal to Finland’s yearly consumption. With 30 Mt of large bio-based CO₂ sources available, Finland has the raw materials and infrastructure for industrial-scale production. Therefore, Instead of focusing on fuels, the Forest CUMP study aimed to capture bio-based CO₂ for use in durable polymer products.
