US-based Chevron and Phillips 66 joint venture, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem), has announced that it has successfully achieved commercial-scale production of polyethylene from mixed-waste plastics.

The context you need:

CP Chem is a major producer of ethylene, propylene, and the polymers that they become. Those critical chemicals and materials are produced by cracking natural gas from the oil and gas industry. But you don't have to crack natural gas, you could crack pyrolysis oil made from plastic waste as a solution to the plastic waste problem.

What is CP Chem's role?

Cracking pyrolysis oil instead of natural gas is easier said than done. It's not as simple as just switching out the feedstocks (this is where chemical engineers come in handy). CP Chem didn't offer any details about who is supplying them with the pyrolysis oil, whether the oil was blended with other feedstocks, or how much they can currently produce. But they did let us know that they want to make a billion pounds of it by 2030.

Read the press release here.

Bayer chemicals and material spin-off, Covestro, has announced the launch of a new production line of polycarbonate films in Thailand.

What are they making?

Polycarbonates come in plenty of different shapes and varieties (here's a primer on them here), but this new production line is transforming the material into films. Polycarbonate films are "mainly used in the automotive, telecommunications, medical technology and ID document sectors.".

Why the new production line?

This new line is Covestro's first step in expanding its film production globally. According to Covestro, the new line is important to them "because it enables faster market launches and at the same time expands our market access in Asia-Pacific.".

Read the press release here.

Thailand-based petrochemical company, Indorama Ventures (IVL), announced plans to increase its renewable energy use to 30% by 2030 and its intentions to acquire recycling businesses globally.

How they will reach that energy goal:

Currently, 6% of IVL's power consumption comes from renewable sources (which is high, relatively speaking). The company plans on increasing its reliance on solar and wind power to reach that 30% mark. While some of that will come from installing solar panels at its facilities, much of it will come from buying it from renewable energy developers (like how Solvay has done it).

And its recycling plans?

The last time we talked about IVL was two months ago when they made some investments in Poland's recycling infrastructure. This announcement was a reminder that they are looking to spend $1.5 billion on recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It's unlikely that IVL will be the only chemical company to invest in the recycling industry, so keep an eye out for others jumping in.

Read more here on Bloomberg.