IUK Sustainable Carbon Report
Hot on the heels of the Carbon for Chemicals report from the Supergen Bioenergy Hub and Biomass Biorefinery Network published in August comes another report on a similar subject. The ‘Sustainable Carbon Ambition for the UK Chemicals Industry’ report is based on the views of over 250 stakeholders.
The majority of chemicals produced and used in the UK are sourced from coal, oil and gas refining, and so historically have been a byproduct of an energy system based on fossil fuels. As we decrease fossil fuel use, the question of where we get these chemical byproducts from arises. The report also highlights the complexity of the infrastructure built up around chemical production, and the scale of the challenge involved in scaling up biorefining processes to replace fossil chemicals.
The recommendations include work to map the UK chemical supply chains and gaps in them, the need for further work on the carbon footprint of sustainable carbon feedstocks (e.g. biomass) and an increased emphasis in the industry of the importance of using ‘Best Available Carbon’.
Petrochemical industry value chain (not intended as a comprehensive view of all industry value chains).
