ANTWERP – In Lillo, Antwerp, chemical giant Ineos is working hard on its new ethane cracker. Project One. From US shale fields to plastic waste in European incinerators, the plant will emit ten times more CO₂ than Ineos's own projected emissions for the cracker.
Project One will eventually produce 1.5 million tonnes of new plastics annually. These have a lifecycle CO₂ emission of at least six million tonnes per year — almost a third of the emissions of the entire Flemish industry.
Incidentally, recycling more plastic has little impact on this figure. The industry relies too heavily on hypothetical solutions such as carbon capture (CCS) and hydrogen, which could lead to serious economic and climate risks. Carbon in plastics is a ticking time bomb.
Thomas Goorden, an expert, conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of Project One and created a model, as journalist Jelle De Mey elaborated.
Photo: © Colin Baird via Wikimedia Commons
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COUNTRY
- Belgium
