BASF claims 'significantly' low-carbon footprint for chemical intermediates

Ludwigshafen, Germany – German chemicals major BASF has announced that a recent study of individual product carbon footprints (PCF) has revealed that some of its chemical intermediates are manufactured with a ‘significantly lower’ carbon footprint compared to global average.

BASF said the outcome of its analysis showed that due to the production set-up the PCF of a range of its chemical intermediates is significantly below the global average PCF of the corresponding third-party chemicals, all produced from fossil-based raw materials.

Now offered as “LowPCF” intermediates, the products include tert-butylamine (tBA) LowPCF; formic acid (FA) LowPCF; propionic acid (PA) LowPCF; 1,6-hexanediol (HDO) LowPCF and neopentyl glycol (NPG) LowPCF.

The intermediates, BASF said in a 7 June statement, are “versatile chemicals” that are used as ingredients for numerous everyday products, including car tires.

Other applications include plastics, pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings.

The PCF comprises the total greenhouse gas emissions that occur until the product leaves the factory gate: from the extraction of resources through manufacturing of precursors to the making of the final chemical product.

According to the German chemicals group, the PCF is determined by various factors, including energy generation.

BASF said its own gas-fired combined heat and power plants generates “significantly less greenhouse gas emissions” compared to other conventional energy generation.

The group’s ‘integrated Verbund’ system also helps improve the production efficiency of the intermediates in terms of energy and raw materials consumption.

Furthermore, BASF said its products generally use oil, natural gas or Verbund by-products, as primary raw materials, instead of coal which usually has a higher carbon footprint.

“Company CO2 emission reduction targets are playing an increasingly important role in the value chains we serve,” said Stephan Kothrade, head of BASF's Intermediates division

“Customers now have the option to consciously choose a product with a carbon footprint significantly below the global market average,” he added.