Carbon is at the heart of the chemical industry. It’s an essential component of many chemistries, and found in everyday products like cars, clothes, cleaning products, construction materials, mattresses, and more. But today, most of that carbon comes from fossil fuels, a dwindling resource that’s fueling the planet’s rising temperatures.
So how do we keep carbon in our products without driving climate change?
The answer lies in renewable carbon: carbon sources that can be replenished sustainably. As the world races to meet climate goals—including the 1.5°C target set in the Paris Agreement—the need to replace fossil carbon has never been more urgent. In 2024, the global average temperature rose by 1.54°C, officially pushing us past that target and serving as a clear warning.
RENEWABLE CARBON DEFINITION
Renewable Carbon entails all carbon sources that avoid or substitute the use of any additional fossil carbon from the geosphere. Renewable carbon can come from the biosphere, atmosphere, or technosphere—but not from the geosphere. Renewable carbon circulates between biosphere, atmosphere or technosphere, creating a carbon circular economy. –Renewable Carbon Initiative
To move toward a more sustainable and circular chemical industry, we need to tap into all three sources of renewable carbon: biomass, captured carbon dioxide (CO₂), and recycled carbon. Each has its own unique advantages and challenges, but each is vitally important in transitioning towards more sustainable chemicals and materials. Let’s break each one down.
1. Biomass: nature’s carbon loop
Biomass refers to carbon derived from plants, algae, agricultural waste, and other organic materials. These living organisms absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere, making biomass a carbon-neutral source, provided it’s managed sustainably.
By 2050, biomass could meet up to 20% of the carbon demand in the chemicals sector (1).
Biomass stands apart for its capacity to renew itself: Plants can be cultivated time and again, and with attentive stewardship, farmers can produce crops without inflicting serious emissions or ecological harm. Yet, its promise comes with a catch; biomass requires space and is in huge demand for food and energy, making supply a balancing act. As agriculture expands to meet these competing demand, environmental impacts from land use, water use, and biodiversity must all be carefully balanced.
2. Captured CO₂: from by-product to building block
Carbon dioxide doesn’t have to remain a byproduct; it can become a resource. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies make it possible to collect CO₂ from industrial processes, bio-based sources (biogenic carbon), or directly from the air (i.e., direct air capture). This carbon can then serve as a raw material in chemicals, fuels, and construction materials. The key advantage is that CO₂ is abundant and renewable.
“Carbon dioxide has properties that make it a valuable raw material. Capturing it instead of mining carbon means we can take care of the planet while still pursuing important scientific developments.” – Hannah Kane, Econic, Technologist
The challenge is that capturing and converting CO₂, especially from the air, can be energy-intensive and costly. Capturing CO₂ from industrial process emissions is easier and more cost-effective. All forms of CO₂ capture benefit from continued investment in renewable energy, and technological advancements will be important levers in driving costs down.
3. Recycled carbon: giving waste a second life
Instead of throwing away carbon-rich materials, we can recycle them. Yet, global recycling progress remains limited—only 9% of plastic waste is successfully recycled, while the rest is incinerated, landfilled, or escapes into the environment(2). This gap highlights both the scale of plastic consumption and the urgent need to improve collection systems, develop advanced recycling technologies, and adopt more circular business models.
Broadly speaking, plastics can be recycled in two main ways: mechanical recycling and chemical recycling.
- Mechanical recycling involves physically processing materials like plastic, metal, or cardboard so they can be reused. It’s relatively efficient but has its limitations. It only works with clean, sorted waste, and the quality can degrade over time (known as downcycling).
- Chemical recycling breaks materials down to their molecular building blocks. This process is more versatile; it can handle mixed or contaminated waste and can even produce virgin-quality materials. However, it usually requires more energy and is more expensive.
Despite these hurdles, both recycling processes have serious scope to help close the loop on plastic waste. In particular, chemical recycling is a promising frontier that could reshape how we think about waste. The challenges ahead are cost, infrastructure, and scalability.
The bottom line
Switching from fossil-based carbon to renewable carbon offers a powerful way to cut down the climate impact of materials and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Polyols, crucial building blocks in many plastics, are a good example of this. By replacing fossil resources with captured CO₂, the carbon footprint can be lowered by as much as 30%. By taking a step further and combining renewable carbon technologies, the potential for reducing emissions becomes even greater.
Econic’s technology also brings this concept to the production of surfactants. Instead of producing surfactants with carbon from fossil fuels or tropical plant-based oils, surfactants producers can incorporate up to 45% CO₂ by weight, resulting in a reduction of up to 65% in CO₂ eq. emissions.
Transitioning to renewable carbon isn’t just a green ideal, it’s a climate imperative. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Each source of carbon—biomass, CO₂, and recycled—has its pros and cons, and all will play a role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
To truly defossilise the chemical industry, we’ll need to use every tool in the toolbox. That means scaling up infrastructure, improving policy support, and investing in innovation. The direction is clear: The future must be fossil-free.
This article was written by Joe Evans, Econic’s Environmental Specialist. To learn more or contact Joe, click here.
