Brazilian petrochemical maker Braskem said its global sales of recycled resins and chemicals rose 290% year-on-year and 310% quarter-on-quarter to 5.752 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2020. The significant sales growth is attributed to the company’s expanded production capacity and robust demand, especially from the retail sector. Braskem’s recycled resins sales in Brazil rose 174% year-on-year to 1.865 million tons, while its domestic green chemicals sales increased 35% to 584,000 tons.
Braskem sold 921,000 tons of resins in the US and Europe in Q4 2020, a year-on-year increase of 154%. Meanwhile, its resins sales in Mexico rose 2.383 million tons. Braskem said sales of ethanol-based polyethylene fell 5% year-on-year to 39,902 tons because of inventory rebuilding. It reported a green ethylene utilization rate of 98% in Q4, rising from 79% in Q3 and 79% in Q4 2019.
Braskem is committed to expanding its recycling capacity. It aims at processing 14,000 tons of post-consumer resins by Q4 2021. The company intends to invest in new chemical recycling technology. As part of its sustainability measures, Braskem also plans to replace fossil fuels with biomass to fuel its steam turbines. It will also incorporate carbon capture in its ethylene production.
