Mitsui Chemicals and Teijin team up to develop bio-based bisphenol A and polycarbonate resins

Latest News: Mitsui Chemicals and Teijin jointly announced that they will be the first companies in Japan to develop and sell bio-based bisphenol A (BPA) and polycarbonate (PC) resins. These resins will support carbon neutrality by reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the product life cycle.

This joint action is at the ISCC where Mitsui Chemicals obtained the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC)
On the basis of the PLUS certification, Mitsui Chemicals will start supplying bio-based bisphenol A produced by the mass balance method. at ISCC
The PLUS certified mass balance approach allows verifiable tracking of materials through complex value chains, such as bio-based raw materials being mixed with petroleum-based raw materials to produce products.

Teijin will also begin developing and producing bio-based polycarbonate resins using the same bisphenol A.

In May 2022, Mitsui Chemicals obtained ISCC PLUS certification for bisphenol A raw materials for polycarbonate resins.
Mitsui Chemicals will now be the first Japanese company to produce a commercial bio-based BPA with the same physical properties as conventional petroleum-based BPA.

Teijin to source bio-based chemicals from Mitsui Chemicals
BPA to produce bio-based polycarbonate resins with the same physical properties as the company’s existing petroleum-based polycarbonate resins, which will make these new bio-based versions available for commercial applications such as automotive headlamps and electronic components.

By expanding sales of products containing plastics produced through bio-based conversion, the two companies aim to develop and manufacture more environmentally friendly products throughout the supply chain. For example, Mitsui Chemicals is considering expanding its procurement network for bio-based hydrocarbons in order to provide a stable supply of related products to the market. The company is acquiring ISCC for bio-based naphtha derivatives
PLUS certification, which has been certified for phenol, acetone, bisphenol A and alpha-methylstyrene. Its goal is to obtain ISCC for all of the company’s phenol chain products
PLUS certification, and then go on sale in fiscal 2023, which ends in March 2024. Teijin also hopes to secure ISCC in the first half of fiscal 2023
PLUS certification, and then began commercial production of bio-based polycarbonate resins. Teijin plans to emphasize to customers that traditional petroleum-based polycarbonate resins can easily be replaced by biomass-derived products for more environmentally friendly products.

To support carbon neutrality, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain is rapidly increasing, creating demand for products with low environmental impact.
Polycarbonate resins recovered from waste end products are suitable for automotive and electronic applications, so the development of various low-environmental impact polycarbonate resins is highly anticipated.

Since December 2021, Mitsui Chemicals has made naphtha crackers the core equipment of its petrochemical plants, allowing petroleum-derived naphtha to be replaced by waste vegetable oil and residual oil-derived bio-based hydrocarbons. The company plans to use
The ISCC PLUS certified mass balance approach continuously introduces derivatives to produce bio-based raw materials through chemical reactions.
At the same time, in addition to conventional polycarbonate resins using petroleum raw materials, Teijin will continue to develop recycled polycarbonate resins with low environmental impact, aiming to launch new environmentally friendly polycarbonate resins.