Energy-intensive industries are facing an increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions. Especially the chemical industry needs to be inventive in how to replace fossil carbon feedstock, since decarbonization is not an option. One solution to the matter could be the capture of carbon. As the technology advances, exploring the use of captured carbon has matured. Today we are discussing the opportunities Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) present for producing critical chemical building blocks. In a recent episode of our podcast, Chemistry with a Purpose, we talk to Michael Carus one of Europe’s leading experts in the area of CCU.

While Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been around for several decades, the utilization of captured carbon is a relatively new and growing field. As Kemira ventures into new territory with innovations for monomers made with renewable carbon, we took the opportunity to dig into CCU in more detail with Michael, a leader from the Nova Institute and Renewable Carbon Initiative.

Michael refers to recent work carried out by the Renewable Carbon Initiative, a collective of private companies advancing carbon capture utilization, of which Kemira is a member. “We have started to look into the embedded carbon in the molecules because there’s a big difference between both the carbon and [the energy] process…you can’t replace embedded carbon,” he explains.

In other words, society’s transition to renewable energy does not change the fact that many of the products that we use every day, such as plastics, fertilizers, and chemicals, are derived from carbon-based materials. Some of these can be replaced with bio-based or recycled materials, but not all. By using captured carbon as a raw material, society can still reduce dependence on fossil-based materials.

Listen to the full episode with Michael here on our website or find it on your favorite podcast player including Apple, Spotify and Google Play.