Mass balance - a necessary strategy towards renewables

Perstorp believes mass balance is a necessary strategy for industry to switch from fossil to renewable and recycled resources. We have to take it stepwise as building wasteful, parallel systems would neither benefit the environment nor the economy.

We know that the size of the civilization’s carbon footprint is leading to climate change and we know that one way to reduce it is to shift to renewable and sustainable materials, instead of using up fossil resources. We also know that we are living way beyond the natural assets we have and that we need to find a more sustainable way of living. The mass balance concept is an important part of the solution. And this is why it is so important to know what it is and how it works. 

We believe mass balance is a necessary strategy for the chemical industry to switch from fossil to renewable and recycled resources. Mass balance enables making the transition stepwise without the need of wasteful, expensive new plants. It makes it possible for the production of renewable and recycled products to grow hand in hand with a growing demand and market for them. We see mass balance being used successfully used for both electricity and biofuels today.  

Mass balance is about mixing fossil and renewable in the existing systems but keeping track of their quantities and allocating them to specific products. The actual carbon molecules in the product may not be renewable, but through a third-party certificate the renewable content is verified.  This helps us all support sustainable sourcing of renewable raw material and see actual savings in CO2 emissions. 

So by introducing renewable raw materials into the existing storage tanks, and by keeping track of and allocating them when producing new products in the existing plants, we are taking the first step towards switching over to a sustainable future. Another strong benefit of mass balance is that   it guarantees the same quality and high performance of the products.

Watch the video below, to learn more about how mass balance works.