SK to Produce Eco-Friendly Chemical Products Using Recycled Raw Materials

Employees at SK Ulsan Complex are taking photos to commemorate the introduction of renewable naphtha.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK Innovation's chemical business subsidiary SK Geocentric announced on the 25th that it will start introducing renewable naphtha, known as an eco-friendly raw material, from December. Naphtha is a basic raw material for various petrochemical products, and renewable naphtha made using soybean oil or waste cooking oil is more than three times more expensive than conventional products.

They plan to start with 3,000 tons this year and increase it to over 100,000 tons annually in the future. The company's annual naphtha usage is about 5 million tons. Following the introduction of pyrolysis oil from waste plastics into some processes at the Ulsan plant last month, the company has taken another step toward becoming an eco-friendly company. On the 14th, the company obtained the ISCC Plus certification, an internationally recognized eco-friendly certification. It is known to be a stringent certification that complies with the European Union Renewable Energy Directive and covers the entire production process.

With this certification, when the company produces products using renewable naphtha, it can sell petrochemical products certified under this standard equivalent to the amount of renewable naphtha introduced. Na Kyung-soo, president of SK Geocentric, said, "We will contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions by producing eco-friendly products," adding, "We will accelerate our strategy to transition into an eco-friendly company."