BASF’s biomass balance approach

BASF has broken new ground with the development of the biomass balance process for the use of renewable raw materials in the chemical industry. This approach allows fossil fuels to be replaced by renewable raw materials in BASF's Production Verbund. In contrast, certificate trading completely separates the use of biomass from in-house product manufacture.

How does the biomass balance approach work?

In the biomass balance approach, renewable resources such as bio-naphtha or biogas derived from organic waste or vegetable oils are used as feedstock in the very first steps of chemical production. The bio-based feedstock amount is then allocated to specific products sold by means of the certified method. 

BASF has established a closed chain of custody from the renewable feedstock it uses through to the final product. An independent certification confirms that BASF has replaced the required quantities of fossil resources for the biomass balanced product with renewable feedstock. BASF has transferred the certification of all its biomass balanced products to the new European REDcert² scheme for the chemical industry in 2019. 

The approach is applied for many BASF products, such as superabsorbents, dispersions, plastics and intermediates. The resulting biomass balanced products offer BASF customers a differentiation opportunity such as a quantifiably improved CO₂ footprint and savings of fossil resources. Customers can rely on the identical product quality and performance to which they are accustomed to and benefit from a sustainable drop-in solution, making a conscious contribution to environmental protection.

BASF markets its biomass balanced products as BMBcert^TM portfolio.

Examples for biomass balanced products: