High-performance polymers are an essential tool for treating water and sludge, whether in industrial processes or municipal wastewater networks. But there’s a catch. Making these polymers requires fossil-based feedstocks, which are neither renewable nor climate friendly. At the same time, regulations related to water treatment continue to tighten, which means demand for high performance sustainable water-treatment chemistries is increasing.

“As an industry leader and frontrunner in sustainable chemistries, Kemira has a responsibility to help water-intensive industries address this challenge,” says Peter Ersman, Senior Vice President, Product Lines, Industry & Water, Kemira. “Sustainable chemistry and circular solutions have been part of our DNA for decades. For example, in one of our core product lines for water treatment, inorganic coagulants, we already today have a majority of the raw materials coming from recycled sources or industrial by-products. ”

Sustainable chemistry and circular solutions have been part of our DNA for decades.

The latest step on the road towards our sustainable portfolio transformation is the introduction of innovative and renewable alternatives for fossil-based organic polymers, which is Kemira’s second-biggest product offering for demanding water-treatment applications.

Revolutionizing the industry with renewable water-soluble polymers

In 2021, Kemira’s long-term commitment to developing renewable chemistries took a big step forward with the start of full-scale production of a newly developed water-soluble polymer offering – our Superfloc® BioMB portfolio. The biomass-balanced (BioMB) product is revolutionary because it is made using renewable feedstock instead of fossil raw materials. The first batches were delivered to Helsinki Regional Environmental Services (HSY).

Wido Waelput, Senior Vice President of Kemira’s Industry & Water Segment in EMEA and Asia-Pacific adds: “Chemical performance is, naturally, top of our customers’ priority list, but more and more customers now need ways to increase the sustainability of their operations, and polymers based on renewable feedstocks offer a simple way to do this without impacting process performance.”

One of the biggest advantages of biomass-balanced polymers is that they are a risk-free drop-in solution for water-treatment applications. Customers can take immediate action to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations without needing to requalify the chemistries, change their processes, or worry about process performance.

Customers need ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations, and polymers based on renewable feedstocks offer a simple way to do this without impacting process performance.

What are biomass-balanced polymers, and how are they made?

When a polymer is biomass-balanced, it means that the majority of the fossil-based raw materials used to manufacture it are replaced by renewable mass-balanced feedstocks. These feedstocks – which can come from sources such as industrial side streams, agricultural residues, used cooking oil, and biogas – contribute to carbon reduction by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.

The feedstocks used to produce Kemira’s biomass-balanced polymers are all certified by International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), one of the world’s leading certification schemes. “This certification is a seal of approval that our customers can trust. It means there is a fully traceable chain of custody, so when our customers need to document and prove their own sustainability performance they can do so easily,” says Ersman. All Kemira’s polymer manufacturing sites are ISCC+ certified.

The transition to renewable polymers was easy, and there have been no changes in the performance compared to the conventional product. I am hopeful that this will be the start of an industry-wide move to more sustainable chemicals that are integral to water treatment.

Laura Elleray
Procurement Professional and Framework Manager
for the Chemical Category, Anglian Water Services Ltd

“One of the things that might not come to mind immediately is that these products are sustainable in terms of manufacturing footprint too,” highlights Ersman. “We are introducing renewable feedstock into the value chain while working with existing chemistries. We don’t need to change our manufacturing setups or logistics networks, so there is no need to build new infrastructure; in the same way, our customers don’t need to make any infrastructure or process changes either. They simply switch out their existing products and start reaping the rewards.”

Addressing growing demand for renewable chemistries

Kemira’s portfolio of biomass-balanced polymers now includes around 100 different products covering all the core applications – including industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, sludge treatment, and drinking water treatment. The portfolio includes dry and emulsion polyacrylamides.

Kemira’s biomass-balanced polymers have been adopted by a number of high-profile municipalities and water-intensive industrial companies. These include Aigües de Barcelona in Spain, The City of Heidenheim in Germany, Anglian Water in the UK, and Aalborg Kommune in Denmark.

In 2023 alone, Kemira supplied enough biomass-balanced polymers to treat wastewater and sludge coming from a population equivalent of 1.5 million people. This figure is expected to rise to reach 4 million by the end of 2024.

Our customers can simply switch out their existing products for biomass-balanced products and start reaping the rewards.

“These products are a strong reflection of who we are as a company and firmly in line with our renewable roadmap and strategy, which will gradually shift away from fossil-based carbon to renewable carbon,” Ersman says. “Today Kemira operates three R&D centers, employs around 250 skilled research staff, and holds 509 renewable chemistry patents or patent applications. This demonstrates that we are investing heavily in developing a fully renewable product portfolio and in supporting a more sustainable future for our customers and society as a whole.”