Covestro is a global plastics manufacturer whose activities are focused on manufacturing high-tech polymer materials of superior quality. These materials are used for providing innovative solutions for various key industries such as automotive and transportation, construction, or electronics. Thus, our products are essentially used everywhere in modern life. 

Our vision is to create a climate neutral and more circular economy. Therefore, we as Covestro aim for net zero regarding our own emissions (scope 1) and emissions of external energy sources (scope 2) by 2035. By 2050, we aim to be fully climate neutral which also involves net zero emissions upstream and downstream our value chain (scope 3). 

To achieve this, we will focus more on alternative raw materials such as end-of-life products or bio-based feedstocks. This involves designing new processes and developing new technologies for innovative recycling. Compared to our traditional processes, other unit operations like solids processing, liquid/liquid extraction, crystallization, and other low-temperature unit operations are required. 

AVEVA Process Simulation is used as a tool for modeling these new processes and predicting a new process’ feasibility from environmental, technological, and economic standpoints. In our session, we would like to give some insights into the modelling challenges that we are facing with when designing novel processes.