The Strait of Hormuz standoff showed how dependent the world economy is on fossil fuels. From petrochemicals to plastics to fertilizers, they all start life as oil or gas, but is there an alternative? Can we loosen the grip that fossil fuels have on our lives?
According to the International Energy Agency, chemicals produced from oil and gas account for 90% of all raw materials, and chemicals are “deeply ingrained in our daily lives, including toothbrushes, carrier bags, food packaging, mobile phones, computers, carpets, clothing, and furniture – the very items we see every day.”
Petrochemicals account for 14% of oil demand and 8% of fossil gas demand, according to the IEA, but remain a “blind spot” in the global energy debate.
Associate Professor Stuart Walsh, a resources engineer at Monash University, says crude oil and petrochemicals are found in “almost everything we interact with on a daily basis”. “They are so ubiquitous that they are almost difficult to enumerate.”
The largest consumers of petrochemical products are fertilizers, plastics, and textiles, accounting for 70% of total demand.
As conflicts in the Middle East disrupt supplies, raise prices, and focus attention on alternatives, what are our options?
Is it possible to grow food without using fossil fuels?
About half of the world’s food production relies on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, or urea. This is a product manufactured using ammonia, a chemical obtained from gas by the Haber-Bosch process.
Mr. Walsh describes Haber-Bosch as “something of a miracle of the last century.” “It basically meant that we could continue to feed everyone on the planet, and we could also convert methane into other types of chemicals.”
Much of the fertilizer currently applied to crops is wasted, with more than half lost to water and air. Photo: Tannen Morley/EPA
The first step converts the gas to hydrogen. Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Australian branch chief executive Amandine Dennis Ryan said ammonia would be a good candidate for harnessing green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using a renewable energy-based process.
Around the world, 80% of ammonia is used in the production of fertilizers. But Dennis Ryan says in Australia the split is about 50/50, with half used to make explosives (for mining) and half used as fertilizer to grow food. Explosives are probably the “most promising use” for green ammonia, she says.
Sign up for Australian breaking news emails
Ammonia is a logical place to revitalize the local hydrogen industry, she says, as up to 30% of existing ammonia feedstock can be replaced with green hydrogen without requiring major plant upgrades.
Although it costs more, the benefit is less dependence on gas and lower emissions, Dennis Ryan says.
“We already have the technology to make this happen,” Walsh says. This includes Australian technologies such as Jupiter Ionics.
Professor Kadambot Siddique, director of the Institute of Agriculture at the University of Western Australia, says optimizing fertilizer use, crop rotation and substituting organic crops are all strategies to reduce dependence on imports when it comes to growing food.
Much of the fertilizer currently applied to crops is wasted, he says. “The best efficiency is up to 30% or 40%,” says Siddique. The remainder is lost from the system by leaching into water or air.
“Australia’s fertilizer requirements cannot be completely replaced by organic matter simply because there isn’t enough of it,” he says, but his recent research shows that Mixing small amounts could benefit soil quality and crop performance while reducing dependence on supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
What will happen to that plastic?
More than 90% of plastics imported into Australia are imported as plastic resins or in the form of products and packaging. Most of it comes from fossil fuels, and only about 14% is recycled.
Dr Eddie Attenborough, a chemical engineer at Monash University, says bioplastics made from renewable materials such as corn, sugarcane, seaweed and food waste could be an alternative.
Their market share is currently negligible. The CSIRO report estimates that petrochemical-based plastic production is 380 million tonnes, compared to global production of 2 million tonnes.
A promising option, Attenborough said, is “polyhydroxyalkanoates” (or PHAs), polyesters produced by bacteria when you feed them sugars, oils and fats, and the resulting products are home compostable and marine biodegradable.
He says Australia has the potential to expand bioplastics production. The company has the science and engineering expertise to do so, with early-stage companies like Uruu (which makes plastics from seaweed sugar) and Ecofa, as well as access to raw materials such as agricultural waste, sugarcane and seaweed.
Another obvious solution is to produce and use less.
Chip Hamilton, plastics campaign manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, says the problem starts with the overproduction of plastics and other materials.
“We cannot recycle our way out of the crisis of overproduction.”
What will you wear? Can I switch to natural fibers?
Synthetic fibers overtook cotton in the mid-1990s and now account for approximately 73% of global textile production. It is much cheaper to produce, about half the cost per kg of cotton, and is not dependent on environmental conditions such as soil or water, resulting in an explosive increase in production and consumption.
Dr Rebecca van Amber, senior lecturer in fashion and textiles at RMIT University, says petrochemicals are used not only in textiles, but also in synthetic dyes and coatings and fertilizers to grow natural fibres.
Natural fiber alternatives such as merino wool are typically more expensive and produced in lower quantities than synthetic fibers. Photo: Jenny Evans/Getty Images
The uses for synthetic fibers go far beyond fashion and furniture. They are used in diapers, insulation and floor coverings, vehicle seat belts and airbags, medical gowns, masks, sutures, and bandages, to name a few.
But uncertainty from the Iran war has driven up prices, with some polyester producers paying 30% more for fossil fuel feedstocks, Reuters reported.
There are natural alternatives such as cotton, wool, linen, silk and linen, but these materials are typically more expensive and produced in smaller quantities, Van Amber says. However, Australia has the advantage of being a huge cotton grower and the world’s largest producer of merino wool.
Some synthetic fibers, such as elastane, which is added to stretch materials used in athleisure, socks, and underwear, are particularly difficult to replace. Natural rubber is also an option, but quantities are limited.
Van Amber says it may be possible to replace some petrochemical fibers with organic fibers. The barriers to doing this at scale are primarily systemic: the amount of goods produced and sold, the quantities people buy, and the prices people are willing to pay.
“There’s definitely a lot of small brands doing really innovative things,” she says. One example is Koutou, a New Zealand brand that has eliminated plastic and petrochemicals from its clothing.
Sustainable fashion consultant Julie Boulton said organic cotton currently accounts for about 1% of the market and current production rates are not enough to make the switch.
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuel fibers requires “system-wide change” to become a society that values durable fabrics, high-quality clothing and craftsmanship, along with reuse, repair and recycling, she says.
“We’re used to a cycle of cheap, fast fashion and stores being overcrowded. Is that really what we should be aiming for?”
