COP28 Declaration and Painkillers

On the second day at Davos, I had a splitting headache while attending the World Economic Forum meetings. My colleague (friend) offered me Ibuprofen tablets. Within 20 minutes, I was relieved and speaking in a panel and discussing the COP 28 declaration and the road map to a sustainable future. After the panel discussion, out of curiosity, I looked at how Ibuprofen is manufactured and what made it so effective. Surprisingly, it turns out that the painkiller is made from chemicals derived from crude oil. Yes, the black stuff that is drilled from the ground.

Be it Ibuprofen, Aspirin or Tylenol, the most common painkillers have chemicals derived from crude oil. The petrochemicals commonly used to relieve pain are called benzenoids, organic hydrocarbon compounds containing a benzene ring. Benzenoids are incredible chemicals that can be broken down to manufacture polymers, drugs, pesticides, flavours, stabilizers, and lubricants. You will be surprised to know how just six basic petrochemicals — Ethylene, propylene, butylene, benzene, toluene, and xylenes have influenced our daily lives. Of these, I would say Ethylene has the most significant influence. It is one of the four compounds of Ethylene, which is used to create many things that we see and use in daily life. 

• Polyethylene, or plastic, which I do not have to elaborate on much.
• Ethylene Oxide (Ethylene Glycol) is used to create Polyester for textiles. It is also used in automotive anti-freeze and coolant.
• Ethylene Dichloride is any vinyl product, whether pipes, sidings, medical devices, clothing, etc.
• Styrene is found in automobile tyres, as well as foam insulation.

Yes, there is a lot of hydrocarbon around us. There is a high probability that the cooking oil you are using is extracted using hexane, which is again produced in a distillery. Even after 150 years, petroleum jelly is still a favourite with dermatologists. I am sure you have used Vaseline at some point in your life. Returning to the title, not just painkillers but 99% of pharmaceutical feedstocks and reagents are derived from petrochemicals. Majority of the roads you drive are paved by Bitumen, another product from crude oil.

The petroleum refining industry converts crude oil into more than 2500 refined products. But the majority, in terms of quantity, are fuels. Conventional refineries were set up to maximize the production of transportation fuels. The output of any refinery depends on many factors, and for our discussion purpose, transportation fuels amount to anything between 50-60% of the products produced by a refinery. The petrochemical products will be between 8% and 20%, depending on the level of integration in refineries. 

With the COP28 declaration on transitioning away from fossil fuels, what will happen to petrochemicals? Crude oil-to-chemical (COTC) technologies can now enable a much higher chemical production level. But if the chemicals are produced more, what happens to the economics of the refinery? The most obvious question is whether it will not result in more supply of chemicals than demand and thereby margin loss for refineries. Yes, and hence the need for increasing the demand for chemicals. 

How many of you observed the increase in plastic production? Global plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019, reaching 460 million tonnes[1]. The global plastic market was valued at $ 584.7 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $ 753.1 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2021 to 2026[2]. That is a low-hanging fruit for the industry to increase demand because 80% of petrochemical building blocks are used to produce some form of plastic.

Concrete is the most widely used material on earth after water. How about a substitute in the concrete through inputs from the petrochemical industry? There is already developments on non-metallic building materials supported by Aramco[3]. There are investments made by the industry in exploring new chemicals and new use cases.

As the demand for chemicals grows, it is a natural transition for these companies to shift from fuels to chemicals. Aramco – SABIC is developing a fully integrated COTC complex that is expected to be operational in 2025[4]. Similar complexes are being established in China. 

While, to some extent, the chemicals lock the carbon in useful materials, the end of life will always remain a challenge. The energy transition envisaged through the COP28 declaration and the shift of oil companies to look at chemicals can also be explored through new sustainable opportunities. Inspiration can be drawn from Neste[5], the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and renewable feedstock solutions for various polymers and chemical industry uses. Coming back to painkillers, scientists have already created common painkillers from pine turpentine[6]. 

The COP28 declaration states the objective to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner. Even in this manner, the pain is bound to be there. Early interventions and fast responses are essential. 

But as they say in Ayurveda, we should treat the cause, not the symptoms. Painkillers only treat the pain and not the cause of the pain. The root cause of pain needs to be cured and needs to be done quickly. Delaying is not a sustainable option.

BTW, I did find the cause for my headache and am treating the cause through Ayurvedic Treatment. 

  [1]https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm

[2]https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/gr/pdf/2023/04/gr-the-future-of-industry-focus-on-plastics-manufacturing-042023.pdf

[3]https://www.aramco.com/en/news-media/news/2021/aramco-and-american-concrete-institute-announce-new-center-of-excellence

[4]https://www.indianchemicalnews.com/chemical/aramco-sabic-to-develop-crude-oil-to-chemicals-complex-in-saudi-arabia-4415

[5]https://www.neste.com/products

[6]https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/184334/sustainable-pharmaceuticals-turpentine-pine-based-painkillers/