​​​This report provides an overview of the polyurethanes industry, production technologies, key raw materials, commercial applications, and developing technologies/trends. Process economics are presented for five different applications across three global regions and major regional production estimates are provided.​ ​

Epichlorohydrin (ECH) is a key intermediate used principally in the manufacture of epoxy resins. Most ECH is produced from allyl chloride, although production from glycerol is gaining market share due to the availability of crude glycerol as a by-product of biodiesel production, while production from allyl alcohol is declining in terms of market share. Thus, the cost of production and associated carbon intensity for these three routes have been estimated for plants in the United States, Western Europe, and China for the first quarter of 2026. FGENexantECA also reviewed the developing ECH technologies including the catalytic epoxidation of allyl chloride and the electrophilic oxidation of allyl chloride. FGENexantECA also provided a high-level analysis of the business and strategic considerations along with an overview of technology availability, ECH applications, and capacity.

This report discusses depolymerization as an advanced alternative to mechanical recycling for PET. Depolymerization technologies chemically break down PET into its monomers, enabling closed loop recycling and overcoming the quality limitations of mechanical methods. The report reviews key pathways such as glycolysis, methanolysis, and hydrolysis, outlining their process considerations, maturity, and feedstock applications. It highlights the cost-competitiveness and carbon intensity metrics these routes face, and presents global PET depolymerization capacity. Regional policy drivers are discussed to show how market pressures and infrastructure constraints shape the viability of depolymerization.

This report discusses an alternative to mechanical recycling that allows for the processing of mixed plastics. Plastic pyrolysis is a thermochemical process that decomposes mixed plastic waste to produce pyrolysis oil, a potential feedstock for aromatics extraction, fluid catalytic cracking, and steam cracking to produce fuels and chemicals. Plastic pyrolysis technologies and the impact of different types of plastics feedstocks on process considerations and performance are covered in this report. Process economics for producing plastic pyrolysis oil and upgrading and utilization in a steam cracker are provided as well as a carbon intensity analysis.