Outbound chemical products with environmental attributes

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and apparatus for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with input materials to a target material, the target material being produced by a chemical production network using at least one of the input materials.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Technical Field The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material and a computer-implemented method for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material. [Background technology]

[0002] Technical background In a supply chain, the environmental impact of each supply chain participant is a major concern. Transparency among participants can encourage them to collectively reduce their environmental impact to combat climate change. However, data sharing of environmental impact data is hindered by the lack of common data standards and the lack of reliable data platforms. In addition, the highly specific and centralized setup of today's data systems makes the exchange and sharing of collective actions cumbersome. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] There is therefore a need to develop metrics to quantify environmental impacts, simplify data standards related to environmental impacts, and broadly enable the secure exchange of supply chain data related to environmental impacts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] Summary of the Invention Disclosed, in one aspect, is a computer-implemented method for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material, the target material being produced by a chemical production network using at least one of the input materials, the method comprising: - providing at least one account for balancing environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule for attributing environmental attributes to target materials, the environmental attributes being associated with input materials; - providing at least one target material identifier and at least one target environment attribute associated with the target material; - selecting at least one attribution rule based on the target material identifier and the target environment attribute; - identifying at least one account for attributing one or more environmental attributes from the at least one account to a target material identifier via at least one attribution rule; - Assigning or attributing one or more environmental attributes to a target material identifier Includes.

[0005] Disclosed, in another aspect, is an apparatus configured to assign or attribute at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material, the target material being produced by a chemical production network using at least one of the input materials, the apparatus comprising: - a balancing module configured to provide at least one account for balancing environmental attributes; - an attribution module configured to provide at least one attribution rule for attributing environmental attributes associated with the input materials to the target materials; - a target provider configured to provide at least one target material identifier and at least one target environment attribute associated with the target material; - an outbound locator, Selecting at least one attribution rule based on the target material identifier and the target environment attribute; identifying at least one account for assigning or attributing one or more environmental attributes from the account to a target material identifier via at least one attribution rule; o Assigning or attributing one or more environmental attributes to a target material identifier An outbound allocator configured to Includes.

[0006] Disclosed, in another aspect, is a method of providing at least one target material associated with one or more environmental attributes and produced by a chemical production network, the method comprising: - Producing at least one target material from one or more input materials that enter a chemical production network; - assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with the input material to a target material identifier according to any of the methods disclosed herein; - Providing target materials in association with environmental attributes Includes.

[0007] Disclosed, in another aspect, is a method of providing at least one target material associated with one or more environmental attributes and produced by a chemical production network, the method comprising: - Producing at least one target material from one or more input materials that enter a chemical production network; - assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with the input material to the target material identifier according to any of the methods disclosed herein. Includes.

[0008] Disclosed, in another aspect, is an apparatus for providing at least one target material associated with one or more environmental attributes and produced by a chemical production network, the method comprising: - a chemical production network configured to produce at least one target material from one or more input materials entering the chemical production network; - an assigner configured to assign at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material identifier according to any of the methods disclosed herein; - a material provider configured to provide a target material to be produced in association with an environmental attribute; Includes.

[0009] Disclosed, in another aspect, is an apparatus for providing at least one target material associated with one or more environmental attributes and produced by a chemical production network, the method comprising: - a chemical production network configured to produce at least one target material from one or more input materials entering the chemical production network; an assigner configured to assign at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material identifier according to any of the methods disclosed herein; Includes.

[0010] In yet another aspect, disclosed is a computing element, particularly a computer program product or computer readable medium, having instructions configured to perform any of the steps of the methods disclosed herein when executed on one or more computing nodes. In yet another aspect, disclosed is a computing element, particularly a computer program product or computer readable medium, having instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause any of the devices disclosed herein to perform any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0011] Disclosed in yet another aspect is the use of one or more target materials associated with one or more environmental attributes provided by any of the methods disclosed herein and / or one or more target materials produced by a chemical production network provided by any of the methods disclosed herein to produce at least one individual product associated with one or more environmental attributes or at least one final product. The at least one individual product or at least one final product may be an intermediate or final product of a product supply chain. The at least one individual product or at least one final product may be based on one or more target materials. The at least one individual product or at least one final product may be produced by individual production. Disclosed in yet another aspect is a method of producing at least one individual product associated with one or more environmental attributes or at least one final product, in which the target materials associated with one or more environmental attributes provided by any of the methods disclosed herein and / or the target materials produced by a chemical production network provided by any of the methods disclosed herein are provided and / or used to produce at least one individual product associated with one or more environmental attributes or at least one final product.

[0012] Disclosed in yet another aspect is the use of one or more environmental attributes assigned to a target material identifier provided by any of the methods disclosed herein to provide at least one individual product identifier designating at least one individual product or at least one final product identifier associating at least one individual product or at least one final product with one or more environmental attributes. Disclosed in yet another aspect is a method of providing at least one individual product identifier designating at least one individual product or at least one final product identifier associated with at least one individual product or at least one final product identifier with one or more environmental attributes, where the one or more environmental attributes assigned to a target material identifier provided by any of the methods disclosed herein are provided and / or used to provide at least one individual product identifier designating at least one individual product with one or more environmental attributes or at least one final product identifier associating at least one final product with one or more environmental attributes.

[0013] Embodiment Any disclosures and embodiments described herein relate to the methods, apparatus, computer elements and uses described above or below, and vice versa. Advantages provided by any of the embodiments and examples apply equally to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0014] Any steps presented herein may be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to a particular order of these steps. Different steps need not be performed at a particular location or on a particular computing node of the distributed system, i.e., each step may be performed on a different computing node using different equipment / data processing.

[0015] As used herein, the term "determine" also includes "initiate or cause a determination," "generate" also includes "initiate and / or cause a generation," and "provide" also includes "initiate or cause a determination, generation, selection, transmission, and / or reception." "Initiating or causing the execution of an operation" includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective operation.

[0016] The methods, apparatus and computer elements disclosed herein provide an efficient way to track environmental attributes in chemical processing and provide chemical products with positive environmental impacts throughout the value chain. By using attribution rules, environmental attributes associated with input materials can be efficiently attributable to environmental attributes associated with target materials. In particular in chemical networks producing two or more target materials from two or more input materials through interconnected, connected and unconnected production chains, the use of attribution rules allows the attribution mechanism to be reliably adjusted according to the physical setup of the chemical production network. The use of accounts to balance environmental attributes allows the complexity of the chemical production network to be abstracted while still being able to assign environmental impacts to the target materials. In this way, the environmental impacts of the target materials or chemical products produced according to the physical setup of the chemical production network can be identified. Furthermore, the environmental nature of the target materials produced in the chemical production network can be made transparent to customers who further process the target materials. By providing a target material identifier associated with at least one target environmental attribute, the environmental attributes can even be adjusted towards the needs of the customer.

[0017] Assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute associated with an input material to a target material may include linking the environmental attribute to an input material identifier or a target material identifier. The input material identifier or the target material identifier may be associated with a physical entity of the input material or the target material, respectively. In this way, a virtual identifier of a material may be uniquely linked to a physical material. Such a link may include a physical or virtual link of an identifier uniquely associated with a physical material. In the case of a physical link, a tag or code may be physically connected to the material, for example, by printing a QR code on the packaging. For a virtual link, different identifiers associated with a physical material may be linked. For example, an order number, a batch number, a lot number, or a combination thereof may be linked.

[0018] The environmental attributes may be digital assets associated with the input or target material. The environmental attributes may digitally specify the environmental impact of the input or target material. The environmental attributes may relate, for example, to the renewable, bio-based and / or recycled content of the input and / or target material. The environmental attributes may include, for example, qualitative data points related to the type of impact in view of the input or target material. The environmental attributes may specify the type, such as recycled, renewable and / or bio-based. The qualitative data points may be converted to a quantitative measure, such as environmental units or balancing units. The environmental attributes may include, for example, quantitative data points related to the type of impact in view of the input or target material, recycled content, renewable content or bio-based content. The environmental attributes may specify recycled, renewable and / or bio-based content. The environmental attributes may include further environmental characteristics of the input or target material.

[0019] Environmental attributes may refer to properties or characteristics related to environmental impacts. Such properties may be properties or characteristics of input materials or target materials. Environmental attributes may indicate the environmental performance of one or more materials. Environmental attributes may be generated from properties of input materials, chemical production networks, and / or target materials. Environmental attributes may be associated with the environmental impacts of one or more materials at any stage during the life cycle of the materials or products made from the materials. Stages of the life cycle of a material may include stages of providing raw materials, stages of producing products such as intermediates or final products, stages of using the products, stages of processing end-of-life products, stages of recycling end-of-life products, stages of disposing of end-of-life products, stages of reusing components from end-of-life products, or any subset of stages. Environmental attributes may be specified or derived from any activity of one or more entities participating at any stage of the life cycle of one or more materials or products made from such materials.

[0020] The environmental attributes may include one or more characteristics attributable to the environment or sustainability impact of a material or product. The environmental attributes may include environmental, technical, recyclability, circularity or complementary risk characteristics associated with the environmental impact of one or more materials or products.

[0021] An environmental attribute can specify or quantify an ecological criterion associated with the environmental impact of a product. An environmental attribute can be a measurement made during one or more materials or products' life cycle or can be generated or derived from it. An environmental attribute can be identified at any stage of a material or product's life cycle and can characterize the environmental impact through or up to such stage. Environmental characteristics may include impact categories such as, for example, carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential, primary energy demand, cumulative energy demand, biotic and non-biotic resource consumption, atmospheric emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion potential, ozone formation, terrestrial and / or ocean acidification, water consumption, water depletion, water solubility, water pollution, noise pollution, freshwater and / or ocean eutrophication potential, human carcinogenic and / or non-carcinogenic toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial, freshwater and / or marine ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation, agricultural and / or urban occupation, land conversion, land use, indirect land use, deforestation, biodiversity, mineral resource consumption, fossil resource consumption, etc. Environmental characteristics may be calculated from a combination of one or more environmental characteristics. Environmental characteristics may include, for example, material or product characteristics related to the production of a material or product, such as renewable, bio-based, vegan, halal, kosher, palm oil free, natural, etc.

[0022] A technical characteristic may specify or quantify a performance of a material or product that is at least indirectly associated with an environmental impact. A technical characteristic may be or be generated from measurements made during one or more material or product life cycles. A technical characteristic may be identified at any stage of a material or product life cycle and characterize the performance of a material or product through or up to such stage. A technical characteristic may include, for example, composition data, a bill of materials input in a production process, product or material specification data, product or material ingredient data, product or material safety data, applicability data, application instructions, or product or material quality data. A technical characteristic may include, for example, physical, chemical, or further properties of a material or product.

[0023] Circularity characteristics can specify or quantify life cycle characteristics associated with circular use. Circularity characteristics can be or be generated from measurements made during one or more material or product life cycles. Circularity characteristics can be or be generated from circular data recorded at one or more previous life cycles including reuse. Circularity characteristics can be identified at any stage of a material or product life cycle and can characterize the reuse or recycling performance over or up to such stages. Circularity characteristics can relate to technical, mechanical, chemical and / or biological recycling. Circularity characteristics can include, for example, recycling data, reuse rate, recycling rate, recycling loops, reuse performance of the reused product, quality of the reused material or product, etc. Further circularity material characteristics can be derived by combining circularity characteristics.

[0024] The recyclability characteristic may specify or quantify a material or product life cycle characteristic associated with recycling use. The recyclability characteristic may include the composition of a material that includes ingredients that are specifically tailored to make the material suitable for recycling. The recyclability characteristic may be or be generated from measurements taken during one or more material or product life cycles. The recyclability characteristic may be or be generated from recycling data recorded at one or more previous life cycles. The recyclability characteristic may be identified at any stage of a material or product life cycle and may characterize the recyclability performance through or up to such stage. The recyclability characteristic may include, for example, recycling data, recyclability data, recycling efficiency, etc.

[0025] Complementary risk characteristics may specify or quantify further sustainability-related characteristics related to risks associated with the product at all stages. Complementary risk characteristics may include compliance with legislation and / or voluntary standards, compliance with human rights declarations, reporting on sustainability development goals, etc. Complementary risk characteristics may include material price fluctuations, supply risk, obsolescence risk, food contact compatibility, etc.

[0026] A target material, output material or input material may include or be any material produced by a chemical production network using at least one input material. A target material may include or be any target material produced by a chemical production network and provided at any exit point of the chemical production network. An input material may include or be any input material entering a chemical production network and provided at any entry point of the chemical production network. A target material or output material may be produced from an input material by a chemical production network. A target material or output material may include any material leaving the system boundary of a chemical production network. An input material may be any material entering the system boundary of a chemical production network. A product may be an individual product produced from a target material or output material. A product may be an intermediate or final product produced from a target material or output material.

[0027] Materials may include any chemical product obtained from a chemical process. Materials may be obtained by mixing, separation, chemical reaction or natural reaction of chemicals. Materials may be raw materials fed into a chemical production network, extracts to a chemical process, intermediates or products in a chemical process. Materials may be obtained from chemical reactions and natural chemical products. Natural chemical products may encompass any naturally occurring chemical, i.e. any unprocessed chemical found in nature such as chemicals from plants, microorganisms, animals, earth and sea, or any chemical found in nature and extracted using a process that does not change its chemical composition. Natural chemical products may include biologicals such as enzymes and naturally occurring inorganic or organic chemical products. Natural chemical products may be separated and purified before use or may be used in an unseparated and / or unpurified form. Chemical products obtained from chemical reactions may be any inorganic or organic chemical products obtained by reaction of inorganic and / or organic chemical reactions. Inorganic and organic chemical reactants may be naturally occurring chemical products or may be chemical products obtained from chemical reactions. A chemical reaction may include any chemical reaction generally known in the art in which reactants are converted into one or more different chemical products. A chemical reaction may include the use of catalysts, enzymes, bacteria, etc. to achieve a chemical reaction between the reactants.

[0028] A chemical production network may include multiple types of production processes for producing different target materials from input materials. A chemical production network may include a complex production network that produces multiple target materials with multiple value chains or production chains. A production chain or value chain may include one or more processes configured to produce one chemical product or class of chemical products from one or more input materials. A chemical production network may include multiple production steps per production chain. A chemical production network may include linked, interconnected and / or non-linked production chains. A chemical production network may produce multiple intermediates from input materials and produce target materials from the intermediates. Input materials may enter the chemical production network at an entry point. Target materials may exit the chemical production network at an exit point.

[0029] A chemical production network may include identity-preserving or partitioning production chains. In this context, identity-preserving or partitioning may refer to the environmental attributes of input materials being preserved or partitioned in the production chain. An example is a renewable or recycled input material used to produce a target material without fossil content. A further example is a fossil input material used to produce a target material with fossil content. A chemical production network may include non-identity-preserving or non-partitioning production chains. In this context, non-identity-preserving or non-partitioning may refer to the environmental attributes of input materials that are mixed in the production chain. For example, in this context, non-identity-preserving or non-partitioning refers to the environmental attributes of input materials that are mixed with fossil input materials in the production chain. An example is a fossil and renewable input material that is mixed to produce a target material with fossil and renewable content.

[0030] A chemical production network may include multiple production steps of one or more production chains. The production steps included in the chemical production network may be defined by the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the location or control over the production process. The system boundary may be defined by the location of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the production process controlled jointly by one entity or multiple entities. The system boundary may be defined by a value chain with a staggered production process to the final product, which may be controlled separately by multiple entities. The chemical production network may include waste recovery processes, waste sorting processes, recycling processes such as pyrolysis, cracking processes such as steam cracking, separation processes that separate the output of one process step, and further processing processes that convert such output into target materials that exit the system boundary of the chemical production network. An entry point of the chemical production network may be marked by the input materials entering the chemical production network. The input materials entering the chemical production network may be used to produce one or more target materials. The target materials may exit the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. An exit point of a chemical production network may be marked by the exit of a target material from the chemical production network. A chemical production network may include one or more entry points where input materials are provided to the chemical production network. The input materials may include fossil materials, non-fossil materials, or both.

[0031] An account for balancing environmental attributes may refer to a digital storage structure that stores data related to environmental attributes. An account may be associated with metadata that identifies the account for balancing environmental attributes. An account may be associated with metadata that identifies the environmental attributes and environmental units that are attributed to the account. An account may be associated with metadata that identifies the production chain with which the account is associated. An account may be associated with metadata that identifies the input or target materials with which the account is associated. An account may be part of a balancing system that includes multiple accounts. An account may hold environmental attributes for transactions. Environmental attributes may be attributed to, added to, removed from, subtracted from, or inferred from an account.

[0032] The at least one attribution rule may specify an attribution scheme associated with the accounts for balancing the environmental attributes. The at least one attribution rule may specify attribution of environmental attributes associated with the input materials and the chemical production network to environmental attributes associated with the target material. The at least one attribution rule may depend on the target material identifier and the environmental attributes. The at least one attribution rule may include instructions for attributing environmental attributes from the input materials to the at least one account for balancing the environmental attributes. The at least one attribution rule may include instructions for inferring environmental attributes from the at least one account for balancing the environmental attributes. The at least one attribution rule may include instructions for attributing environmental attributes from the accounts to the target material or the target material identifier.

[0033] The target material and its associated target material identifier may refer to the target material to be produced. The target material and the associated target environmental attributes may be customer specific. The target material and the associated target environmental attributes may be tailored to customer requirements. The customer requirements may relate to a product to be produced from the target material. The target material and the associated target environmental attributes may specify a customer specific target material and / or customer specific environmental attributes.

[0034] The target environmental attribute may include one or more environmental attributes associated with one or more environmental attribute types. The target environmental attribute may include environmental attributes associated with different environmental attribute types. The target environmental attribute may include an environmental unit associated with one or more environmental attribute types. The environmental attribute type may refer to recycled, bio-based, renewable, or a combination thereof.

[0035] In one embodiment, an account for balancing environmental attributes is associated with account metadata related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain of the chemical production network, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or combinations thereof. The input material type may relate to the characteristics of the input material, such as recycled material, bio-based material, or renewable material. The input material type may relate to the material and its use or entry point, such as pyrolysis oil input to a stream cracker or syngas plant, biogas input to a stream cracker or syngas plant. The input material type may relate to the origin of the input material. The input material type may relate to the production process of the input material, such as mechanically or chemically recycled material.

[0036] An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to certified or non-certified environmental attributes. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to input material dependent environmental attributes. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to chemical network or production chain dependent environmental attributes. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to target material dependent environmental attributes. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to environmental attributes certified under a specific certification scheme. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to environmental attributes according to a specific attribution scheme. The attribution scheme may for example relate to physical and / or chemical traceability of environmental attributes with respect to material flows in a chemical production network.

[0037] An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one chemical production network that produces a target or target material. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one chemical production network that includes one or more production chains. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one chemical production network that includes one or more process steps that convert input materials into one or more intermediates and / or one or more target materials. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one chemical process setup of a chemical production network. For example, there may be two or more chemical process setups to produce one or more target materials. Such setups may differ in the environmental attributes associated with the process setup. An account may specify such chemical process setup.

[0038] An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one attribution scheme that specifies balancing or environmental attributes. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one separate attribution scheme and / or non-segregated attribution scheme. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with one or more non-segregated attribution schemes, such as a mass balance scheme with free attribution, a mass balance scheme without free attribution, or a book-and-claim scheme.

[0039] An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one input material characterized by at least one environmental attribute type. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one input material type that enters a chemical production network. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one input material type that is used to produce one or more target materials.

[0040] An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one target material characterized by at least one environmental attribute type. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one target material type that emanates from a chemical production network. An account for balancing environmental attributes may be associated with at least one target material type that is produced from one or more input materials.

[0041] In another embodiment, the at least one attribution rule depends on the target material type and the environmental attribute type, and at least one account for allocating or attributing the environmental attributes and environmental units traded from each account to the target material identifier is identified via the at least one attribution rule.

[0042] In another embodiment, the at least one attribution rule is associated with account metadata related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain of the chemical production network, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or combinations thereof. The input material type may relate to the characteristics of the input material, such as recycled material, bio-based material, or renewable material. The input material type may relate to the material and its use or entry point, such as pyrolysis oil input to a stream cracker or syngas plant, biogas input to a stream cracker or syngas plant. The input material type may relate to the origin of the input material. The input material type may relate to the production process of the input material, such as mechanically or chemically recycled material.

[0043] At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to certified or non-certified environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to input material dependent environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to chemical network or production chain dependent environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to target material dependent environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to certified or non-certified environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to certified environmental attributes under a specific attribution scheme. At least one attribution rule may be associated with an environmental attribute type related to environmental attributes according to a specific attribution scheme.

[0044] At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one chemical production network producing a target or target material. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one chemical production network comprising one or more production chains. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one chemical production network comprising one or more process steps converting input materials into one or more intermediates and / or one or more target materials. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one process setup of the chemical production network.

[0045] At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one attribution scheme that specifies balancing or environmental attributes. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one segregated or non-segregated attribution scheme. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one non-segregated attribution scheme. At least one attribution rule may be associated with one or more non-segregated attribution schemes, such as a mass balance scheme with free attribution, a mass balance scheme without free attribution, or a book-and-claim scheme.

[0046] At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one input material characterized by at least one environmental attribute type. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one input material type entering the chemical production network. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one input material type used to produce one or more target materials.

[0047] At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one target material characterized by at least one environmental attribute type. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one target material type that exits the chemical production network. At least one attribution rule may be associated with at least one target material type that is produced from one or more input materials.

[0048] The account for balancing the environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule may be at least partially associated with corresponding metadata. The account for balancing the environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule may be associated with corresponding metadata. The account for balancing the environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule may be associated with partially corresponding metadata. The set of metadata associated with the account for balancing the environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule may match on all data points of the metadata. The set of metadata associated with the account for balancing the environmental attributes and at least one attribution rule may be related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or combinations thereof. The input material type may be related to the characteristics of the input material, such as recycled material, bio-based material, or renewable material. The input material type may be related to the material and its use or entry point, such as pyrolysis oil input to a stream cracker or syngas plant, biogas input to a stream cracker or syngas plant. The input type may relate to the origin of the input material. The input type may relate to the production process of the input material, such as a material that is mechanically or chemically recycled.

[0049] In another embodiment, the attribution rule includes instructions to identify one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material and / or environmental units accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may be associated with metadata indicative of one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to verify or validate one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify, verify, and / or validate one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material.

[0050] An attribution rule may be associated with the target material to identify one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify input materials used to produce the target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to access a bill of materials including input material data, target material data, and process data. From the bill of materials, an environmental attribute type accessible for the at least one target material may be identified. From the environmental attribute type, one or more accounts accessible for the at least one target material may be identified.

[0051] The attribution rules may include instructions for matching the account metadata with a target material type corresponding to the target material. The attribution rules may be associated with a production chain to identify one or more accounts accessible for at least one target material. The attribution rules may include instructions for matching the account metadata with the production chain. Such metadata matching may be performed against any combination of metadata associated with an account and the attribution rules listed above.

[0052] An attribution rule may be associated with a target material type and one or more accounts to identify one or more accounts that may be accessed for at least one target material. Upon identification, one or more accounts that may be accessed for at least one target material may be identified and compared to one or more accounts associated with the attribution rule.

[0053] Attribution rules may be associated with a target material type and one or more accounts to verify the one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material. Upon verification, metadata and / or balances of the one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material may be checked for valid accessibility.

[0054] In another embodiment, the attribution rule includes instructions that identify an effective date for an environmental attribute to be attributable to the target material. Upon provision of the input material, the environmental attribute may be entered into an account for balancing the environmental attribute. The environmental attribute may be provided in association with an effective date. The environmental attribute may be provided in association with an effective date and an input material identifier. The environmental attribute may be selected to be attributable to the target material identifier based on the effective date. The environmental attribute associated with the valid effective date and / or the earliest effective date may be attributable to the target material identifier. Selecting the environmental attribute based on the effective date allows for efficient management of the environmental attributes.

[0055] In another embodiment, the attribution rule is related to environmental units accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may be associated with metadata indicative of environmental units accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify environmental units accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to verify or validate environmental units accessible for the at least one target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to identify, verify and / or validate environmental units accessible for the at least one target material.

[0056] Attribution rules may be associated with a target material type to identify accessible environmental units for at least one target material.

[0057] The attribution rule may include instructions to identify input materials or amounts of input materials used to produce the target material. The attribution rule may include instructions to access a bill of materials including input material data, target material data, and process data. From the bill of materials, accessible environmental units for at least one target material may be identified. From the bill of materials, types of environmental attributes and accessible environmental units for at least one target material may be identified. For such identification, quantities of input materials used to produce the target material may be identified. The quantities of input materials used to produce the target material may be converted to equivalent environmental attributes. The environmental units may be related to the equivalent environmental attributes. A maximum accessible environmental units for at least one target material may be identified for one or more environmental attribute types.

[0058] The quantity of an input material may include mass, weight, molecular weight, volume, energy equivalents such as low heating value (LHV) or high heating value (HHV), atomic equivalents such as methane, carbon, hydrogen equivalents. The quantity of an input material may relate to the amount of the input material.

[0059] The attribution rules may include instructions for matching the account metadata with a target material corresponding to the target material and for identifying an account balance. The attribution rules may be associated with a production chain to identify one or more accounts accessible for at least one target material. The attribution rules may include instructions for matching the account metadata with a production chain and for providing a respective account balance. Such metadata matching may be performed against any combination of metadata associated with an account and the attribution rules listed above.

[0060] An attribution rule can be associated with a target occupancy type and one or more accounts to identify one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material. Upon identification, one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material can be identified and compared to one or more accounts associated with the attribution rule to provide a respective account balance.

[0061] Attribution rules may be associated with a target material type and one or more accounts to verify the one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material. Upon verification, metadata and / or balances of the one or more accounts that are accessible for the at least one target material may be checked for valid accessibility by matching metadata.

[0062] In another embodiment, the attribution rule includes instructions for identifying, based on at least one target material, each input material used to produce the target material and accessible environmental attributes associated with each input material. The attribution rule may include instructions for identifying, based on at least one target material type, each input material used to produce the target material and accessible environmental attributes associated with each input material. The attribution rule may include identifying, based on at least one target material type, each input material from a bill of materials. Identifying from the bill of materials may include deriving data from the process indicative of process steps of the chemical production network and / or process step chains leading from the input material to the target material, and identifying input material data including an input material identifier and each input material quantity.

[0063] In another embodiment, the inputs used to produce the target material include inputs associated with environmental attributes at the inlet to the chemical production network, where each environmental attribute is decoupled from the flow of materials by attribution to an account for balancing each environmental attribute. The inputs used to produce the target material may include inputs associated with environmental attributes and inputs not associated with environmental attributes. The environmental attributes may be decoupled from the flow of materials through the chemical production network by attribution to an account for balancing each environmental attribute.

[0064] The input materials used to produce the target material may include the input materials provided at an entry point to the chemical production network. The entry point to the chemical production network may refer to any point where the input materials enter the physical boundary of the chemical production network. Upon entry, material data associated with one or more input materials and respective environmental attributes may be provided to the computing interface. The material data may include at least one material identifier and at least one environmental attribute. The material data may further include a quantity of the input materials provided. The at least one environmental attribute may be imputed to an account for balancing each environmental attribute based on the quantity of the input materials. In this manner, the material flow of the input materials through the chemical production network may be decoupled from the environmental attributes, and the environmental attributes may be imputed to the target material according to the attribution rules.

[0065] In another embodiment, the account includes environmental attributes that are attributed to the account when an input material associated with the environmental attribute enters the chemical production network or when an input material associated with the environmental attribute is provided to an entry point of the chemical production network. Upon input of the input material associated with the at least one environmental attribute, the at least one environmental attribute may be registered in the account associated with the environmental attribute type. The metadata associated with the input material may be related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or combinations thereof. By matching the metadata associated with the input material to each account, the environmental attribute associated with the input material may be attributed to each account. The accounts and input materials for balancing the environmental attributes may be associated, at least in part, with corresponding metadata. The accounts and input materials for balancing the environmental attributes may be associated with corresponding metadata. The accounts and input materials for balancing the environmental attributes may be associated with physically corresponding metadata. The sets of metadata associated with the accounts and input materials for balancing the environmental attributes may match at all data points of the metadata. The set of metadata associated with the account and the input for balancing environmental attributes may be related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or combinations thereof.

[0066] In another embodiment, the attribution rules include instructions for identifying accessible environmental attributes for at least one target material based on input materials used to produce the target material, quantities of input materials used to produce the target material, environmental attributes associated with input materials used to produce the target material, or combinations thereof.

[0067] In another embodiment, the attribution rule includes instructions to identify at least one combination of accounts and respective environmental units to arrive at the target environmental attribute. Two or more combinations of accounts and respective environmental units may be identified to arrive at the target environmental attribute. If two or more combinations of accounts and respective environmental units are identified, one combination may be selected based on the account balance, the number of accounts included in the combination, the match of the total environmental attribute included in the combination to the target environmental attribute, or a combination thereof.

[0068] In another embodiment, the attribution rule includes instructions to identify a combination of an account and a compatible attribution scheme, for example to arrive at a target environmental attribute. Compatibility may be based on the attribution scheme. For example, a first attribution scheme may or may not allow attribution of an environmental attribute associated with a second attribution scheme. Identifying whether an attribution scheme is compatible may include matching metadata associated with the attribution scheme of the account with an attribution scheme associated with the target material or the respective target environmental attribute. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0069] [Figure 1] An example of a chemical production network that produces one or more output materials from one or more input materials is shown in association with an operations system that includes an attribute management system. [Figure 2a] 1 shows a portion of a chemical production network that produces multiple output materials from fossil and non-fossil input materials. [Figure 2b] 1 shows a portion of a chemical production network that produces multiple output materials from fossil and non-fossil input materials. [Figure 2c] 1 shows a portion of a chemical production network that produces multiple output materials from fossil and non-fossil input materials. [Figure 3a] An example of an attribution scheme for attributing the use of renewable or bio-based input materials to the output materials of a chemical production network is presented. [Figure 3b]An example of an attribution scheme for attributing the use of renewable or bio-based input materials to the output materials of a chemical production network is presented. [Figure 3c] An example of an attribution scheme for attributing the use of renewable or bio-based input materials to the output materials of a chemical production network is presented. [Figure 4] 1 shows an example of a chemical production network with different membership schemes. [Figure 5a] 1 shows the inbound and outbound attributes of the environmental attributes of the chemical production network. [Figure 5b] 1 shows the inbound and outbound attributes of the environmental attributes of the chemical production network. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example of a method for attributing or allocating at least one environmental attribute to a balancing account based on an attribute. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an example of an attribution rule that attributes or allocates at least one environmental attribute to a balancing account. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example of a method for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute to a target material ID based on an attribution rule. [Figure 9] 13 illustrates an example of an attribution rule for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute to a target material ID based on the attribution rule. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an example of an attribution rule instruction that selects at least one account. [Figure 11] 13 shows an example of an attribution rule instruction that checks the suitability of an account. [Figure 12] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE An example method for producing at least one output material associated with at least one environmental attribute in a supply chain is presented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0070] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a chemical production network that produces one or more output materials from one or more input materials in association with a production operating system that includes an attribute management system.

[0071] Different input materials may be provided as physical inputs from material providers or suppliers to produce one or more output products. The input or output materials may have one or more properties that are relevant to the environmental impact of the input or output product.

[0072] A chemical production network may include multiple process steps that are linked together. A chemical production network may be an integrated chemical production network with production chains that are related to each other. A chemical production network may include multiple different production chains that share at least one intermediate. A chemical production network may include multiple stages of a chemical value chain. A chemical production network may include gas or crude oil production, refining, processing and / or refining. A chemical production network may include a syngas plant connected to a stream cracker or multiple production chains that produce chemical products from the effluent of such a plant. A chemical production network may include multiple production chains that output chemical products as outputs from one or more chemical products as inputs. A chemical production network may include multiple tiers of a chemical value chain. A chemical production network may include an arrangement of physically interconnected production sites. The production sites may be in the same location or in different locations. In the latter case, the production sites may be interconnected by dedicated transportation systems such as pipelines, supply chain vehicles like trucks, supply chain ships or other cargo transport vehicles.

[0073] A chemical production network may chemically convert input materials into one or more output materials. A chemical production network may convert input materials into one or more output materials by chemical conversion. An input material may be considered as an input to a chemical production network.

[0074] The input materials may be fed into the chemical production network at any entry point. The input materials may be fed into the chemical production network at the start of the chemical production network. The input materials may constitute, for example, the feedstock of a stream cracker. The input materials may include bio-based, recycled and / or fossil input materials for producing chemical intermediates and chemical products.

[0075] A chemical production network may include multiple production processes. The production processes included in the chemical production network may be defined by the system boundary of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the location or control over the production process. The system boundary may be defined by the location of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the production process controlled by one entity or multiple entities jointly. The system boundary may be defined by a value chain with a staggered production process to the final product, which may be controlled individually by multiple entities. The chemical production network may include waste collection and sorting processes, recycling processes such as pyrolysis, cracking processes such as steam cracking, separation processes that separate the output of one process step, and further process steps that convert such output into chemical products that exit the system boundary of the chemical production network.

[0076] The operational system of the chemical production network may be configured to monitor and / or control the chemical production network based on the operational parameters of the different processes. One process step that is monitored and / or controlled may be the feeding of input materials or the discharging of output materials. Yet another process step that is monitored and / or controlled may be the attribution of environmental attributes to chemical products produced via the chemical production network. Another process step that is monitored and / or controlled may be the registration of environmental attributes associated with input materials that are input to the system boundary of the chemical production network. Yet another process step that is monitored and / or controlled may be the management of environmental attributes associated with input materials and chemical products of the chemical production network.

[0077] The operations system may be configured to access data related to input materials, processes, and / or output materials. The operations system may be configured to convert recycle or bio-based content of one or more input materials used in the chemical production network into environmental units. The operations system may be configured to allocate the environmental units to at least one balancing account associated with the recycle or bio-based content of the input materials. The operations system may be configured to allocate at least a portion of the environmental units from the at least one balancing account to at least one chemical product.

[0078] The operation system may be configured to handle environmental units related to input and output materials of the chemical production network. In particular, the operation system may be configured to identify environmental units associated with the use of input materials and output materials produced by the chemical production network that affect the environmental properties of the chemical production network. More particularly, the operation system may be configured to identify environmental units associated with output materials and the environmental properties of the output materials. In this manner, the operation system may be configured to store environmental units in or remove environmental units from the balancing account. Environmental units may be considered as credits that can be deposited in or withdrawn from accounts related to input and output materials of the chemical production network.

[0079] The operational system may be configured to register inbound environment attributes, assign outbound environment attributes, and manage inbound registrations and outbound assignments via attribution rules.

[0080] 2a-c show a portion of a chemical production network that produces multiple output materials from fossil and non-fossil input materials.

[0081] The chemical production network may include a pyrolysis unit that pyrolyzes the waste material to be recycled. The recycled waste stream may be fed to the pyrolysis unit. The waste stream may include plastics, rubber (including tires), textiles, wood, biowaste, modified cellulose, wetlaid products, and any other material suitable for pyrolysis. The waste stream may include streams that at least partially include post-industrial, post-consumer, or post-industrial and post-consumer materials. Post-consumer materials are those that have been used at least once in their intended use for any duration, regardless of wear, that have been sold to an end-use customer, or that have been discarded in a recycling bin by any person or entity other than the manufacturer or business involved in the manufacture or sale of the material. Post-industrial materials are those that have been made but not yet sold in their intended use, that have not yet been sold to an end-use customer, or that have been discarded by any entity other than the manufacturer or business involved in the sale of the material. Examples of post-industrial materials include rework, regrind, scrap, trim, off-spec materials, and final materials that have passed from the manufacturer to any downstream customer (e.g., manufacturer-wholesaler-distributor) but have not yet been used or sold to an end-use customer. The waste stream may be segregated as one type of waste stream having a specific waste material or it may be a mixed waste stream.

[0082] Examples of plastics as waste streams include high density polyethylene and its copolymers, low density polyethylene and its copolymers, polypropylene and its copolymers, other polyolefins, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyethylene terephthalate, polyesters including copolyesters and terephthalate copolyesters (e.g., containing residues of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, CHDM cyclohexanedimethanol, neopentyl glycol monomer, propylene glycol), polyethylene terephthalate, polyamides, poly(methyl methacrylate), ... polytetrafluoroethylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polyurethanes, cellulosics and their derivatives such as acetyl cellulose, diacetyl cellulose, cellulose triacetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate; regenerated cellulosics such as viscose and rayons, epoxies, polyamides, phenolic resins, polyacetal, polycarbonates, polyphenylene alloys, polypropylene and its copolymers, polystyrene, styrenic compounds, vinyl compounds, styrene-acrylonitrile, thermoplastic elastomers, and urea-based polymers and melamine containing polymers.

[0083] The waste stream may be fed to the pyrolysis unit. The pyrolysis effluent from the pyrolysis unit may include pyrolysis oil, pyrolysis gas and residual solids. The pyrolysis oil may be used as a feedstock for a cracker or syngas plant. The pyrolysis oil may be fed to the cracker as a recycled feedstock together with a non-recycled or conventional feedstock (e.g. naphtha). In addition to the recycled feedstock, a bio-based feedstock may be fed to the cracker. In a further embodiment, pyrolysis wax, pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis char or syngas may be provided as a feedstock. In a further embodiment, bio-naphtha may be produced through hydrogenation of bio-based materials such as palm oil and tallow and provided as a feedstock to the cracker.

[0084] A recycled and / or bio-based content cracked effluent is produced from the cracker and may then undergo separation in a separation train. In one embodiment, or in combination with any embodiment described herein, the recycled or bio-based content compositions may be separated and different product streams containing recycled or bio-based content may be recovered from the recycled or bio-based content cracked effluent. For example, a polypropylene stream containing recycled or bio-based content may contain primarily propylene, or an ethylene stream containing recycled or bio-based content may contain primarily ethylene. The product streams containing recycled or bio-based content may be further processed to produce output products or final products.

[0085] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment described herein, "r-ethylene" (recycled content ethylene) can be a composition comprising (a) ethylene obtained from cracking a cracker feed comprising pyrolysis oil, or (b) ethylene having a recycled content value attributable to at least a portion of the ethylene, and "r-propylene" (recycled content propylene) can be a composition comprising (a) propylene obtained from cracking a cracker feed comprising pyrolysis oil, or (b) propylene having a recycled content value attributable to at least a portion of the propylene. Both r-ethylene and r-propylene can be grouped together under the term r-olefins (recycled content olefins).

[0086] FIG. 2a illustrates one embodiment of a system boundary of a chemical production network including a pyrolysis process. The waste stream forms an entry point into the chemical production network. The chemical end products form an exit point from the chemical production network. FIG. 2b illustrates another embodiment of a system boundary of a chemical production network excluding the pyrolysis process. The pyrolysis oil and fossil feed form an entry point into the chemical production network. The chemical end products form an exit point from the chemical production network. FIG. 2c illustrates another embodiment of a system boundary of a chemical production network excluding the pyrolysis and cracking processes. The cracker effluent produced at least in part from the pyrolysis oil forms an entry point into the chemical production network. The chemical end products form an exit point from the chemical production network. The chemical production networks and system boundaries illustrated in FIGS. 2a-c are examples and should not be considered limiting.

[0087] 3a-c show an example of an attribution scheme for attributing the use of renewable or bio-based input materials to output materials in a chemical production network.

[0088] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a chemical production network may include complex interconnected production sites that chemically convert one or more input materials into one or more output materials via chemical processing. Attribution rules may be used to account for the use of recycled or renewable content in chemical production. In this way, recycled, renewable or bio-based content of input materials may be attributed to output materials. Renewable content may be based on input materials from renewable sources. Renewable content may include bio-based input materials produced from living organisms such as different types of grains, wood or algae. Recycled content may include any recycled material used to produce new materials. This may include, for example, any recycled bio-based or bio-based materials such as those produced from chemical or mechanical recycling.

[0089] Accounting principles for attributing the use of recycled or renewable content are, for example, laid down in ISO 22095. Four different methods can be used: the identity preservation model, the split model, the mass balance model or the book and claim model.

[0090] Figure 3a shows an example of a dedicated or split production network. The production network includes a first production chain producing output materials from fossil materials and a second production chain producing output materials from bio-based input materials. The first and second production chains are not interconnected. The first and second production chains produce fossil-based and bio-based output materials, respectively. Examples of such dedicated production environments are polyethylene production from sugar cane, bio-polylactic acid (PLA) production from corn, or fermentation or chemical conversion of bio-butanediol (BDO), etc.

[0091] Figure 3b shows an example of a composite production network. In contrast to the production network of Figure 3a, multiple fossil-based input materials are co-fed and mixed with bio-based input materials. The production network produces one or more material outputs or products through one or more chemical process chains with intermediates. For simplicity, Figure 3b shows a mass balance approach for one chemical process chain producing one output material or product. The mass balance model accounts for the physical mixing or co-feeding of bio-based input materials with conventional fossil input materials. Here, the feed to the production network and the feed of the output product form the system boundary. The mass balance of input and output materials links the bio-based input materials used to the output products produced. The mass balance allows, for example, to track the total quantity, e.g., total amount, of input materials (e.g., recycled, bio-based or bio-based materials) throughout the production network and allows attribution to the output materials. Materials with different specified property sets can be mixed. For example, recycled or bio-based feedstocks replace equal quantities of fossil feedstocks (input materials) at the beginning of the value chain and contribute to the product (output materials) in a manner that matches inputs and outputs. In this model, the proportion of inputs with specified characteristics can only match the initial proportions on average and will typically vary across different outputs. This means, for example, that renewable and fossil input materials are mixed and that chemical or technological properties in each output material are not tracked.

[0092] Mass balances may include conversion factors to ensure that quantities of input materials correlate with quantities of output materials. Calculations may be performed over a predefined or specified time period. Mass balances may be based on environmental units such as mass, energy, or carbon.

[0093] Similar to Fig. 3b, Fig. 3c shows a composite production network associated with a book-and-claim approach. In book-and-claim, the characteristic renewable or recycled input materials are not linked to the actual material flow. Book-and-claim decouples the specific characteristics, such as renewable, from the physical product and allows the characteristics to be transferred separately through a dedicated registry in the form of a digital asset. This approach can be used for renewable energy. Book-and-claim can be based on book-and-claim accounting units, such as watts or kilowatts for electricity.

[0094] In the identity preservation model or partitioning approach shown in Figure 3a, renewable, recycled or bio-based input materials may not be mixed with fossil input materials. In the mass balance or book and claim approach shown in Figures 3b and 3c, renewable, recycled or bio-based materials may be mixed with fossil input materials. In view of the increasing number of different sources and attribution schemes towards more sustainable chemical production, an efficient and robust operation system is required to operate a complex production network, such as a chemical production network.

[0095] FIG. 4 shows an example of a chemical production network including a metadata structure. The chemical production network may include multiple production chains with different attribution schemes. The production chains may be represented by the material outputs produced through such production chains. The production chain logic may include process data associated with the process steps from input materials to output materials. For each production chain, an attribution scheme may be applicable or may be assigned. Additionally, for each production chain, a balancing system may be applicable or the production chain logic may be built into the attribution rules.

[0096] 5a and 5b show the inbound and outbound attribution of environmental attributes in a chemical production network.

[0097] FIG. 5a illustrates an example of an inbound attribution process for a chemical production network. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the chemical production network may be operated by an operation system configured to register inbound environmental attributes, assign outbound environmental attributes, and / or manage inbound registration and outbound assignment via attribution rules. The attribution rules may include attribution schemes such as those shown in FIGS. 3a-3c. The chemical production network may include a network such as that shown in FIG. 2.

[0098] Inbound attribution occurs when an input material enters the physical system boundary of a chemical production network or chemical product network. In this context, an input material refers to any material that enters the system boundary of a chemical production network and is used to produce an output material that leaves the chemical production network. Such an input material may be associated with an input material identifier. Possible identifiers include a non-central identifier, an input material specification, an input material order number, an input material lot number, an input material batch number, an input material supplier specification, or a combination thereof.

[0099] When an input enters a chemical production network, input data may be registered. The input data may include an input identifier, an input quantity, e.g., a quantity, and / or one or more environmental attributes associated with the input.

[0100] Based on the input data, particularly the input quantities, e.g., amounts, and / or one or more environmental attributes associated with the inputs, environmental units may be determined by converting the input quantities, e.g., amounts, to environmental units of each environmental attribute. The environmental units may relate to carbon atoms, methane equivalents, or any other suitable measure of the environmental impact of the environmental attribute. For example, the conversion to environmental units may include converting the input quantities to energy properties, including material losses incurred during the production of the output product.

[0101] An environmental unit may be attributed to a balancing account associated with each environmental attribute. In this way, environmental attributes associated with input materials entering a chemical production network may be stored in a tracking or accounting system. An example of an accounting system is shown in Figures 7a-7d, where each balancing account is associated with metadata indicating the input material, such as pyrolysis oil, the environmental attribute type, such as recycled material, and the material origin, such as recycled from tires. For attribution, the input material data may include the respective metadata of the input material. Attribution rules may include instructions for allocating the environmental attributes included in the input material data to each balancing account. In an inbound process, such attribution rules may be used to allocate environmental attributes from the input material data to the balancing system.

[0102] For example, a method for attributing environmental units to output products of a complex chemical production network can be associated with pyrolysis oil as an input to the complex chemical production network.

[0103] In a first step, the quantity and type of waste material is provided to a computing interface. The quantity and type of waste material is stored together with the pyrolysis plant and the pyrolysis oil produced by the plant. For example, a pyrolysis oil producer may operate multiple plants and track the quantity and type of waste material provided to the plants. The waste materials may be provided separately according to the waste material type, or the waste materials may be mixed. Based on such tracking, the quantity and type of pyrolysis oil may be attributed to the pyrolysis oil produced.

[0104] In a second step, the quantity of pyrolysis oil and the type of waste material may be provided to a second computing system associated with the operational system of the integrated chemical production network. Based on the quantity of pyrolysis oil, environmental units may be generated. Such generation may include a conversion factor that takes into account the chemical differences between fossil-based input materials, such as naphtha and methane. In one example, the conversion factor may relate the low heating value of the pyrolysis oil with respect to the low heating value of naphtha or methane. The conversion factor may include, for example, the ratio of the low heating value of the pyrolysis oil to the low heating value of naphtha or methane. In this way, the chemical differences between the fossil input material and the recycled input material may be taken into account. The pyrolysis oil may be mixed with the fossil input material, and the proportion of the pyrolysis oil may be registered in an account for balancing the environmental units.

[0105] Environmental units may be attributed to each balancing account. For example, an attribution rule may be associated with balancing account 1 in FIG. 5. In such a case, an environmental unit of pyrolysis oil produced from waste of a waste type and used in a specified quantity in the production network would be attributed to balancing account 1. Upon production of output products, such environmental units may be attributed to the output materials according to the attribution rule. Attribution rules that specify free attribution among production processes in a chemical production network provide reliable attribution in complex production networks.

[0106] Figure 5b shows an example of an outbound attribution process for a chemical production network. For example, as shown in Figure 1, a chemical production network may be operated by an operation system configured to register inbound environmental attributes, assign outbound environmental attributes, and / or manage inbound registration and outbound assignment via attribution rules. The attribution rules may include attribution schemes such as those shown in Figures 3a-3c. The chemical production network may include a network such as that shown in Figure 2.

[0107] Output materials may be produced from input materials that enter a chemical production network. Output material data may be provided that includes an output material identifier. The output material data may further include input material data associated with the input materials used to produce the output material, process data associated with the production chain that produces the output material, and / or output material data associated with the output material, such as output material specifications or output material quantities, such as amounts.

[0108] Based on the input data, environmental attributes associated with the input materials used to produce the output material may be identified. The input data may specify a total quantity of the input materials that entered the production chain to produce the quantity of the calculation material. The input data may further specify the environmental attributes accessible for each input material. From the total quantity of the input materials, the number of environmental units of each environmental attribute available for such input material may be identified. In this manner, the maximum number of environmental units of each environmental attribute that can be attributed to the output material may be identified.

[0109] Based on the environmental attributes attributable to the produced materials, a number of environmental units corresponding to the identified environmental attributes may be identified. The identified environmental units may be compared to the environmental units stored in the balancing account for each environmental attribute.

[0110] If the balance of each balancing account for each environmental attribute is not sufficient, the environmental attribute is rejected. If environmental units are available, the environmental units are estimated from each balancing account and the environmental attributes are assigned to the output materials.

[0111] An example of an accounting system is shown in Figures 7a-7d, where each balancing account may be associated with metadata indicating input material, such as pyrolysis oil, environmental attribute type, such as recycled material, and material origin, such as recycled from tires. Attribution rules may be defined to assign environmental attributes to output materials. Attribution rules may include instructions to assign environmental attributes contained in input materials from each balancing account to output materials. In an outbound process, such attribution rules may be used to assign environmental attributes from the balancing system to output materials.

[0112] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method for attributing at least one environmental allocation or attribute to a balancing account based on attribution rules.

[0113] An input material, such as pyrolysis oil, bio-naphtha, or biogas, may be fed into the chemical production network. The input material may enter the system boundary of the chemical production network at an entry point, such as a stream cracker. The input material may be used in the chemical production network to produce one or more output materials from the input material. The output materials may be MDI, TDI, PA6, EPS, PC, polyols, caprolactam, adipic acid, HMD, polyamide.

[0114] Input data may be provided to an interface of the operational system via the network at the time the input is added. An input identifier associated with each input, an environmental attribute associated with each input, and a quantity of the input provided to the chemical production network may be provided. Such data may be provided via the network at the time of input to the chemical production network, or such data may be transferred from the computing system to the operational system.

[0115] The input material identifier may be associated with a physical entity of the input material entering the chemical production network. A tag providing the input material identifier and associated data may be placed on the delivery truck. The input material identifier may be a lot number assigned to a particular quantity or batch of the input material, and / or the material identifier is associated with an order number assigned to the transfer of a particular quantity or batch of the input material to the chemical production network. The data associated with the input material identifier may include environmental attributes associated with each input material, the quantity of the input material, and a certificate verifying the environmental attributes. The quantity of the input material may be a measured amount of the input material provided to a plant or reservoir of the chemical production network for producing one or more output materials from the input material.

[0116] An input identifier may be provided and associated data may be accessed over the network and retrieved from the input product system. At least one environmental attribute and quantity of the input provided to the chemical production network may be associated with the input identifier and authentication information. Providing the input to the chemical production network may trigger the generation of a transaction record that assigns or attributes the input identifier from the input producer identifier to the input user identifier.

[0117] The environmental attributes may be allocated or attributed to an input account associated with each environmental attribute type. For allocation or attribution, attribution rules may be provided that map the environmental attributes to the input accounts. The attribution rules may depend on the input type and the environmental attribute type. The attribution rules may be linked to metadata related to the input type and the environmental attribute type. Similarly, the input account may also be linked to metadata related to the input type and the environmental attribute type. Based on the input type and the environmental attribute type, the respective metadata may be matched and the input account may be selected.

[0118] For attribution or allocation, environmental units may be identified and may be converted to mass, heating value, methane, carbon atoms, etc. For example, quantities of input materials such as pyrolysis oil may be converted to environmental units. This may include conversion factors that take into account chemical differences between fossil-based input materials such as naphtha and methane and non-fossil-based input materials such as bionaphtha or pyrolysis oil. In one example, the conversion factor may relate the lower heating value of the pyrolysis oil with respect to the lower heating value of naphtha or methane. The conversion factor may include, for example, the ratio of the lower heating value of the pyrolysis oil to the lower heating value of naphtha or methane. In this way, chemical differences between fossil and recycled input materials may be taken into account.

[0119] The environmental units may be attributed or allocated to a selected input material account. For example, an attribution rule may be associated with an account for pyrolysis oil. During the production of an output, a product corresponding to the environmental unit may be assigned to an output material. The attribution rule may specify the allocation of the environmental units to the output material.

[0120] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an attribution rule for attributing at least one environmental allocation attribute to a balancing account.

[0121] Possible inbound attribution rules 1-5, mapping environmental attributes to input accounts, are shown in FIG. 7. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and input material type, such as recycled input material and pyrolysis oil based on plastic waste. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and production chain, such as ethanol production chain. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and attribution scheme, such as mass balance with and without free attribution. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and target material type, such as polyurethane.

[0122] Based on such attribution rules, environmental attributes registered upon input into the system boundary may be attributed or allocated to each input material account. Environmental attribute types may include bio-based, recycled, renewable, etc.

[0123] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a method for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute to a target material ID based on an attribution rule.

[0124] Similar to Figure 7, input materials are provided to the chemical production network and output materials are produced by the chemical production network. Upon entry of the input materials, environmental attributes associated with the input materials are attributed to an input material account, as described herein in connection with Figure 5. An input material account, a target material identifier associated with a target material, and target environmental attributes may be provided. The target material attributes may include one or more environmental attribute types. The target material attributes may include a different number of environmental units for each environmental attribute type.

[0125] Based on the target material identifier and the target environmental attribute, an attribution rule may be provided. The attribution rule may map an environmental attribute type to a target material type. For example, the attribution rule may include metadata associated with the environmental attribute type and the target material type. Similarly, the material input account may include metadata associated with the environmental attribute type and the target material type. Based on the matching of the metadata, a material input account may be selected. In this manner, an account may be identified for attributing environmental attributes from the account to the target material identifier.

[0126] Each environmental attribute from the input material account can be assigned to a target material, and upon production of the target material, a corresponding environmental unit can be assigned to the target material.

[0127] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an attribution rule for assigning or attributing at least one environmental attribute to a target material ID based on the attribution rule.

[0128] Possible outbound attribution rules 1-5 that map environmental attributes from input material accounts to target materials are shown in FIG. 9. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and input material type, such as recycled input material and pyrolysis oil based on plastic waste. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and production chain, such as ethanol production chain. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and attribution scheme, such as mass balance with and without free attribution. Attribution rules may depend on environmental attribute type, such as recycled input material, and target material type, such as polyurethane.

[0129] Based on such attribution rules, environmental attributes registered upon entry into the system boundary and provided by the input material accounts can be attributed or allocated to each target material account. Environmental attribute types can include bio-based, recycled, renewable, etc.

[0130] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an attribution rule instruction that selects at least one account. Similar to Figures 7 and 8, input materials are provided to the chemical production network and output materials are produced by the chemical production network. Upon input registration, environmental attributes associated with the input material are attributed to an input material account, as described herein in connection with Figure 5.

[0131] FIG. 10 shows attribution rule instructions configured to select accounts. Depending on the target material and input materials, such target material is produced from different input materials, for which accounts are accessible for the target material. The input materials can be identified from a bill of materials that includes the recipe of the production chain up to the target material. The production chain may include input materials that enter the system boundary of the chemical production network at any stage. From the input materials used to produce the target material, accessible accounts associated with such input material types can be identified.

[0132] For each accessible account, the accessible environmental units may be identified from the account balance and the input material type used to produce the target material. With such identification, one or more accounts may be accessible for the target material and the target environmental input. For example, the target environmental attribute may refer to pyrolysis oil that is not related to the waste stream. Thus, the input material account of pyrolysis oil from a different waste stream may be an accessible account. Depending on each account balance, one or more combinations of accounts may fill the input material account. One combination of accessible accounts may be selected, for example, based on the combination with the highest account balance in each account. In this way, it is possible to still meet the environmental attributes required by other, more strict, target environmental attributes.

[0133] When a target material is provided, the environmental units from each account may be assigned a target material identifier. In this manner, the target material may be uniquely associated with the target environmental attributes via the target material identifier.

[0134] FIG. 11 shows an example of an attribution rule instruction that checks the suitability of an account. Similar to Figures 7, 9 and 9, input materials are provided to the chemical production network and output materials are produced by the chemical production network. Upon input registration, environmental attributes associated with the input material are attributed to an input material account, as described herein in connection with Figure 5.

[0135] FIG. 11 illustrates attribution rule instructions configured to check compatibility between attribution schemes. Depending on the accessible accounts corresponding to the target environmental attributes, different attribution schemes may be applied. For example, one account may be associated with a book-and-claim scheme, while another account may be associated with a split scheme. For further example, one account may be associated with a mass balance scheme, while another account may be associated with a split scheme. For further example, one account may be associated with a mass balance scheme with free attribution, while another account may be associated with a mass balance scheme without free attribution. Different attribution schemes may be mutually exclusive. Different attribution schemes may be compatible with each other in the sense that environmental units from a first account associated with a first attribution scheme may be combined with environmental units from a second account associated with a second attribution scheme, and vice versa. Different attribution schemes may be compatible with each other in the sense that environmental units from a first account associated with a first attribution scheme may only be combined with environmental units from a second account associated with a second attribution scheme. Reverse combinations may be excluded. Similarly, attribution rules associated with target environment attributes may or may not be compatible with accounts. Compatibility rules specifying the compatibility of different attribution schemes associated with each account may be provided from a database. Compatibility rules specifying the compatibility of different attribution schemes associated with each account may be associated with accounts and / or target environment attributes. The target environment attributes and / or accounts may include respective metadata specifying the attribution scheme. Depending on such compatibility rules, compatible combinations of accessible accounts and / or target environment attributes may be identified by matching metadata. In this way, it may be ensured that the target environment attributes include only compatible environment attributes.

[0136] FIG. 12 illustrates an example method for producing at least one output material associated with at least one environmental attribute in a supply chain.

[0137] The example of FIG. 12 shows two tiers and an original equipment manufacturer. Tier 1 may be a chemical producer operating a chemical production network. The chemical producer network may be associated with a system boundary. The system boundary may indicate the physical boundary of the chemical production network. An input material entering the chemical production network at any stage of the production network or an input material entering the system boundary of the chemical production network may indicate an entry point into the chemical production network. Upon entry of an input material associated with one or more environmental attributes, the environmental attributes may be decoupled from the physical material flow of the input material through the chemical production network. Such a decoupling of the physical input material and the virtual environmental attributes may be provided by a method of registering at least one input material associated with at least one environmental attribute as described herein with respect to the example shown in FIG. 5a (inbound). An output material may be produced from the input material by the chemical production network. At least one output material may be produced by the chemical production network, and the output material may be linked to at least one environmental attribute as described herein and shown in FIG. 5b (outbound).

[0138] The output materials associated with at least one environmental attribute produced by the chemical production network may be provided to the next layer. In the illustrated example, layer 2 may be the production network producing discrete products from output materials or chemical products. Discrete products may be any products associated with separate physical units. In contrast to process manufacturing, discrete manufacturing uses such discrete products to assemble other discrete products. In contrast, chemical production uses process manufacturing where input materials are mixed and chemically transformed into chemical output products. Such output products are output materials that may be transported in discrete units such as containers or wreaths. Output materials are such, but are not discrete products. The chemical-discrete production network may be associated with a system boundary as described above. As with the chemical production network, the chemical-discrete production network may register input materials associated with at least one environmental attribute upon inbound, which may be output materials of the chemical production network as described herein or shown in FIG. 5a (inbound). Discrete output products may be produced by the chemical-discrete production network. At least one individual output product may be linked to at least one environmental attribute (outbound).

[0139] The individual product associated with at least one environmental attribute produced by the chemical-individual production network may be provided to an original equipment manufacturer that produces a final product. As described herein with respect to Figures 5a and 6, the individual product and associated environmental attributes may be decoupled at the time of registration (inbound). As described herein with respect to Figures 5b and 7, once the environmental attributes are decoupled, they may be linked to the final product as described herein and shown in Figure 5b (outbound).

[0140] In this way, the environmental attributes associated with any input material can be tracked through the value chain to the end product. The methods, apparatus and systems described herein enable transparency from the early stages of the value chain at the chemical product level to the end stages of the value chain at the end product level. Through the linking of physical materials and environmental attributes, environmentally friendly products and more sustainable production can be made transparent and trackable.

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method for assigning or attributing one or more environmental attributes associated with input materials to a target material, the target material being produced by a chemical production network using at least one of the input materials, the chemical production network chemically converting the input materials, via chemical intermediates, to a target material that exits the chemical production network, the method being executed by an operational system of the chemical production network, the method comprising: providing a plurality of accounts for balancing environmental attributes and a plurality of attribution rules for attributing environmental attributes to target materials, wherein the environmental attributes are associated with input materials, and the one or more environmental attributes are drawn from at least one of the accounts; providing a target material identifier and at least one target environment attribute associated with the target material; selecting at least one attribution rule from said plurality of attribution rules based on said target material identifier and said at least one target environmental attribute; - identifying at least one account from said plurality of accounts for attributing said one or more environmental attributes from at least one of said accounts to said target material identifier via said at least one attribution rule; - assigning or attributing the one or more environmental attributes of the input material from at least one of the accounts for balancing the one or more environmental attributes to the target material identifier, wherein the target material identifier is associated with a physical entity of the target material, and the target material identifier is a virtual identifier uniquely linked to the target material.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of accounts and / or the at least one attribution rule for balancing environmental attributes are associated with account metadata related to at least one environmental attribute type, at least one chemical production network, at least one production chain of the chemical production network, at least one attribution scheme, at least one input material type, at least one target material type, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one attribution rule includes instructions specifying an effective date for the one or more environmental attributes to be attributed to the target material.

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribution rule depends on a target material type and an environmental attribute type, and the at least one account for assigning or attributing environmental attributes and environmental units traded from the at least one account to the target material identifier is identified via the at least one attribution rule.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one attribution rule includes instructions that identify one or more accounts accessible for at least one target material and / or one or more environmental units accessible for the at least one target material.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribution rule includes instructions for identifying, based on the target material, input materials used to produce the target material and one or more accessible environmental attributes associated with the input materials.

7. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribution rule comprises instructions for identifying the one or more environmental attributes accessible for the target material based on input materials used to produce the target material, quantities of input materials used to produce the target material, the one or more environmental attributes associated with input materials used to produce the target material, or a combination thereof.

8. 8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the input materials used to produce the target material include input materials associated with environmental attributes and input materials not associated with environmental attributes, and the environmental attributes are decoupled from the flow of materials through the chemical production network by attribution to at least one of the accounts to balance the environmental attributes.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the accounts includes an environmental attribute that is attributed to the at least one account upon providing an input material associated with the environmental attribute to an input point of the chemical production network.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one attribution rule includes instructions that identify at least one combination of accounts and environmental units that are attributable to the at least one combination of accounts.

11. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribution rule includes instructions for identifying account combinations having two or more accounts, the instructions including one or more compatibility rules, the one or more compatibility rules specifying whether the two or more accounts are compatible.

12. 1. An apparatus for assigning or attributing one or more environmental attributes associated with input materials to a target material, the target material being produced by a chemical production network using at least one of the input materials, the chemical production network chemically converting the input materials, via chemical intermediates, to a target material that exits the chemical production network, the apparatus comprising: a balancing module configured to provide a plurality of accounts for balancing environmental attributes, wherein the one or more environmental attributes are derived from the plurality of accounts; an attribution module configured to provide a plurality of attribution rules for attributing said one or more environmental attributes associated with an input material to a target material; a target provider configured to provide a target material identifier and at least one target environment attribute associated with the target material; an outbound locator, selecting at least one attribution rule from said plurality of attribution rules based on said target material identifier and said at least one target environmental attribute; identifying at least one account from said plurality of accounts for assigning or attributing said one or more environmental attributes from at least one of said accounts to said target material identifier via said at least one attribution rule; an outbound locator configured to assign or attribute the one or more environmental attributes to the target material identifier, the target material identifier being associated with a physical entity of the target material, the target material identifier being a virtual identifier uniquely linked to the target material;

13. Use of the one or more environmental attributes assigned to the target material identifier provided by the method of claim 1 to provide at least one individual product identifier related to at least one individual product in association with the one or more environmental attributes.

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