FAQ

Based in Pasadena, Texas, Baystar was formed in 2018 to invest in the future of our industry. It was formed as a 50-50 joint venture between TotalEnergies Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc., and Borealis AG.

We make a variety of polymer resin products from polyethylene which manufacturers and converters use as the raw material for the fabrication of many household, medical, food packaging, agriculture, and construction materials. 

Polyethylene (PE) is a type of polymer. There are several types of polyethylene grades used for different applications. For example, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) has properties that make it valuable for creating durable materials like the piping used to carry fresh drinking water. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is often used in packaging, for example to keep food fresh. But PE has many more uses around the world. Please visit our Product page for more information.

The process is quite complicated and requires a team of talented engineers, technicians, and operators, but in short terms: Catalysts in our production units convert locally sourced ethane into polyethylene in the form of resins – or pellets – which can be safely shipped to our customers across North America.

Our Bay 1 and Bay 2 plant production capacity is 400,000 ton-per-year PE, and our new Bay 3 plant has a production capacity of 625 kt/y.

A new 625 kt/y (1.35 b lb) Borstar® polyethylene unit under construction in Pasadena, Texas with plans to start up in 2023. 

Borealis Borstar® is state-of-the-art multi-modal proprietary technology for high performance polyethylene. Combined with unique catalyst technology, Borstar® supports the production of a wide range of enhanced PE products for the most demanding applications while delivering increased sustainability.

The cracker size is 1,000 kta of ethylene production. That’s 1 million metric tons/year or 2.2 billion pounds a year. The size was determined by taking into account platform integration and the needs of the existing and new Borstar® polyethylene units in Pasadena.

The Ethane Cracker in Port Arthur converts ethane into ethylene. The ethylene will then be used at the Baystar® Bayport site in Pasadena as a feedstock for our polyethylene units. Polyethylene is commonly used in applications such as packaging, medical supplies, containers, pipes, and fuel tanks for automotive industry.

We’re committed to continual improvement and investing in solutions that will help us increase the sustainability of our operations and the products we produce. For example, our Borstar® 3G technology processes at a higher rate for significantly increased operational efficiency while also creating the opportunity to integrate increasing amounts of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials for downstream sustainability.

We place safety above all else at Baystar. We are proud members of Responsible Care, the American Chemistry Council’s world-class environmental, health, safety and security performance initiative. 

We are also committed to Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), a program dedicated to helping every plastic resin handling operation achieve zero plastic resin loss. We take an annual pledge re-committing to OCS principles, and recently achieved OCS blue status. OCS blue is a new, data-driven category available to current OCS members in recognition of companies excelling within the existing program. OCS blue enhances the commitment to management, measurement, and reporting of unrecovered plastic releases into the environment from resin handling facilities. We believe every segment of the plastics industry has a role to play — including resin producers, transporters, bulk terminal operators, recyclers and plastics processors.