Agilyx Corp. continues to expand its focus beyond the company's Oregon roots with a new jet fuel project.
The Tigard, Ore.-based company has an agreement with a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc. to provide up to 2,500 barrels per day of synthetic crude oil derived from recycled plastics. That equals 105,000 gallons.
That crude oil will then be refined by Delta's Monroe Energy LLC into jet fuel for its parent company, Agilyx said.
Agilyx relies on pyrolysis, which uses heat in the absence of oxygen to convert plastics into fuels and chemicals through thermal decomposition.
Agilyx plans a production facility near a Monroe refinery in the Philadelphia area. The project will be constructed in phases and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020, the company said.
Agilyx CEO Joe Vaillancourt called the project "a capstone achievement" for his company.
"As we advance the number and types of products we are able to make from waste plastics, this project marks the first truly commercial-scale facility that will advance the new plastics economy," he said in a statement.
Billionaire Richard Branson is an investor in Agilyx. Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, which includes Virgin brand airline operations.
"This is a major step forward in the search for a cost-effective, low-carbon aviation fuel. The beauty of the Agilyx process is it will take waste plastics, which are a major problem for the environment, and turn it into something useful," Branson said in a statement.
News of the jet fuel venture follows advancements by Agilyx in polystyrene recycling.
Agilyx and Americas Styrenics LLC recently announced a plan to create a joint venture that will operate an existing Agilyx polystyrene recycling facility in Tigard.
The joint venture also will pursue the development of a 50-ton-per-day polystyrene recycling facility at an additional location, the companies said.
