Trillium Renewable Chemicals will build a demonstration plant making bio-based acrylonitrile (ACN) at a site operated by Ineos Nitriles in Port Lavaca, Texas.
The new plant will convert plant-based glycerol into ACN, officials with Trillium in Knoxville, Tenn., said in a June 4 news release. The site will be named Project Falcon.
ACN is a feedstock used to make ABS and other plastic resins. Ineos is the world's largest ACN maker and operates a major ACN plant in Lavaca, which is known as its Green Lake site.
Trillium officials added that working with Ineos "underscores Trillium's ambition to scale up its technology in an industrial environment to accelerate progress."
"This milestone is a significant step forwards in bringing our technology to market and producing sustainable bio-based ACN at scale," CEO Corey Tyree said in the release. Trillium has received a total of $13.1 million from the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office for the project.
Officials said Trillium's sustainable ACN offers a lower carbon footprint than standard ACN based on a propylene process developed by Standard Oil of Ohio. Trillium already has provided samples of its bio-ACN to customers.
Sohio developed and commercialized the propylene method of ACN production in the early 1960s. More than 90 percent of global ACN production uses that process, which is now owned by Ineos. British Petroleum plc acquired full control of Sohio in 1987.
Trillium's "innovative approach addresses growing customer demand for greener bio-based raw materials," officials said. The new plant is set to begin operating in early 2025 and will run through early 2026.
Ineos Nitriles CEO Hans Casier said that his firm's support of the project is part of its wider sustainability strategy and "emphasizes our commitment as the world's largest producer of acrylonitrile, to reducing the carbon footprint of the industry."
Ineos Nitriles is a unit of global petrochemicals firm Ineos.