“We believe that cooperation with Lummus Technology will effectively support our goals referring to renewable and bio-based butadiene,” said Matteo Marchisio, director of Synthos’ synthetic rubbers and tire materials business unit. “We want it to become the monomer for production of bio-rubber. This important development for Synthos will strengthen our sustainability offering and will provide our customers with a product that has a significantly reduced environmental footprint.”

Synthos is currently in the midst of boosting its synthetic rubber portfolio following an agreement last month to buy Trinseo’s business in Schkopau, Germany, for $491 million.

Lummus described the Synthos technology as “very promising”, anticipating it to be the “new standard for production of synthetic rubbers.” The US technology firm formed its Green Circle arm last October in order to concentrate and expand its capabilities and capture new opportunities in the energy transition and circular economy.

Korea butadiene contract

In separate news, Lummus announced it has been awarded a contract for its butadiene extraction technology by Korea Petrochemical, which is planning to build a 146,000 t/y unit at its Onsan plant in Ulsan, South Korea. A timescale for the project was not disclosed.

Lummus’ contract includes the technology license, basic engineering and training services. Once complete, the plant will allow the production of more valuable products from existing C4 streams and also generate feed for an existing olefins conversion unit, the engineering firm said.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist