Lummus and Synthos advance bio-butadiene technology development to produce sustainable rubber

Houston, TX – Lummus Technology announced that its Green Circle business and Synthos S.A. have reached a major milestone in the development of advanced bio-butadiene technology. After completing a successful feasibility study in 2021, Lummus and Synthos have concluded that the bio-butadiene technology is ready for implementation, and the companies have agreed to move into the engineering and design phase of the project.

Given the confidence in the technology and the strong market demand for renewable materials, Synthos has committed to building a plant with a capacity of 40,000 metric tons of bio-butadiene per year – twice as much as the companies had originally planned. In addition to the plant capacity expansion, Synthos has confirmed that it will license BASF’s butadiene extraction technology from Lummus and leverage Lummus’ digitalization capabilities for operational efficiency and reliability.

“Since Lummus began collaborating with Synthos last year, it has become evident that this technology has the potential to be the new standard in our industry due to its renewable sourcing, production efficiency and low carbon footprint,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. “The petrochemical industry is quickly adjusting to ambitious sustainability requirements, and at Lummus we continue to lead this change on multiple fronts. The commercialization with Synthos of this bio-technology for more sustainable rubber products is one of several sustainable process solutions that are making a positive impact.”

“Synthos is making great strides in developing a synthetic rubber product portfolio with a significantly reduced environmental footprint. Entering the next phase of our collaboration with Lummus is another step toward our commitment to help our customers achieve their performance and sustainability goals,” said Matteo Marchisio, Synthetic Rubber Business Unit Director, Synthos. “We believe the availability of sustainable synthetic rubber made from bio-butadiene will play an important role in the industry’s ability to meet the demands of modern mobility, and we are proud to partner with Lummus Technology to lead the way.”

Synthos is a global leader in the development and production of synthetic rubber for tires and technical rubber goods and is committed to providing its customers with high-performance material solutions with a lower environmental footprint.

In 2021, Green Circle and Synthos announced that they will collaborate on the development and commercialization of bio-butadiene derived from bio-ethanol to enable the production of value-added, more sustainable synthetic rubber.

A subsidiary of Lummus, Green Circle is a leader in commercializing and developing breakthrough solutions to address the key pillars of the energy transition, including end-of-life waste plastics recycling, production of bio derived sustainable chemicals, and decarbonization strategies for existing and new assets.