Chemical recycler Agilyx ASA and styrenics producer Ineos Styrolution America LLC have joined forces on the development of a 100-ton-per-day TruStyrenyx chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois, the companies have announced.
TruStyrenyx is a partnership between Agilyx and Technip Energie. Following on from a collaboration announced in June 2021, the companies have since cooperated on the development of the TruStyrenyx brand. TruStyrenix is a comprehensive solution for the chemical recycling of polystyrene. The technology combines Agilyx’s pyrolysis process and Technip Energies’ purification technology. The process yields a recycled styrene monomer with exceptionally high purity, suitable for food-grade plastic products or packaging applications. With the support of Ineos Styrolution, the companies will now forge ahead on the further realisation of the technology at scale.
"I'm delighted that we are partnering with Ineos Styrolution to continue development of the first large-scale TruStyrenyx plant, utilising some of the private placement funds Agilyx raised in September,” said Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx.
Together, the three companies will develop the design and engineering that will serve as the basis for constructing the chemical recycling facility. The completion of the engineering in 2023 will form the basis for a financial investment decision.
The new facility will boost polystyrene recycling rates in the greater Chicago area and across the United States, said Greg Fordyce, president of Ineos Styrolution. “The TruStyrenyx facility will allow us to provide our customers with recycled content that is incredibly high purity for producing environmentally conscious products using innovative and sustainable solutions,” he noted.
The styrene monomer produced via the TruStyrenyx process is used to make numerous plastics and other polymers. It is one of the three primary components of ABS, can make the pure polymer polystyrene, and is an ingredient in various synthetic rubbers. Recycled styrene monomer from the pilot plant meets American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for styrene monomer and is greater than 99.8 wt% purity. Pilot testing of the purification of the styrene oil from Agilyx’ process was conducted at Technip Energies’ Research Center in Weymouth, USA. The tested waste also included flame-retardant-laden waste polystyrene. Flame retardants contain halogens, which are known to be problematic impurities for current polymer production processes. Using the TruStyrenyx process, the resulting halogen concentration in the styrene monomer product was found to remain below available detection limits.