Lanxess to use bio-ethylene in EPDM - update

ERJ staff report (DS)

Dusseldorf -- Lanxess AG has said it will, by the end of this year, use bio-ethylene from Braskem SA as an ingredient in its ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) rubber made in Brazil. The company said it will be the first form of bio-based EPDM rubber in the world.

This bio-based form of ethylene is produced by dehydrating ethanol from Brazilian sugar cane. Braskem will supply the bio-based ethylene via pipeline to Lanxess' existing EPDM plant in Triunfo, Brazil.

In a speech to press and others, Dr Guenther Weymans, head of Lanxess' Technical Rubber Products business unitsaid, "In November, biobased ethylene will flow directly by pipeline from our

partner Braskem to our EPDM plant. We will be converting some of our

production operations, to manufacture about 10,000 metric tons of our

new biobased rubber annually for the global market."

Triunfo currently produces 40,000 metric tons per year of regular EPDM rubber and it is expected that the first batches of the product Keltan Eco will amount to several hundred metric tons. The company's other EPDM production sites are based in Geleen, The Netherlands, Marl, Germany, and Orange, Texas, U.S. All EPDM grades will be sold in the future under the brand name Keltan.

“Lanxess' ongoing search for alternatives to fossil fuels underlines its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions through sustainable production,” said  Weymans. “We are very excited that our Brazilian plant will be the pioneer for bio-based EPDM.”

“Lanxess will contribute to broaden our portfolio of renewable chemicals' clients. This agreement will bring the benefits of green ethylene to other important applications and markets. LANXESS has extensive automotive experience and an excellent reputation in this market, which makes it an ideal partner,” said Marcelo Nunes, Braskem's Renewable Chemicals Director.

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Press release from Lanxess

Speech by Dr Weymans from Lanxess