Lanxess aiming for 100% bio-butyl

ERJ staff report (DS)

Cologne, Germany -- Lanxess AG has made trial batches of butyl rubber using bio-sourced isobutene from its bio-technology partner Gevo Inc. It hopes to replace the small quantity of isoprene used in butyl rubber with bio-sourced materials, possibly from Genencor. This would permit the company to market a butyl rubber made entirely from renewable sources.

Gevo recently announced a new round of financing, in which Lanxess invested a further $17 million adding to the $10 million previously invested by the company and increasing its stake to 9.1 percent of the US-based company. Ron Commander, head of Lanxess butyl business, holds a board position at Gevo.

Isobutene contributes roughly 98 percent of the monomer needs of butyl rubber, with isoprene making the remaining 2 percent. Senior Lanxess executives were overheard asking whether the isoprene from the joint Genencor-Goodyear project would be available on the open market, citing an ambition to make 100-percent bio-sourced butyl rubber.

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Press release from Lanxess