OMV, Synthos to collaborate on sustainable synthetic rubber
13 Dec 2023
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Butadiene project will initially use palm fatty acid distillate and waste cooking oil as raw materials
Vienna – Austrian energy company OMV has signed an MoU with Synthos concerning the supply of sustainable butadiene for tire-rubber applications.
Under the agreement to 2030, the companies will develop production & supply of butadiene, initially from palm fatty acid distillate and used cooking oil raw materials.
Furthermore, the partners aim to cooperate on the production of 'circular' butadiene, using feedstock based on pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tires, the Austrian group added.
The Polish partner, said OMV, will use the butadiene to produce solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR), for use particularly in low-rolling-resistance, tire-tread compounds.
Synthos produces SSBR at 90 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) facility in Oswiecim, Poland and 200ktpa unit in Schkopau, Germany.
In a separate statement, Synthos said the butadiene from OMV will also be used for the production of emulsion styrene-butadiene and polybutadiene rubber.
The monomer will be produced at OMV’s Burghausen refinery in Germany, which received full ISCC+ certification in March last year.
With facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, Synthos has achieved ISCC+ certification for its entire portfolio of materials.
A first batch of the sustainable butadiene has been delivered from Burghausen to the synthetic rubber maker and tested this year, noted a 12 Dec announcement by OMV.
Cooperation with OMV is "proof of our commitment to sustainability, which we can only achieve together with other leading companies in the value-chain,” said Synthos CEO Zbigniew Warmuz.
The tie-up with Synthos shows that “OMV is re-inventing essentials for sustainable living,” added Daniela Vlad, EVP chemicals and materials at OMV.
OMV, she added, aims to become a “leading” European producer of sustainable feedstocks for chemicals production at its integrated refineries in Schwechat, Austria, and Burghausen.
Under this strategy, the Vienna-based group aims to increase the production of sustainable chemical feedstocks to 300ktpa by 2030.
According to its 2022 'factbook', OMV has conventional butadiene production capacity of 148ktpa across two facilities: Schwechat, Austria (68ktpa); and Burghausen, Germany (80ktpa).
In February 2022, Synthos announced a deal with Lummus Technology subsidiary Green Circle for the construction of a 40ktpa bio-butadiene plant to support its sustainable rubber ambitions.
In reply to ERJ's enquiry, Synthos said that the bio-butadiene project was currently "facing some delays, not helped by the cost position we are facing in Europe."
But, added the synthetic rubber major, "we are still committed to start construction in Poland soon, with inauguration planned in 2027."
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