Bridgestone launches US project to advance bio-butadiene technology

Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Americas has received a grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to fund a project to advance the production of bio-based butadiene.

The funding, the amount of which was not disclosed, will go towards the design, building and operation of a pilot plant in Akron, Ohio, Bridgestone said 22 Oct.

Bridgestone has partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, or PNNL, for this project, which will use and scale PNNL's catalyst system.

The unit aims to further co-develop the PNNL process and advance a “potentially more sustainable and cost-effective approach” to obtaining butadiene from ethanol.

The project will evaluate the economic and commercial viability, as well as the carbon footprint of converting ethanol to butadiene.

According to Bridgestone, the collaboration holds the promise of establishing “a commercially viable new way of thermochemically converting ethanol to butadiene.”

The company plans to use the butadiene produced as a feedstock for raw materials  in Bridgestone tires.

Conventionally derived from fossil fuels, butadiene is a key ingredient in the production of synthetic rubber, which is used in the production of tires.