green polypropylene

Houston companies partner on sustainable plastics alternative

Lummus and Citroniq say their first plant, set for completion in 2027, will produce 400,000 metric tons of green polypropylene each year. Photo via lummustechnology.com

Two Houston companies, Lummus Technology and Citroniq Chemicals, have paired up to build North American plants that produce green polypropylene.

Polypropylene is a thermoplastic used to manufacture items such as plastic packaging, plastic parts, medical supplies, textiles, and fibers. Green polypropylene is made from biomass.

Lummus and Citroniq say their first plant, set for completion in 2027, will produce 400,000 metric tons of green polypropylene each year. The plant will be at an undisclosed location in the Midwest.

In April, Lummus and Citroniq signed a letter of intent to develop Citroniq green polypropylene projects in North America using Lummus’ Verdenesuite of polypropylene technology. Their newly announced licensing and engineering agreements apply to the first of four planned facilities.

“This agreement demonstrates the progress we continue to make with Citroniq in establishing the first world-scale sustainable bio-polypropylene production process in North America,” Romain Lemoine, chief business officer for polymers and petrochemicals at Lummus, says in a news release.

“Combining Lummus’ leadership in polypropylene licensing with Citroniq’s carbon-negative production capabilities will help us meet the growing demand for bio-polypropylene and accelerate the decarbonization of the downstream energy industry,” Lemoine adds.

Citroniq says it’s investing more than $5 billion to expand its E2O process. The process produces carbon-negative plastics and hydrogen-and-carbon compounds called olefins from fully sustainable feedstocks. This eliminates the use of convention fossil-fuel hydrocarbons, Citroniq says.

Mel Badheka, principal and co-founder of Citroniq, says his company aims “to meet the market’s growing need for sustainable carbon-negative polypropylene at a competitive price.”

The global market for green polypropylene was valued at $123.5 billion in 2022, according to Grand View Research. Growth in the sector is being driven in part by the construction industry, the firm says.

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A View From HETI

Chevron U.S.A. has acquired 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas that contain a high amount of lithium. Photo via Getty Images.

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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