Sustainable Manufacturing of Acrylonitrile

Trillium Renewable Chemicals is scaling a two-step thermochemical process that converts a biobased feedstock (glycerol) into acrylonitrile and valuable by-products, acetonitrile and HCN. Acrylonitrile (ACN) is used to manufacture a wide-range of materials (e.g., acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic, carbon fiber, acrylic fiber, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), acrylamide, specialty amines) with a wide range of end uses including aerospace, automotive, apparel, toys, energy, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, and wastewater treatment. The presentation will focus on the progress toward the ultimate goal: de-risking Trillium’s bio-ACN™ process for commercialization while achieving stretch targets for sustainability through a combination of low-carbon raw materials and innovative process intensification concepts as well as meeting unit cost economics at parity or below the incumbent process to produce acrylonitrile.