BP partners with Virent and Johnson Matthey on Virent’s bio-PX production tech

BP, Virent Inc. and Johnson Matthey (JM) have signed an agreement to further advance the commercialization of Virent’s Bioforming ® bio – paraxylene (PX) production process, a key raw material for renewable polyester production.

Developed in partnership with JM, Virent’s Bioforming ® technology produces recycling products from renewable sources that can be used to produce renewable fuels and also converted into low carbon intensive bio – PX.

All the parties will work together to market the BioForming ® technology as part of this agreement – BP will contribute technical resources and will hold exclusive rights to negotiate becoming the only bio – PX manufacturer using Virent’s technology.

Charles Damianides, BP’s vice-president of petrochemicals technology and licensing, said: “We consider Virent’s technology to be the leading route to commercial quantities of renewable bio-PX that may enable BP’s existing petrochemicals plants to produce a distinctive product in support of our commitment to advance a low carbon future. In our petrochemicals business we have also introduced our PTAir product line, a low carbon PTA product, and we continue to work toward improving the efficiency of our operations.”

“We have been working with JM to scale up the BioForming® process for production of renewable fuel and are very pleased to enter into this agreement with BP to commercialize the technology for production of bio-PX and bio-PTA,” said Dave Kettner, President of Virent. “This is an indication of the flexibility of the BioForming® technology to produce both bio-fuels and bio-aromatic chemicals.”

Eugene McKenna, business development and innovation director at JM, added: “JM is a leader in science that makes the world cleaner and healthier. In bringing this latest technology to market, we continue to apply our catalyst and process engineering expertise and capabilities to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. We are delighted that BP has selected this technology to support its ambitions in supplying renewable bio-PX. This is an important step in increasing the quantity of renewable feedstocks used to make polyester packaging and fibers. We will continue to use our science and engineering skills to facilitate wider adoption of this technology.”