Sustainable technology company Anellotech confirmed significant progress in its Bio-TCat technology development program and has begun planning for scale-up design and engineering of a commercial plant with its process development and design partner IFPEN and commercialization, engineering, and licensing partner Axens.

Anellotech has developed an innovative manufacturing process to produce cost-competitive renewable chemicals and fuels from non-food biomass. Its patented Bio-TCat thermal-catalytic technology produces a mixture of benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) which can be used to make important polymers such as polyester, polycarbonate, and nylon, or high-octane gasoline blendstock.

Jacobs, a globally respected engineering firm, recently confirmed that the Bio-TCat process enables a CO₂ emission reduction potential of 70-90% when compared to petroleum-derived equivalents. Co-product gas streams from Bio-TCat can be used to make significant amounts of renewable electricity, hydrogen or cellulosic ethanol using third party technologies.

Commercially-viable process yields and catalyst performance has now been achieved at economic design conditions at Anellotech’s TCat-8 pilot unit in Silsbee, Texas.

TCat-8 has demonstrated consistently stable operation of major process steps and recycle loops, with highly-accurate analytic confirmation. These results have been achieved with real world commercial feedstock: loblolly pine recently harvested from Georgia forests. Anellotech’s MinFree pretreatment process, operational at multi-ton scale, has been used to ensure low mineral content in the TCat-8 feedstock which is critical for catalyst performance.

TCat-8 has operated for more than 2,000 hours with continuous catalyst circulation including a fluid bed reactor, catalyst stripper, catalyst regenerator, quench tower, and recycle compressor.

The pilot plant is operating mass balance closures of 100% +/-2%, and regularly completes uninterrupted 24/7 runs. The TCat-8 unit operates inside a commercial chemical facility that is OSHA PSM compliant.