Agilyx and Ineos Styrolution advance development of TruStyrenyx plant

Agilyx ASA, an Oslo, Norway, and Aurora, Illinois-based Ineos Styrolution America LLC have announced that they are moving forward with the development of a previously announced 100-tons-per-day TruStyrenyx chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois.

TruStyrenyx is a partnership between Agilyx and France-based Technip Energies and provides what the companies say is an all-in-one solution for the chemical recycling of polystyrene back into a high-purity styrene monomer. The styrene monomer can be used to make new, food-grade plastic products or packaging.

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Under the agreement, Agilyx and Technip Energies will collaborate with Ineos Styrolution and develop the design and engineering that will serve as the basis for constructing the chemical recycling facility. The companies anticipate the engineering will be complete this year and will form the basis for a financial investment decision.

“I’m delighted that we are partnering with Ineos Styrolution to continue development of the first large-scale TruStyrenyx plant, utilizing some of the private placement funds Agilyx raised in September,” Agilyx CEO Tim Stedman says. “We view TruStyrenyx as a game-changer in the recycling of polystyrene, enabling an incredibly high purity, circular solution. This new facility will help to meet the growing demand from brand owners and consumers who want to see more recycled plastics in products.”

Ineos Styrolution President Greg Fordyce says, “We are very pleased to announce the advancement of the recycling plant in Channahon, Illinois. This facility will increase polystyrene recycling rates in the greater Chicago area and across the United States and demonstrates our company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability. The TruStyrenyx facility will allow us to provide our customers with recycled content that is incredibly high purity for producing environmentally conscious products using innovative and sustainable solutions.”

The village of Channahon is within Will and Grundy counties, a region that recently put Illinois lawmakers and environmental groups at odds over a proposed amendment to ease the permitting process for an undisclosed advanced recycling facility in the area.

Illinois State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. introduced House Bill 1616 to extend the deadline for a 2019 bill (HB2491) from 2025 to July 1, 2027, for a company to get necessary permits to build a chemical recycling facility in Will or Grundy County. HB2491 passed in 2019 and lists the technology as manufacturing instead of waste management.

The legislation provides that to the extent allowed by federal law, uncontaminated plastics that meet feedstock specifications for a gasification facility or pyrolysis facility and are processed by those facilities into crude oil, diesel, gasoline, home heating oil or other fuels are considered recycled and not subject to regulation as waste. Environmental groups such as the Ocean Conservancy, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Illinois Environmental Council have expressed concern, saying HB 1616 was drafted to expedite the permitting process for a proposed chemical recycling facility and would allow that facility to be constructed without going through the normal permitting process for solid waste facilities.