TotalEnergies to supply LANXESS with sustainable styrene
German specialty chemicals company LANXESS and French energy major TotalEnergies have agreed to cooperate on the supply of sustainable styrene. Unlike conventional styrene, the raw material used by TotalEnergies is based on tall oil, which is derived from a tree resin and is a by-product of pulp production.
LANXESS uses the styrene to produce sustainable ion exchange resins. These products are applied primarily in the treatment of wastewater and chemical process flows as well as in the food industry.
The sustainable origin of the styrene is certified in accordance with the mass balance approach of the ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS standard. Under the mass balance approach, the certified and non-certified materials are mixed physically, but kept separately on a bookkeeping basis. This method allows companies to document and track the sustainable materials through the complex production process and ensures the full traceability through the entire supply chain. The ISCC PLUS certification of the styrene is an important requirement, as LANXESS offers its products in accordance with this certification standard as well and therefore relies on the same transparency for its raw materials.
“Our customers are increasingly asking for sustainable solutions, and raw materials with a low carbon footprint are a key lever here. By partnering with TotalEnergies, we can further expand the respective offering for our customers,” says Marcel Beermann, head of Global Procurement & Logistics at LANXESS.
“We are pleased to form this partnership with LANXESS, which demonstrates TotalEnergies’ ability to offer sustainable products to its customers, helping them reduce their carbon footprint. This is a perfect illustration of the orientation taken by the Refining and Chemicals branch of TotalEnergies to develop lower carbon intensity products, in line with TotalEnergies’ Climate Ambition to get to Net Zero emissions by 2050, together with society,” says Jean-François Renglet, vice president, Marketing, Base Chemicals Division at Total Refining and Chemicals.
In addition to styrene, the specialty chemicals company already sources many other sustainable equivalents of fossil raw materials.
