Gevo opens bio-refinery for fully renewable paraxylene in Texas

Gevo, Inc. (Nasdaq:GEVO), the world’s only commercial producer of bio-isobutanol, held a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 26, for its demonstration-scale paraxylene plant in Silsbee, Texas. The paraxylene facility is located adjacent to Gevo’s existing jet fuel plant and establishes the site as a bio-refinery that will serve the renewable chemicals and true drop-in biofuels markets.
Gevo is working with the Coca-Cola Company to deliver a new production technology for renewable paraxylene, a key building block for producing fully renewable PET for beverage bottles. Research and development support for this plant was provided by Coca-Cola under a joint development agreement.
Gevo is also working with Toray Industries, Inc. to develop renewable paraxylene, which is used as a fully renewable polyester for packaging films and fibers used in textiles, clothing, and other applications. Gevo and Toray have successfully produced fully renewable and recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers and films from isobutanol at laboratory scale in 2011.
Toray has also signed an off-take agreement for paraxylene produced at the Silsbee facility. Toray will purchase paraxylene from Gevo and will convert it into PET fibers, textiles and films for scale-up evaluation and market development purposes.
Patrick Gruber, Gevo’s CEO, said, “Fully renewable PET has the potential to make the world a better place by reducing our dependence on oil and the environmental consequences associated with petroleum-based raw materials.”
“While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for many years, we believe Gevo possesses technologies that have high potential to create it on a global commercial level within the next few years,” added Scott Vitters, general manager, Plant Bottle Packaging Innovation Platform at Coca-Cola.
The majority of the world’s PET production is for synthetic fibers (in excess of 60%), with bottle production accounting for around 30% of global demand. Gevo’s paraxylene, once converted to bio-based PET, has high potential for any commercial application currently served by petroleum-derived PET.
(August 26, 2013)