Transform Materials, a leader in the development of clean and sustainable chemical technologies, has officially announced a partnership with Johnson Matthey, a global leader in sustainable technologies. Together, the companies will leverage a novel, lower-carbon-emission, mercury-free process to practically revolutionize VCM production. Under the agreed terms, the partnership will combine Transform Materials’ advanced technology for producing acetylene from a range of short-chain hydrocarbons with Johnson Matthey’s unique, mercury-free technology and catalyst offering. This it will do to more sustainably covert acetylene to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). You see, acetylene is typically produced by hydrolysis of calcium carbide and is a critical building block in many chemical processes. As for calcium carbide, it is produced via an energy-intensive process which uses coal and limestone as feedstocks, while VCM is converted to PVC via a polymerization reaction. Now, it all becomes problematic once you consider that, up until now, mercury has been the catalyst of choice to convert hydrochlorinate acetylene to monomer VCM, but given the ratification of worldwide Minimata treaty, the use of mercury catalysts in new VCM plants is now effectively banned. This is where Johnson Matthey’s proprietary mercury-free catalyst steps in to offer a solution for new and existing VCM plants. In essence, by combining their capabilities and producing PVC with a lower global warming impact, Transform and Johnson Matthey will address three absolutely critical challenges facing the industry.
For starters, there is challenge of our overt reliance on environmentally harmful products, Simply speaking the extent focus on using traditional methods to produce PVC from coal and using mercury catalysts have long hampered our bid for a healthier environment. In response to that, the development in question will conceive for the world a wider range of feedstocks that can be used to produce VCM from acetylene through JM’s environment-friendly catalyst. The next challenge it will look to resolve is concerned with facilitating on-purpose, selective capacity growth. This means that, unlike traditional ethylene-based PVC production, the approach offered by these two companies enables producers to selectively increase output through a direct route, via acetylene, to VCM. Markedly enough, the approach does that without forming any major by- and co-products.
“Our collaboration with Transform Materials significantly enhances our value proposition to PVC producers,” said Alan Ingham, director of global licensing at Johnson Matthey. “By combining our leading hydrochlorination catalyst and VCM technology offering with Transform Materials’ innovative approach to acetylene production, we can now offer PVC manufacturers a truly compelling path to increase production capacity in a more environmentally responsible manner. This partnership aligns with our sustainability goals and positions us to play a key role in driving positive change within the PVC industry.”
The third main challenge we can expect to be addressed here is of carbon emissions. In case you weren’t aware, during the carbide process, substantial carbon monoxide is generated from the reaction of lime and carbon from coal. Fortunately, the collaboration brings forth an alternative process route which does not emit these carbon by-products, and therefore, it can orchestrate a much lower carbon intensity process when compared to traditional calcium carbide production.
“Transform Materials is delighted to partner with Johnson Matthey, a company with a rich, 200-year history of innovation and a leader in sustainable technologies,” said Kenn Flessner, CEO of Transform Materials. “The PVC industry is seeking new ways to meet production demands while prioritizing sustainability. This partnership enables us to deliver a cutting-edge solution that allows PVC producers to increase output incrementally without compromising their environmental goals.”
