Biobased acrylonitrile

What is Econitrile?

Econitrile is acrylonitrile. But acrylonitrile with benefits. AnQore Econitrile is based on certified sustainable raw materials and recorded via a certified mass balance method. It is produced from non-fossil feedstocks. Both our ammonia and propylene come from suppliers that use renewable or circular sources to produce their products and have been certified as well by ISCC PLUS. Their sources are biogas for ammonia and agricultural waste streams for the propylene. In fact, very soon the propylene will also come from circular plastic streams that Sabic is intending to process at its crackers next to our plant on the Chemelot Industrial Park.

That makes our Econitrile the first ever sustainable and circular acrylonitrile produced in an existing acrylonitrile plant. Our Econitrile helps downstream producers of ABS, Acrylamide, Carbon Fiber, Nitrile Rubber, Surfactants and many other valuable products to make their products far more sustainable.

How do we make Econitrile?

As you can see in the movie below, our production process starts with the mixing of our raw materials propylene, ammonia and air. In our fluid bed reactor these products react very efficiently with each other to form our final products. These are acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide, acetonitrile and several co-products. By replacing the propylene and ammonia by sustainable alternative at the very beginning of our process we can ensure all our final products are produced sustainably. Acrylonitrile is especially suited for this type of change as the process itself generates a lot of heat. This we export to site users in the form of steam.

We use the same plant, equipment and people to produce Econitrile. The main difference is that we source part of our raw materials with ISCC+ certificates.

Our process itself is considered one of the most efficient in the industry. That is why our overall LCA footprint is very small. When we produce Econitrile, we have calculated that our LCA footprint is less than 40% of our regular acrylonitrile. That means that for each kiligram of Econitrile we emit more than 60% less CO2.

We keep an audited mass balance overview of our Econitrile production throughout the year. We supply this accredited Econitrile to select downstream customers who can also add other sustainable raw materials to create their ISCC+ certified end-products.

The production process

Making Econitrile is the same as making Acrylonitrile for our operators. The main difference is that we source part of our raw materials together with a certificate that proofs that these are produced in a more sustainable way. The benefits of these sustainable raw materials we pass on via Econitrile.

Will Econitrile perform in the same way as AnQore’s quality acrylonitrile?

The final product has the exact same properties as our current acrylonitrile. We can guarantee this because we are using the same plant, people and procedures to make Econitrile as we do for producing our normal acrylonitrile. No new or other impurities are introduced nor do we need to compromise on safety or quality.

Of course we would like as many companies as possible to join us in our effort to make the chemical industry more sustainable. We therefore invite you to contact us and explore what possibilities there are to do that with us.

Get ready, get certified!

Take the first step and get ISCC PLUS certified

AnQore and our suppliers have gone through the process of ISCC PLUS certification. This process is relatively straightforward, but it requires a good preparation. Moreover multiple departments in the organization need to be ready to support the implementation of the required mass balance accounting system.

If after visiting the ISCC PLUS website you would like to know more on what it means to go through the certification process than feel free to get in touch with us.