Agilyx, an Oregon-based company specializing in converting waste plastics to low carbon fuels and chemicals, recently announced that it signed a Letter of Intent with AmSty, a leading producer of polystyrene and styrene monomer. The Companies intend to form a joint venture that will assume operations of Agilyx’s first-in-kind polystyrene recycling facility in Tigard, Oregon, and to pursue the development of a 50 ton per day polystyrene recycling facility at a location to be determined. 
Last August AmSty and Agilyx announced an offtake agreement to process recycled styrene monomer from Agilyx’s Tigard, Oregon, facility at AmSty’s styrene monomer plant in St. James, Louisiana. “We are excited to work with Agilyx, a leading developer of recycling technologies for plastics, as we continue to improve our PolyUsable™ process assuring polystyrene remains a viable and growing component of the circular economy,” said Brad Crocker, President and CEO of AmSty.
“Agilyx is very excited to expand our relationship with AmSty,” said Joe Vaillancourt, Agilyx’s chief executive officer. “This joint venture will greatly advance the circular economy for post-consumer polystyrene waste and reflects the confidence and support by industry for our technology platform.”
What is Polystyrene?
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), commonly referred to as polystyrene, is a type 6 plastic that is also known as the trademarked brand Styrofoam. It is used in in food and beverage packaging (i.e., coffee cups), insulation, and for protection of materials during shipping. It has very low density as it is over 95 percent air.
Although 100% recyclable, EPS’s low density means transporting any quantity of it for recycling proves prohibitively expensive.
The Technology
The Agilyx process converts used polystyrene products back into their original liquid form, styrene monomer. Thermal depolymerization or pyrolysis the polystyrene is a major step in the process. New polystyrene products can then be made from this recycled styrene monomer without any degradation of quality or value. The company holds several patents for both its technology and processes, and have additional patents pending.
Agilyx opened its first commercial waste polystyrene-to-styrene oil chemical recycling plant on April 19, 2018. The plant recycles up to 10 tonnes per day of previously unrecoverable polystyrene waste to produce high-quality styrenic polymers.
Agilyx Commercial Scale System in Oregon
About AmSty
AmSty is a leading integrated producer of polystyrene and styrene monomer, offering solutions and services to customers in a variety of markets throughout the Americas. The company is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, and is a member of the American Chemistry Council and its Responsible Care initiative.
About Agilyx
Agilyx is an environmental technology and development company located in Tigard, Oregon, that extracts value from difficult-to-recycle mixed waste plastic streams. The Company has developed the first system capable of recycling polystyrene waste into styrene monomer, which is then used to remake polystyrene (“PS”). The Company also has commercialized a technology that converts mixed plastics to high quality VGO crude. These efforts have allowed the Company to expand its product platform into a range of customized low carbon fuels and chemicals. Agilyx has also expanded its circular plastic recycling capabilities, implementing a method for manufacturing feedstocks used for the production of polymers. Agilyx is working with waste service providers, municipalities, refiners, and private and public enterprises to develop closed-loop industrial solutions for mixed waste plastics. Contact us to have your plastic waste streams recycled at [email protected]. For more information, follow us on social media and visit us at www.agilyx.com.
