Anellotech and Trecora Resources subsidiary South Hampton Resources renew site host and services agreement for process development pilot plant

PEARL RIVER, N.Y. and SILSBEE, Texas, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anellotech and South Hampton Resources, Inc. (SHR), a subsidiary of Trecora Resources, (NYSE: TREC), announced today the renewal of their agreement for SHR to serve as site host and provide operations services for Anellotech's TCat-8™ process development pilot plant, which is located inside of SHR's Silsbee, Texas production plant. SHR owns and operates a 128-acre specialty petrochemicals facility at the Silsbee site, specializing in high purity hydrocarbons. SHR originally began its site hosting relationship with Anellotech in 2016 with Anellotech's development of its Bio-TCat process for producing petrochemicals from wood.

The original services agreement between Anellotech and SHR allowed Anellotech to install and then operate the TCat-8 unit inside the SHR plant.  SHR also provides a range of site services, including provision of fully-trained plant and control room operators to assist in routine operations of the highly instrumented and automated plant, as well as maintenance services. This has allowed Anellotech's engineers to focus on the Bio-TCat research program, which featured more than 5,000 hours of successful TCat-8® pilot plant operation, produce tonne quantities of BTX aromatic product from pine wood feedstock, and obtain the data necessary for process design and commercialization.

The TCat-8 unit produced the  bio-p-Xylene that was used by Suntory, a global consumer beverage company, to make 100% bio-PET resin and successfully produce prototype PET beverage bottles, as they announced on Dec. 3rd 2021.

Going forward under the renewed agreement with SHR, Anellotech intends to continue to conduct studies for Anellotech's Bio-TCat process as the bio-based technology moves into its commercialization phase. Additionally, Anellotech will transition the TCat-8 unit to conduct the large pilot plant development and demonstration of Anellotech's new Plas-TCat™ process for making petrochemicals from plastic waste. 

"Anellotech has been very pleased with the quality of the SHR facility and its people, which allowed us to successfully conduct over 5,000 hours of plant operation on our Bio-TCat Process.  We look forward to running additional Bio-TCat process improvement studies and developing our Plas-TCat Process at the SHR site with the able assistance of the SHR team," said David Sudolsky, President and CEO of Anellotech. 

"I am delighted to announce the renewal of our site host and operations services agreement with Anellotech. SHR and Anellotech have enjoyed a very productive relationship under our original agreement resulting in their successful launch of the TCat-8 process. We look forward to supporting the expansion, operation and commercialization of the Bio-TCat Process in this next phase of our relationship.  This success further demonstrates why SHR is a partner of choice for demonstration and launch of new sustainable technologies," said Patrick Quarles, President & CEO of Trecora Resources.

About Anellotech
Founded in 2008, Anellotech (http://www.anellotech.com) is a sustainable technology company focused on commercializing the innovative production of cost-competitive renewable chemicals and fuels from non-food biomass or waste plastics. Its patented Bio-TCat™ technology is an efficient thermal catalytic process for converting biomass into benzene, toluene and xylene, which are chemically identical to their petroleum-based counterparts. In addition to BTX, Bio-TCat™ technology produces heavier aromatics AnelloMate™, which can be used to make high-quality biofuels blendstock for transportation fuel to help decarbonize transportation fuels supply chains.  Engineering work to design the first commercial Bio-TCat plant is underway by Anellotech and its R&D, engineering and licensing partners IFPEN and Axens.

Anellotech's R&D team is now focused on Plas-TCat™, a development-stage process technology aiming to convert mixed waste plastics into commodity chemicals such as olefins and aromatics, the primary chemicals used to make plastic packaging and other products.

About Trecora Resources (TREC) 
TREC (http://www.trecora.com) owns and operates a specialty petrochemicals facility specializing in high purity hydrocarbons and other petrochemical manufacturing and a specialty wax facility, both located in Texas, and provides custom processing services at both facilities.

For further information, contact:

Trecora
The Equity Group Inc. 
Jeremy Hellman, CFA        
[email protected] 
(212) 836-9626

Anellotech:
David Sudolsky, President
[email protected]
USA 845-735-7700

SOURCE Trecora Resources