Mainstream Pine Products, a US company specializing in the refining of chemicals from pine trees, has released plans for a crude tall oil (CTO) biorefinery at the Charleston International Manufacturing Center (CIMC) in South Carolina.
The refinery will act as a recycling facility with capacity to process 110,000 tons of CTO annually, for use in a wide range of industrial applications including the manufacture of tire and rubber additives. The facility will serve as the centerpiece of Mainstream’s strategy to become the highest quality, lowest cost producer of CTO derivatives in North America. It anticipates breaking ground and starting construction later this year with operations commencing in 2023.
CTO is a renewable, non-food resource and a by-product of pine trees consumed for paper manufacturing. It can be used as a component of many chemicals utilized in tire and rubber additives, as well as renewable diesel processing products, lubricants, adhesives, inks, paints and coatings.
“We conducted deep-dive market studies and reviewed pine chemical industry cycles,” explained Rob Helwick, president and CEO of Mainstream Pine Products. “The increasing demand for renewable, non-food source materials led us to a nationwide search for the best location in which to expand our operations. The Goose Creek site was unsurpassed among many we considered. It affords us an ideal manufacturing location in an integrated industrial park with reliable infrastructure and intermodal access for efficient delivery of source materials and shipping of refined products.”
