What We Do  /
Polymers

From everyday packaging to advanced materials, we help producers create a wide range of high-quality polymer products at some of the lowest costs and energy consumption in the industry. Not only do we provide our customers with the technologies and materials they need to run their business, we also offer engineering support, advisory services, and Polymer Lifecycle Services to help them achieve and maintain peak production performance for the lifetime of the plant.

Polypropylene
Polyethylene
Super Absorbents (SAP)
Energy Transition
Polypropylene
Polyethylene
Super Absorbents (SAP)
Energy Transition
Polypropylene
Technologies:
Novolen PolypropyleneNovolen High Performance Catalysts

Known for its wide range of applications, polypropylene is a high demand product that traditionally requires high amounts of energy to produce. Through years of research and development, Lummus has refined its polypropylene technology to reduce energy consumption dramatically, improving project economics for customers around the world.

Novolen Polypropylene
Flexible and energy-efficient polypropylene production solutions
With the smallest reactor design and lowest energy consumption rates in the industry, our leading Novolen Polypropylene (PP) technology sets the benchmark for cost efficiency. Paired with our NHP catalysts, Novolen PP enables producers to make a wide variety of polypropylene grades (homopolymer, random copolymer, impact copolymer families), with a broad span of Melt Flow Rate (MFR), stiffness, and impact strength. Together, our catalysts and flexible technology empower producers to meet changing market demands with proven reliability and best-in-class performance.
Novolen technology includes:
  • Novolen ComPPact® process reactors
  • Single reactor, cascade reactors, parallel reactors, or the versatile cascade/parallel VRC® reactor configuration, allowing for maximum product range and capacity flexibility.
  • NEON® extrusion equipment design for low VOC products
  • Specialized Lummus Digital solutions for process & operation optimization
  • Life Cycle Services that will be customized to the requirements of the licensee
Novolen High Performance Catalysts
Tailor-made catalysts for the full PP grade range
Novolen High Performance catalysts (NHP catalysts) are developed to unlock the maximum potential of the Novolen PP gas-phase process. Both traditional phthalate-based as well as a new generation of non-phthalate based catalysts are available, providing an excellent balance in catalyst yield, hydrogen response (wide MFR range), Molecular Weight Distribution, XS response and comonomer response. They feature excellent operational performance, high powder bulk density and good powder flowability.
Additional information:
  • Our catalyst collection includes NHP® catalysts and Novocene® metallocene catalysts which produce high-performance and special polypropylene grades Novolen CirPPlus™ (recycled polymers), Novolen Enhance™ (performance-boosting polymers enabling mechanical recycling), and non-phthalate PPure™.

Tailor-made reactions improving project economics

Lummus’ bespoke Novolen High Performance (NHP) catalysts, custom made to optimize polypropylene production, open the world of high-performance and special grade polymer production to Novolen technology licensees. Catalysts improve project economics by steering reactions to higher conversions and yields. Whether you desire to support the environment through recycled polymers or achieve next-generation performance through metallocenes, NHP catalysts help producers differentiate their products with consistent, high-quality performance.


Additional information:


Our catalyst collection includes NHP® catalysts and Novocene® metallocene catalysts which produce high-performance and special polypropylene grades Novolen CirPPlus™ (recycled polymers), Novolen Enhance™ (performance polymers), and PPure™.

Polyethylene
Technologies:

Polyethylene is the world's most widely produced plastic, forming the foundations for applications from rigid, durable goods to soft, flexible films, and various other products such as pipes, storage containers and drums. Our portfolio of leading polyethylene technologies provide safe, reliable and cost-effective solutions that enable producers to manufacture the full spectrum of polyethylene products across a wide range of applications.

Super Absorbents (SAP)
Technologies:
Saplene™

Designed to capture and retain large volumes of liquid, super absorbents power critical hygiene and agricultural products around the world. Lummus is proud to be the only global licensor with a fully integrated production process covering the entire manufacturing chain (including C3, AA, and GAA production).

Saplene™
The Process Behind High-Performance Absorbent Polymers—Tailored for Hygiene and Beyond
Saplene™ is a production process for acrylic-acid based super absorbent polymers (SAP), engineered to deliver balanced, customizable product grade for a wide range of hygiene applications. Proven across more than 30 years of commercial-scale operation, Saplene delivers consistent reliability and adaptability to evolving market needs, making it suitable not only for today’s hygiene products but also for future generations. Lummus is the only company to globally license an SAP production process through propylene, acrylic acid (AA), and glacial acrylic acid (GAA), enabling streamlined supply chains and enhanced control over raw material availability and quality.
Saplene technology includes:
  • Saplene operates without the need for organic solvents, making the process intrinsically safer and more economical by avoiding the complexity and cost of solvent recovery systems. This also contributes to a reduced environmental footprint.
  • At the heart of the process is the belt reactor—the most popular commercial technology for SAP production—recognized for its flexibility in tuning product properties, adaptability to new generations of hygiene articles, and its ability to deliver a well-balanced performance profile across absorbency, retention under pressure, and permeability.
Energy Transition
Technologies:
VerdeneBio PlasticsPlastic Pyrolysis

As the world transitions to a circular economy, managing plastic waste has become a critical priority. Our advanced circular technologies are at the forefront of this transformation, providing comprehensive solutions for producers to achieve their sustainability goals and creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for all.

Verdene
Bio-based polymers, uncompromising performance
Verdene is our integrated suite of process technologies that enables producers to create fully bio-based polymers using bio-based feedstock (such as bio-ethanol) as a sustainable feedstock. The suite offers integrated solutions to produce a range of essential materials, including bio-based polypropylene, bio-based polyethylene, and bio-based Super Absorbent Polymer. The resulting bio-based polymers function identically to those produced traditionally, providing a drop-in, high-performance, carbon-friendly solution. By sequestering carbon in the final polymer, Verdene technology enables polymer production with carbon-neutral to even net-negative carbon dioxide emissions.
Bio Plastics
Leading change with biodegradable plastics
In partnership with RWDC, our polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) technology helps producers create an innovative biopolymer that addresses the global plastic waste crisis by producing a fully biodegradable and environmentally safe alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Engineered to completely biodegrade in natural environments without leaving behind toxic microplastics, PHA provides an uncompromising, high-performance solution for a wide range of applications, from food packaging to consumer goods. A critical step in the transition to a circular economy, Bio Plastics is Lummus’ answer to the growing market demand for sustainable materials and our proud contribution to a cleaner planet.
Plastic Pyrolysis
Enabling commercially viable plastic recycling
We unlock the value of plastic waste through Plastic Pyrolysis technology that converts mixed plastic waste streams that are difficult to recycle into a high quality circular feedstock for steam crackers. Plastic pyrolysis creates a scalable pathway for circular polymers, moving circularity from concept to commercial reality.
Related Technologies
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Foundational

Our portfolio of foundational processes span petrochemicals, refining, gas processing, and clean energy solutions. These solutions transform conventional technologies by driving down costs, increasing yields, and reducing remissions.

Fuels

Our portfolio of fuels technologies upgrades heavy hydrocarbons into cleaner fuels and higher-value products that the world still relies on, while reducing impurities, emissions and waste across the system. Through hydroprocessing, advanced conversion and circular platforms such as ISOTERRA, we enable gasoline blendstocks and high-value petrochemicals, including propylene, butenes and high-purity isobutylene, with higher efficiency and lower environmental impact.

Light Molecules

Light molecules or light olefins (like ethylene and propylene) are essential building blocks in the petrochemical industry. Our technologies and processes are designed to selectively maximize the yield of these valuable molecules from even the most challenging feedstocks so that customers can create cleaner fuels.

Intermediate

From conventional feedstocks to recycled plastics, we enable the efficient, low-waste production of high-value intermediates that power a cleaner chemical value chain—delivering aromatics, specialty chemicals, carbon and advanced circular polymers through integrated technologies, engineering and advisory services.

Water

Our integrated suite of water and wastewater treatment processes offer customers sustainable and integrated solutions that achieve desired waste reduction and energy efficiency goals.

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