At Låkril Technologies, we catalyze sustainability in high volume chemical processes through sales of acrylics and licensing of related catalyst and process technology. Our revolutionary catalyst for catalytic dehydration of α-hydroxy acids allows the supply of sustainable, bio-based acrylic acid and acrylate derivatives as drop-in replacements to the paints, coatings, adhesives, and superabsorbents industries.
MN Corn Podcast: Lakril Catalyzes Bioacrylic Acid from Corn - August 2024
Chris Nicholas, co-founder and president of Låkril Technologies, discusses the company’s advancements in developing a bioacrylic acid.
A competitive process to produce bio-based acrylics has long been sought by producers and end users, but routes leading to cost parity at scale with today’s petrochemicals have not been found before our discovery. We work and partner with companies in the acrylics value chain to decarbonize this broad industry as our technology provides at least 35% CO₂ reduction and can allow carbon sequestration during production of drop-in replacements.
In the next 5 years, a critical need is a transition to low carbon chemicals at the lowest possible cost to society. Låkril Technologies imagines a future where drop-in industrial chemicals are produced from bio-based sugars rather than petroleum, thus alleviating reformulation costs.
Our thermochemical technology platform provides outstanding yields of bio-based based acrylics from lactic acid, a molecule that has been produced commercially via fermentation since the 1880s. This large volume, low-cost feedstock coupled with our acrylic yields allows us to achieve our goal of giving sustainable materials a competitive edge by making them at incredibly low cost so that the transition to low carbon, bio-derived products is effortless for consumers and end users.
Research Partners
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Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council
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Indiana Corn Marketing Council
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Corn Marketing Program of Michigan
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United States Department of Agriculture
National Institute of Food and Agriculture - Phase II SBIR
Corn-Derived Ethyl Lactate for Sustainable Production of Biobased Acrylic Acid from High Water Content Feeds over FAU Zeolite-based Catalysts
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United States Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy - Phase I SBIR
Non-Oxidative Regeneration Processes for Na-FAU based catalysts for Decarbonization of the Acrylic Acid Industry through Biomanufacturing
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National Science Foundation
Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) - Phase I STTR
Effect of Alcohol Concentration on Lactic to Acrylic Selectivity and Deactivation Rate over Na-FAU Zeolite Catalysts