US OPXBIO achieves bioacrylic acid price goal of 55-70 cents/lb

15 February 2011 07:01  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN DIEGO (ICIS)--Colorado-based OPX Biotechnologies (OPXBIO) in the US has reached its goal of producing bio-based acrylic acid at a cost of 70 cents/lb ($1,543/tonne, €1,142/tonne) using corn sugar feedstock or 55 cents/lb using sugarcane feedstock after 18 months of pilot-scale development, a company official said late on Monday.

OPXBIO’s ultimate pricing goal is to produce bioacrylic at a price of 50 cents/lb using corn sugar and less than 40 cents/lb using sugarcane.

The company’s pilot process achieved a 79% production yield generating 70 grams/litre bioproduct concentration in 26-hour fermentations, OPXBIO’s president and CEO Charles Eggert said during a panel discussion at the Infocast Bio-Based Chemicals Summit in San Diego, California.

Eggert said the company was now moving to larger demonstration-scale processing and was expected to begin commercial bioacrylic production in 2014.

The Bio-Based Chemicals conference ends on Thursday.

($1 = €0.74)

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By: Doris de Guzman
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