Dow Chemical explains how their joint venture development with algae company Algenol Biofuels will work. The company says the ethanol produced from algae can either be used as biofuel or chemical feedstock.
A new study from the European Bioplastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) estimated that substitution potential of up to 90% of the total consumption of plastics by bio-based polymers are technically possible.
Still, that estimate will not be fulfilled in the near future because of low oil price, high production costs and restricted production capacity of biomass-based polymers, researchers of the study concluded.
2007 global bioplastic capacity (at 360,000 metric tonnes) is said to be only 0.3% of the global plastic production, which is dominated by petrochemical plastics. The bioplastic market, however, experienced a 38% growth rate from 2003 to 2007. European growth rate was said to be as high as 48%.
Standard polymers like polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC or PET, as well as high-performance polymers like polyamide or polyester have already been been totally or partially substituted by their renewable raw materials equivalents.
Based on recent company announcements the production capacity of bio-based plastics is projected to increase from 360,000 tons in 2007 to about 2.3 million tons by 2013, corresponding to an annual growth of 37%.
"Important major projects were delayed in the years 2008 and 2009 due to the financial and economic crisis. Despite the still uncertain data, we deem such studies to be very essential. The role that lightweight conventional plastics played in the past, substituting durable materials like iron and steel in vast products, could soon be taken over by bio-based plastics. As the study shows, the potential is enormous," says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics.The study estimates that if the overall bioplastic industry grows under a 'business-as-usual' condition, the 2020 market will reach 2.94 million MT. In a low growth rate scenario, half of the total capacity announced for 2013 will not be implemented even by 2020. On the other hand, a high growth scenario will see total installed capacity in 2020 to increase nearly twice as much as capacity announced for 2013, according to the study.
The study has a lot of good information about starch plastics, cellulosic polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) polymers, PTT from biobased propanediol, biobased polyamides, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), biobased polyethylene and PVC from bio-PE, and other emerging biobased thermoplastics.
FYI. Some recent news on bioplastics that I was not able to post:
Renewable chemical companies seem to be getting better in raising money from venture firms these days.
An article from Reuters cited the recent news (which I also posted in my news roundup) about biosuccinic acid producer DNP Green Technology raising $12m from venture firms Sofinnova Partners, Mitsui & Co., Venture Partners, Samsung Ventures Investment Corp., Clifton Group, and AquaRIMCO. All are new investors except for AquaRIMCO.
Reuters also noted other examples such as bioplastic developer Novomer when it raised $14m in August; Draths Corp. with $21.7m in spring; Segetis with a $15m start-up investment from Khosla Ventures in 2007; and recently Rennovia, where I posted in September about their $6m seed funding from 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures.
Other company activities not mention were OPX Biotechnologies which raised $17.5m in April led by Braemar Energy Ventures; Zeachem, which raised $34m in January; Amyris Biotechnologies, which reportedly raised $41.75 million recently from new investors GrupoCornelioBrennand of Brazil and Naxos UK; and it is also noteworthy to mention the formation of Elevance last year with a $40m funding led by TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners.
There are of course several biofuel/renewable chemical players that are getting funds from traditional oil and chemical firms. These include Gevo that received X amounts of dollars (or Euro?) last April from French oil company Total; Shell increased its equity stake in Codexis last March; and ExxonMobil investing in Synthetic Genomics last July for more than $300m.
I'm sure there are many more out there that I haven't covered. Let me know! One more thing to mention (that probably already mentioned before) is that there seems to be a lot more interests from venture capital firms to look into green chemistry other than biofuels or other clean techs. I also recalled an email last summer from a venture capital firm interested in knowing more about who's who in this area.
That is why I formed my Green Chemical company list, which I hope will continue to grow.
European manufacturers of tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) - a chemical produced from the byproduct of the pulp and paper manufacture, are hoping to have the product exempted from Europe's chemical regulation REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances).
The Hydrocarbon Resins, Rosin Resins and Pine Chemicals Producers Association (HARRPA) said that TOFA and certain salts should be exempted based on their interpretation of the REACH text. Manufacturers involved in this petition include Arizona Chemical, DRT, Forchem and Kemira. Their arguments include:
- That TOFA is naturally-sourced
- That TOFA is not chemically modified
- It is not included in REACH's dangerous substance list
- It is a natural fatty acid
The first high-volume products, whether produced in the EU or imported into the region, have to be registered by 1 December 2010.
A study* from John Hopkins University estimated that animal testing of substances registered under REACH will cost $13.6bn (€9.5bn) over the next ten years, rather than the $2.3bn estimated by the EU when the programme was drafted.
One thing to note is that it will sure make it easier for chemical companies (and their customers) to overcome this kind of legislation if their products are based on renewable feedstock or already incorporating green chemistry principles.
*Subscription required
[Image of TOFA from University of Arkansas, Fayetteville]
After collaborating with Samsung on its new eco-friendly mobile phone Samsung Reclaim which debuted in the US last August, Sprint now redesigned its wireless accessory packaging line with environment-friendly alternatives.
Beginning this month, Sprint is selling in their retail stores various accessories packaged with recyclable polyethylene terapthalate or PET instead of polyvinyl chloride or PVC. They will also be 20-40% smaller than previous packaging to reduce waste.
The packaging will also use soy and vegetable-based inks while the paperboard used in the packaging will be certified under the Forest Stewardship Council. Less resin will also be used in shipping the accessories, according to Sprint.
The company recently established its own green design criteria for future devices and accessories, and has committed to reduce paper usage by 30% during the next five years.
I guess pesticide is the topic for this week after reporting about carbofuran. This time, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new pesticide labeling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift. The agency is also requesting comments on a petition to evaluate children's exposure to pesticide drift.
The new labels will have uniform and specific directions on restricting spray drift as well as prohibit drift that could cause health or environmental effects. Examples of guidelines could include no spray buffer zones, restrictions on droplet or particle size, nozzle height, weather conditions, etc.
The agency is also taking other actions to reduce drift problems such as developing a new voluntary program called Drift Reduction Technology (DRT) programs that encourages development, marketing and use of application technologies to significantly reduce spray drift; developing information on best management practices (BMPs) to reduce off-target drift for specific application methods; education and training programs on drift management; and examine scientific issues associated with field volatilization of pesticides.
As far as DRT program is concern, the EPA plans for that program to be operative by 2010.
Specialty chemicals company Clariant has been very enthusiastic last month in launching new greener products and formulation concepts.
To start, the company launched its new EcoTain label (promoting Ecological, Economic, Sustainable products) for cosmetics and personal care, detergents, industrial cleaning products, coatings and deicings.
Examples of their EcoTain labeled product offerings include sunflower oil-based emulsifiers; and vegetable-based cationic detergent surfactant that is biodegradable, has low VOC, and is free of alkylphenoethoxylates (APEOS). All of the personal care products with this label are said to be natural-based and free of ethylene oxides as well.
Clariant also launched under this label their deicer recycling system. It covers the collection of deicer fluid from aircraft run-off, which is then recycled, cleaned and stored for future use. Reutilization rates of the deicing fluid is said to be up to 60%.
The company also introduced in October a new bio-based amine oxide under the trade name Genaminox® CHE for hard surface cleaning application. The surfactant cuts active ingredient use by up to 66% enabling manufacturers to reduce material purchasing, storage and transportation costs.
Clariant assures that the chemical delivers 50% better soil removal in an anti-bacterial formulation and a 44% improvement in a green all-purpose cleaner formulation. Genaminox CHE is said to be made from a plant-based hydrophobe, with 60% of the chemicals used originating from bio sources.
This week, Clariant announced its new silicone-free concepts that include rheology modifiers, emulsifiers and active ingredients for cosmetics and personal care formulations that don't need to add silicones. Clariant noted that the non-biodegradable nature of silicone restricts its use in natural/eco-labeled cosmetics.
Here are last month's launch of new green chemicals in no particular order. This list is definitely a record-breaker compared to previous months. I also noticed more new products this month targeting the cleaning market.
1. ELM's biobased lubricants - Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing (ELM) introduced an array of biobased consumer lubricants and greases, which are said to be the first of their kind as they are packaged in an environmental friendly kit for use in and around the household.
2. Genencor's detergent enzyme - Genencor launched PuraFast™ HS protease, a performance ingredient for laundry detergents to improve cleaning performance in shorter cycle and lower temperature washes.
3. Axion's recycled polymers - Axion Polymers has launched Axfoil® - its first new 100% recycled extruded sheet product that can be used in applications ranging from horticultural pots to in-store POS displays and collation trays that can eventually be recycled again.
4. Itaconix's green SAPs - Bio-itaconic acid producer Itaconix introduced its Itaconix™ Super Absorbent and Itaconix™ Dispersant. The company's polymers are made from itaconic acid that is currently fermented with corn glucose as the feedstock.
5. Colonial's green surfactant - Colonial Chemical has added its new Poly SugaCarb and Poly SugaPearl to the company's "green" line of personal care products. Poly SugaCarb can be substituted for traditional surfactants such as sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth-2 sulfate and alpha olefin sulfonate, while Poly SugaPearl is a concentrated dispersion of pearlizing compounds designed to be free of sulfates and ethylene oxide.
6. Cognis' biopolymer cleaning additive - Cognis has launched Polyquart Ecoclean, a starch-based polymer additive for formulating environmentally sound hard surface cleaners. Polyquart Ecoclean is said to be compatible with anionic, cationic and nonionic surfactants.
7. Spartech's eco-packaging - Spartech rolled out its EnviroSeal™ and UltrosRenu™ for PVC packaging replacements. EnviroSeal™ is said to be available with pre- or post-consumer content, while UltrosRenu™ is produced with high quality recycled PETG materials.
8. Celanese's eco paint emulsifiers - Celanese is offering EcoVAE 408, a vinyl acetate/ethylene base emulsion for coatings manufacturers. The emulsion is APE-free, has a low residual monomer level and can be formulated into low VOC coatings to achieve green certifications.
9. LATI's PLA resin compounds - Italy-based LATI launched its new family of of polylactic acid-based compounds under the brand name LATIGEA. The compounds are reinforced with natural and traditional fibres, and blended with polycarbonates and polyesters.
The green blog has been covering the carbofuran issue ever since the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided in 2008 to cancel the pesticide's registration because of concern for its health safety.
Carbofuran is an N-methyl carbamate insecticide and nematicide that has been registered to control pests in soil and on leaves in a variety of field, fruit, and vegetable crops.
In October 30, the EPA finally decided to implement its final rule to ban the pesticide and said that farmers who use the product should switch to safer alternatives instead. The carbofuran ban will start after December 31, 2009.
"EPA has carefully evaluated the scientific issues and has provided more than 500 days of public comment on this decision. It is now important to move forward with the needed public health protections, especially for children."The EPA also denied any objections or requests for hearings regarding the ban, which of course FMC - the lone US producer of carbofuran, strongly objected to. During the 3-month commentary period on the ban, the National Corn Growers Association, National Sunflower Association, National Potato Council and FMC filed objections to the EPA proposal.
The EPA said the objections and science arguments presented were flawed and FMC's proposed amendments to the carbofuran registration is said to be insufficient.
FMC and the three commodity crop associations plan to take legal action against the EPA's decision in a federal court. FMC said the EPA's attempt to link carbofuran food residues to symptoms of potential poisoning in children is unwarranted.
"EPA's unprecedented attempt to deny any review of its science deprives the registrant and the growers who use carbofuran the right to prove that the product is safe, and represents a bold abuse of power in contradiction of the agency's earlier commitments to transparency and good science," said Dr. Michael Morelli, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, FMC Agricultural Products Group.
Clorox announced today that it will modify its bleach manufacturing process in seven US facilities in order to eliminate the transport of chlorine feedstock to those facilities.
ICIS news* reported that this move was driven by potential US regulations that could restrict chlorine transport or increase associated costs.
Clorox will begin transitioning from chlorine to high-strength bleach as a raw material for making its namesake bleach starting in its Fairfield, California plant.
The high-strength bleach is a water-based solution of concentrated sodium hypochlorite that can be diluted to a specific level for household and industrial use and is still made with chlorine, according to Clorox.
The company expects to complete the transition in Fairfield within six months, followed by a phased, multi-year transition for the rest of the plants.
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