November 2009 Archives

BY JOSEPH CHANG FROM SAO PAOLO

First time at the UNICA (Brazilian sugarcane association) press tour, and it's a whirlwind I tell ya! In over 12 years of reporting, I've never had such a packed schedule. From the moment we landed, we went straight to a press conference.

Check out some video clips from the Pedra Agroindustrial sugarcane processing and ethanol facility in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo state in Brazil.

The plant tour - hot, humid and noisy. But you really get to see the nuts and bolts of the operation, and the ethanol end product. Bottoms up!

Plus we went into the field and saw how the sugarcane is harvested - 12-foot tall plants sucked into a tractor-like machine and spit out into the truck.

My first self-made videos here - folks be kind!

UNICA sees Brazilian ethanol production almost doubling by the 2015/2016 harvest year to 46.9m tonnes/year, mainly to fuel the domestic market. But it also aims for higher exports driven by climate change legislation in the EU.

Plus, bioplastics from sugarcane is on the horizon. Pedra Agroindustrial plans to build the

world's first sugarcane-based bioplastics facility with a capacity of between 35,000-40,000 tonnes/year by 2012.

See the stories on ICIS news (subscription required):

EU renewable energy law to drive demand for ethanol contracts

Brazil Pedra to build sugarcane bioplastics plant by 2012

More photos and updates to come.

Happy Thanksgiving to you - all of Doris de Guzman's ICIS Green Chemicals Blog readers!

I am not sure if fuel cell generated electric bikes will be available in time for the holidays this year (although I want one in a folding bike - Dear Santa...), but SiGNa Chemistry said that it was able to successfully design, assemble, and initial test its H300 Hydrogen Generation System for portable fuel cells.

Using SiGNa's proprietary sodium silicide (NaSi) powder, the H300 generates hydrogen on demand in swappable cartridges via two hydrogen canisters that generate more than 800 liters of hydrogen at a combined flow-rate of up to 4 slpm (continuous) and 10 slpm (peak).

SiGNA said the system supports a broad range of portable fuel cell applications including back-up power systems, emergency responder work-stations, military battery recharging, and electric bicycles. The company has demonstrated hydrogen generation for applications ranging from 1 to 500 Watts.

"The H300 Hydrogen Generator System allows us to easily showcase our effective materials to portable fuel cell system developers," says Michael Lefenfeld, President and CEO, SiGNa Chemistry.

"Hydrogen storage continues to be the single most important piece of technology limiting portable fuel cell commercialization, "says Ken Pearson, COO, Trulite, Inc. "High energy density, low cost, and start-stop capability are all critical market requirement areas that SiGNa's NaSi powder technology has the potential to meet."

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operated today its first ever passenger flight powered by sustainable biokerosene.

According to the company, it has been involved in bio-kerosene research since 2007. Honeywell's UOP, whose process technology was used to produced the green fuel, said that one engine of the Boeing 747 used by KLM was powered by a fuel mixture consisting of a 50/50 mix of the green jet fuel and traditional petroleum-derived jet fuel.

Camelina oil was used for the production of the green fuel, said UOP.

"Camelina is an inedible plant that grows in conditions where other food crops cannot, is considered a sustainable, second-generation resource because its cultivation and harvesting do not tax valuable food, land or water resources."

The Green blog's interview with Rivertop Renewables founder Donald Kiely, and director of marketing Jason Kiely (also Don's son) revealed the potential power of glucaric acid as a renewable-based alternative chemical.

The company hopes to launch sample product applications of its low-cost glucaric acid next year, first as corrosion inhibitors as well as an alternative to phosphate in detergent cleaning products.

So what's the story behind Rivertop Renewables?

According to Don Kiely, who is a retired professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Montana, he has been focusing on finding practical applications for carbohydrates for more than a decade. Low-cost production of glucaric acid is one of his patented technologies and he hopes to have it commercialized before he fully retires in two years.

Hence, Rivertop Renewables was formed in January 2008 with their first round of funding mostly from the founders themselves, friends/families, and a couple of angel investors.

The company said they just recently introduced themselves to the venture community and hope to close their second round of financing soon.

"We are getting good signs from advisors within the industry. We are a well-managed company, our technology is now well-positioned, and so we are hopeful to get a good traction early on even though there is of course a little trepidation on our part given the capital market situation out there," said Jason Kiely.

"2010 will be a big year for us as we are also targeting to get large amount of samples out for that year," said Don Kiely. "We've been in contact with 20 plus prospective customers and we believe that we can make our 2010 targets because of the effectiveness of the scalability of our glucaric acid process."

According to the company, their glucaric acid process is a very simple chemical process, applicable to a variety of carbohydrates, does not rely on any particular microorganism to make the transformation, and if everything will go well, there will be no waste products involved because of a closed loop processing design.

Most of the glucose today comes from cornstarch but Don Kiely noted that their process can use biomass-based carbohydrate feedstock if they're available.

The company plans to first introduced glucaric acid-based corrosion inhibitors in road salt deicers, and in water heating and cooling systems as early as late 2010. According to Jason Kiely, there is still one more testing to be done with the application of glucaric-aid as a detergent builder.

Also under development are applications of glucaric acid as concrete admixture; as biodegradable polymer gel that can compete with polyacrylates in diapers; and as agricultural biodegradable hydrogel for cost-effective, time-release fertilizer.

[Photo of Tyler Smith, R&D director for Rivertop Renewables, working with a rotary evaporator]

Owens Corning is increasing the recycled content in its fiberglass insulation and masonry products. The company's residential and commercial insulation products in North America now are made of at least half recycled glass content (minimum 50%).

Gas and algae collaboration
Linde Group and Algenol Biofuels formed a joint development project in order to identify the optimum management of carbon dioxide and oxygen for Algenol's algae and photobioreactor technology.

More transparent SC Johnson
SC Johnson says its ingredient disclosure program is now ahead of schedule and its website now includes 129 SC Johnson air care products and 76 home cleaning products, as well as explanations of the 169 ingredients that comprise these products.

I received an email from enzyme producer Danisco announcing the start-up of one of the world's first and largest cellulosic ethanol demonstration biorefineries located in Kalundborg, Denmark.

The facility is a joint venture of DONG Energy and Inbicon. Danisco's enzyme business, Genencor, supplies the Accellerase© enzymes, which are used to convert the feedstock straw to ethanol (for E85 fuel use).

The facility is expected to use 30,000 tonnes/year of straw to produce 5.4 million litres of bioethanol (1.5 million gallons); 13,000 tonnes of lignin pellets; and 11,100 tonnes C5 molasses. DONG Energy said the bio pellets can be used as fuel at CPH plants, and the C5 molasses can be used for animal feed and other purposes.

"Our bioethanol plant will demonstrate that we are capable of producing so-called second generation bioethanol on the basis of waste products. If our technology is well received by the global markets, new opportunities of export will evolve", said Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy.

Here's an unedited clip of the plant's inauguration: (see how much straw they need?!?!)

It's always nice to hear our tax money going to something (hopefully) useful.

This one is a $24m grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) being given to companies that are develop technologies to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products using biomass as feedstock.

The awardees must contribute a minimum of 20% of matching funds for R&D projects and 50% of matching funds for demonstration projects. For biobased products and biofuels development, companies selected include GE Global Research, Gevo, Itaconix, Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation, and Velocys.

Gevo, which was awarded $1.8m, said that this grant will help fund ongoing development of its yeast strain to produce biobutanol from cellulosic biomass. The company started up its biobutanol demonstration plant - said to be the first in the world, last September. The facility was designed from retrofitting an existing demonstration scale ethanol plant to produce biobutanol.

Itaconix, meanwhile, aims to produce green polymers from itaconic acid fermented with sugars extracted from hardwood biomass. Their product polyitaconic acid is a water soluble polymer, said to have a 2 million ton/year market potential as a replacement for petrochemical dispersants, detergents, and super-absorbents.

Other awardees include Exelus, which aims to develop a Biomass-to-Gasoline (BTG) technology; and universities such as University of Tennessee (working on switchgrass), Oklahoma State University, University of Minnesota, and Purdue University.

Energy crop company Ceres also won a separate grant ($5m) from the DOE to develop high-yielding, low-input energy grasses. The company aims to expand an advanced trait development project to increase biomass yields of several energy grasses by as much as 40%, and at the same time decreasing the use of inputs such as nitrogen fertilizers.

This "amazing grass" could displace 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 58 million tons of coal over a ten year period, according to Ceres.

I guess this is the week of big green chemistry news. Love it!

Aside from the Rivertop Renewables and Elevance news, here's another one from Zeachem, who announced yesterday about their new semi works scale cellulosic biorefinery being constructed in Colorado. The facility will have capacity to produce 250,000 gallons of biofuel per year using the company's naturally occurring bacteria, called an acetogen.

The company is working with Hazen Research, Inc. of Golden, Colorado to construct the critical first step of the biorefinery fermentation process. Zeachem says its hybrid biorefinery platform based on biochemical and thermochemical processing can produce ethanol fuel and intermediate chemicals using flexible feedstock.

ZeaChem intends in 2013 to scale to a commercial biorefinery of around 25m gal/year in Boardman, Oregon, upon successful operations at the semi-works scale facility.

For more information on Zeachem's project:

Thanks to the Green Underworld Reporter for sending this information about Elevance Renewable Sciences in a proposed joint venture with biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) to build a 2.6m gallon/year demo-scale integrated biorefinery in Newton, Iowa.

In an application filed by Elevance late last month to the Iowa Dept. of Economic Development (IDED) for funding assistance, the company said the proposed biorefinery will convert renewable raw materials primarily sourced from Iowa such as soybean oil, ethanol DDG corn oil, animal fats, algae oil and other emerging oils, into olefins, fuels and specialty chemicals.

About 15-16 million pounds/year of vegetable oil feedstock could be used to operate the proposed facility at 90% capacity. According to Elevance, success of the demo plant will enable the company to retrofit existing biodiesel facilities in Iowa with a fully diversified biorefinery.

REG is expected to provide their existing biodiesel production plant in Newton for the biorefinery location as well as provide their experiences in raw material sourcing/transportation/handling, and in constructing novel, continuous flow operating systems.

REG's experience in fuel and glycerin marketing and logistics will also come in handy, the company said.

Elevance is seeking $800,000 in financial assistance from the IDED and another $2.67 million from the Iowa Power Fund to contribute to the $8.7m estimated cost of the project through 2011. The rest will be funded by the company.

According to the filing, the project is estimated to create around 40-60 full time jobs in 2010 for engineering construction, site preparation and installation. The project will create 7 permanent jobs when the biorefinery starts around 4th quarter of 2010. Full operating capacity is expected in 2012.

Elevance said the company is actively considering locations outside Iowa such as Illinois, Washinigton, Texas and Louisiana, if the project will not proceed in Iowa.

Here's another green chemistry company start-up to add to my list.

I received an email about Missoula, Montana-based Rivertop Renewables who is developing glucaric acid, a sugar-based acid created by oxidizing glucose which can be used as a building block chemical.

According to the company, the US Department of Energy recognized glucaric acid as one of the top "twelve building block chemicals" that can be subsequently converted to a number of high-value bio-based chemicals or materials.

The markets for glucaric acid derivatives such as glucarates and lactones are said to be undeveloped as they are expensive and the supply has been limited, with most being use for research or as a health supplement ingredient.

Rivertop Renewables said that they were able to develop a scalable, cost-effective and safe glucaric acid production technology based on 10 years of research that started at the University of Montana. Early markets for their product include, among others, detergents (as a builder to replace phosphates), diapers (increasing its biodegradability), road salt deicers (as corrosion inhibitors); and as concrete admixtures.

The company says replacing phosphates in detergents alone represents a $9 billion market opportunity.To produce the acid, the company is using a proprietary oxidation technology.

"We refined the oxidation of nitric acid into a catalytic process that reduces the amount of needed nitric acid, minimizes the production of waste, and increases the yield of valuable end-use products," says Don Kiely founder and chairman. "The oxidation platform is adaptable to feedstocks beyond glucose such as sucrose and xylose."

The company is in the midst of their first round of funding of $1.4 million, and said to be in talks with major manufacturers that can make and distribute their chemicals at low cost.

My colleague Simon Robinson noted the increasing hits on ICB's bisphenol-A (BPA) chemical profile online, which was published last year in October. Last week, it generated over 1300 hits. Barbara Ortner, another colleague and author of the Chemicals Confidential blog, dubbed BPA as the current most hated chemical as it is constantly splashed through the news from various studies indicating it's health/environmental risks (or lack thereof from counter studies).

Here are some of the recent ones that came out on the news as well as comments from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) on these findings:

• Consumer Reports Study Detected BPA in Some Canned Foods (see ACC comment)
  

• An investigation from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), American Nurses Association (ANA) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) revealed that the chemicals BPA, phthalates, PBDEs and PFCs are found in the bodies of health care professionals who participated in the study.(see ACC comment)
  

• High levels of workplace exposure to BPA may increase the risk of reduced sexual function in men, according to a Kaiser Permanente study. (see ACC comment)
  

• A study from the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIEHS) found a link between maternal exposure to BPA in early pregnancy and the behaviour of female children up to the age of two years. (see ACC comment)
  
  

The ACC noted that the researchers of this study acknowledged that their results are not straightforward.

"It appears that the researchers selectively excluded data, eliminating certain subjects from the analysis, in order to strengthen their conclusion. Even the phraseology of the paper is more sensationalistic than scientific." - ACC

Here are last week's news in no particular order. I will put a separate post about the DOE's biomass grant announced last week.

More money for Metabolix
Bioplastic developer Metabolix has completed its public offering of 3,450,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $9.00 per share for gross proceeds of $31 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Recycled plastic bridges
Axion International Holdings completed its $957,000 contract for the construction of two railroad bridges designed from nearly 100% recycled plastics. The US Army has commissioned each of these bridges to be built at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

Carpet fiber eco-certified
Invista said it is the first company to obtain Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification for its carpet fibers under a new, expanded standard by third-party certification company Scientific Certification Systems (SCS).

Biomass fuel plant approved
renewaFUEL LLC plans to construct and operate its next-generation biomass fuel production facility at the Telkite Technology Park near Marquette, Michigan. The plant will produce 150,000 tons/year of high-energy, low-emission biofuel cubes, a composite of collected wood and agricultural feedstocks supplied from local farmers and loggers for the facility.

GE's biggest wind service deal
GE and E.ON Climate & Renewables North America signed a 7-year operation and maintenance agreement covering EC&R's complete fleet of 529 GE wind turbines installed in the United States. The O&M deal is one of the largest wind services agreements ever signed by GE.

And in ICIS news (requires subscription):
Bioplastics' share of auto sector to increase, a consultant with BeOne Hamburg reported.

French chemical maker Arkema forecast that 10% of its sales will come from renewable resources.

Producing biodiesel from sugarcane is less than five years away from becoming commercially viable, as illustrated by two US companies.

It looks like chemical companies are in full swing promoting numerous green projects and products. We recently posted news from Dow Chemical, Honeywell, Clariant, Eastman, Teijin, Arkema... and now here's from BASF.

The company is formally launching on Wednesday its new zero-emission Acrodur® acrylic thermosets for automotive applications. The new acrylics are thermally cross-linkable, said to be free of formaldehyde and other emissions, and offer new routes to innovative composite materials.

With the product, natural-based fibers such as wood, flax, hemp or sisal can be resinated in different ways for used in the production of shaped panels for automobile interiors. Kettering University, which released the news, said that the green acrylic can provide a great variety of other natural and man-made fibers of the nonwoven industry or even granulated materials, which can be bonded with the new binder system.

Here's a video from Eastman Chemical promoting its Tritan copolyester for BPA-free baby bottles under the Weil Brand. Eastman said the bottles are also designed as anti-colic because of its unique venting system.

Another interesting news from Eastman is that it recently expanded its bulk storage capacity in the European Union (EU) for its non-phthalate plasticizers Eastman™ 168 and Eastman™ DBT. The company said demand for non-phthalate plasticizers in Europe has been increasing, and that customers need the reliability and quick availability of large quantities of local supply.

Coca-Cola announced today that its 500mL and 2L size Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light and Coca-Cola Zero are now available in the PlantBottle packaging throughout Denmark. Western Canada will receive their green-bottled Cokes as well as Dasani water, Sprite and Fresca beginning December, while the Western side of the US including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, will have their turn in January.

Other market launches will soon follow next year. The company plans to produce 2 billion of the PlantBottle PET plastic bottles by the end of 2010.

Somebody asked me before what type of plant-based materials Coca Cola is using in this packaging. Well, the company finally revealed that up to 30% of the PlantBottle's packaging is made from plastic derived from sugar cane and molasses produced in Brazil. Coca-Cola emphasized that the sugar cane used in this process are from rain-fed crops specifically for ethanol used and not for refined sugar (they definitely don't want to hear any uproar about food vs plastic use).

Coca-Cola said its goal is to use non-food, plant-based waste such as wood chips, wheat stalks, etc., to produce their recyclable PET plastic bottles.

In Denmark, the PlantBottle packaging is made of 15% plant-based material and 50% recycled PET, while in the US and Canada, up to 30% of the PET plastic used comes from plants.

Here's a question: How can chemical companies prove that they are keen on being green (I mean sustainable - I forgot that they hate the word green...) when there's always the cloud of cynicism hanging over their heads coming from consumers?

For example, I posts these great news from various chemical companies on how they're developing new environment-friendly chemistry, or converting to renewable-based materials, or how they're reducing emissions or reducing energy consumption, or how they minimize waste, and so forth and so on.

I get more tweets doubting these companies' sincerity than praising their efforts. It is true that most of these companies want to be sustainable mostly because this route is becoming more profitable. But isn't this a win-win situation for everybody? If a company is profitable, they make jobs available, and the side benefit to this is that this profitability comes from producing chemicals and products that are more environment- and health- friendly.

So...what's the problem here?

I feel like I wrote this equation before but yesterday's investor presentation from Dow Chemical emphasized their strategy in incorporating sustainability in all aspects of their operations and businesses mostly because it is profitable to do so.

The company has been busy investing and making deals right and left in lithium battery, carbon capture, solar, and other sustainability-infused projects. Here are some of them announced yesterday:

3. Dow Kokam acquires all of the assets of lithium battery manufacturer Kokam America. The acquisition will enable Dow to manufacture a wide range of lithium polymer cells especially to the electric vehicle industry. Dow Kokam has been awarded a $161 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last August to develop new generation of high-power battery technology electric vehicles.

4. Dow and Denbury Onshore LLC (Denbury) signed a memorandum of understanding to capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) by-product from Dow's ethylene oxide (EO) plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Denbury will use the CO2 for its enhanced oil recovery operations. The CO2 capture project is expected to be operational in mid-2011.

5. Dow's Polyglycols, Surfactants and Fluids business are now supplying their DOWTHERM(TM) heat transfer fluid to three additional Spanish solar power plants enabling the facilities to collect heat and convert it into electrical energy.

The U.S. bio-plastics market accounted for approximately $1 billion in sales in 2007 and is expected to reach $10 billion by 2020, according to bioplastic producer Cereplast.

The company notes estimates pointing to bio-plastics capturing up to 30% of the total US plastics market within 10 years. Cereplast said that algae-based bioplastic, of which the company is currently developing, will open up a whole new source of feedstock and result in a broad range of new applications.

Consulting firm Freedonia, meanwhile, estimated that global demand for bioplastics in 2008 was 200,000 metric tons and is expected to increase to 900,000 metric tons in 2013, valued at $2.6bn.

Bioplastic demand in North America last year was estimated at 58,000 MT while Western Europe was 77,000 MT, Asia/Pacific at 58,000, and the rest at 7,000 MT. Aggregate growth rate for global bioplastic demand between 2008 and 2013 is expected at 35%.

Also check out the blog's recent post about a bioplastic study from the European Bioplastics association. Lots of good information in that study.

Finally, in another bioplastic news, I received an email from my colleague Will Beacham about a Belgian bioplastic company Futerro - a 50/50 joint venture established in September 2007 by Galactic and Total Petrochemicals, starting up its polylactic acid bioplastics demo unit in Escanaffles.

The 1,500 tonnes/year pilot plant will be used to test and improve the company's bioplastic process during an internal evaluation, which is expected to last around six months. Futerro expects to soon offer a full range of products made from lactic acid, including lactide, oligomers and PLA polymers for the packaging market, especially food packaging.

Ford Motor announced today that it will use wheat-straw reinforced plastic in its vehicle Ford Flex in 2010. The company is working with plastic compounder A. Schulman of Akron, Ohio, as well as with the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in the development of wheat straw-based plastics formulation as part of the Ontario BioCar Initiative.

Ford said it is the first automaker to use wheat-straw plastics in vehicles. The company plans to use the bio-based material in Ford Flex's third-row interior storage bins, which, they said will reduce petroleum use by 20,000 pounds/year and will reduce carbon emissions by 30,000 pounds/year.

The wheat straw-reinforced resin is said to be BioCar Initiative's first production-ready application. the bio-resin reportedly demonstrates better dimensional integrity than a non-reinforced plastic and weighs up to 10 percent less than a plastic reinforced with talc or glass.

Other applications being planned for the plastic include center console bins and trays, interior air register, door trim panel components, and armrest liners. Currently, Ford and its suppliers are said to be working with four southern Ontario farmers for the wheat straw supply.

More on Ford's bioplastic initiatives here.

I tried to find this press release on GE's website but was unsuccessful. According to a Dow Jones article, GE will close its only solar panel manufacturing facility in the US as prices for panels become cheaper.

GE's crystalline silicone panels production facility in Delaware will reportedly stop by January and will completely shut down by the end of June next year. The plant employs 80 people and all will be laid off and receive severance and benefits packages.

The plant has capacity to produce 34 megawatts of panels annually, which could be expanded to 68 MW. It was reported that GE wants to sell 100% of the facility for cash by the end of the year.

BP solar was mentioned in the article as another traditional solar materials player that exited the US manufacturing industry. BP announced in March that it is closing down its module assembly activity at Frederick, Maryland, as well as its cell manufacture and module assembly facilities in Madrid, Spain.

The phase out of module assembly at Frederick will result in the elimination of approximately 140 jobs out of about 600. The plant continues its silicon casting, wafering, sizing and solar cell production. Dow Jones reported that the assembly plant is still on sale.

It is also interesting to note that while these traditional players are closing down shops in the US, foreign-based manufacturers are setting up plants such as Chinese panel manufacturers Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. The drivers behind this move, according to the Dow Jones article, is concern on "Buy American" potential regulations, increasing shipping costs, and getting a piece of the stimulus funds for renewable energy investments in the US.

Suntech and Yingli have both filed applications for the renewable energy tax breaks under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

There are so many news to cover this week (and last week!) that I'll start with this one. It was a bit of a surprise that Shell abandoned their biofuel project with Germany-based CHOREN Industries but maybe Shell is cutting down as they're handling to many biofuel projects these days?? (See some of their activities in next generation biofuels in my ICB article published Oct. 5).

Choren announced last week that Shell sold its shares in the company to remaining shareholders that include a group of Hamburg-based entrepreneurs as well as carmakers Daimler and Volkswagen. Choren and Shell agreed not to disclose any information about this transaction so I guess we'll just wonder the reason behind this unless somebody will "anonymously" give a tip ; )

Other major Choren shareholder said that they will increase their funding for Choren's upcoming projects. Shell, however, will still give its support when it comes to technical expertise in next generation biofuels, according to Choren's CEO Marcel Ulrichs.

Shell started working with Choren in 2005 in the development of biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuels using mostly wood products and wood-based waste as feedstock. Choren still plans to start its first 15,000 tonnes/year BTL plant in Freiberg in south Germany by next year.

For now here are this week's news roundup:

Myriant's Biosuccinic alliance
Biosuccinic developer Myriant Technologies has joined forces with Uhde for engineering, procurement and construction of Myriant's planned global scale biosuccinic acid plants. The company expects to begin commercialization of biobased succinic acid by second half of 2010.

Honeywell's bio-pyrolysis oil alliance
Italian power company Industria e Innovazione selected Honeywell's Envergent Technologies business for the development of a facility to convert biomass into pyrolysis oil for renewable power generation using Envergent's RTP® rapid thermal processing technology. The facility will convert a mix of pine forest residues and clean demolition wood into pyrolysis oil, a liquid biofuel.

... and China biofuel projects
Honeywell signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) where the two companies will collaborate on a range of biofuels technologies and projects in China.

Verenium ends collaboration
Verenium closes its joint research collaboration with Syngenta Participations AG of Switzerland. The company obtained microbial and non-plant rights to several late-stage enzyme development candidates including alpha amylases and glucoamylases for starch processing in biofuels production.

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 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:

• DuPont launches first product using Plantic material

• Plaxica raises £1 million to develop next generation biopolymers

• Johnson & Johnson initiates the production of packages made from green resin

• Cereplast expands into the 200 million consumer Brazilian market with its compostable biodegradable plastics

• Plastic Trees: Part of the Energy Solution? - SPI's Business Blog
  

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.

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[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 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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I apologize for the delay in the News Roundup. I have some big researching to do regarding an upcoming article about high technology chemicals/materials for space crafts. This is my first time covering this market and so if any companies are interested in participating in the article, let me know! I have until November 20 to get information and this will come out on ICIS Chemical Business' December 14 aerospace issue.

In the meantime, here are this week's roundup. Noticed that most of them are about green funds and grants. Get the money flowing!

$12m funds for bio-succinic
DNP Green Technology (one of the biobased succinic acid developers) raised $12m in equity investments led by Sofinnova Partners and including Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners, Samsung Ventures Investment Corporation, the Cliffton Group and AquaRIMCO.

PlastiPure gets NIEHS grant
PlastiPure received a $1.1m grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health and Safety (NIEHS) to continue development and commercialization of plastics that do not leach chemicals with harmful estrogenic activity (EA).

EU biorefinery grants
Borregaard has received 4 million Euros in research grants from the EU, which will be used for demonstration plants within development projects connected to Borregaard's biorefinery concept. The EU's seventh framework programme for R&D is offering altogether EUR 57m through the Joint Biorefinery Call during the period 2010-2014. More than 50 projects applied at the beginning, but only three received the grants so far.