So my news roundup schedule is busted the past two weeks but it's a shame to not post these announcements especially updates about bio-succinic acid. I have also several consulting studies on draft that hopefully will soon be posted (as soon as school final exams are over this week! Yeah!).
For now here are last week's big announcements. The biggest one by the way is oil company Valero dipping it's fingers in jatropha biodiesel for $3.5bn!
Valero's $3.5bn biodiesel deal
Australian biodiesel refiner and jatropha producer Mission NewEnergy entered a 5-year biodiesel supply deal with oil company Valero. Mission will supply Valero up to 200,000 tonnes/year of biodiesel and the option to double the amount and extend the contract to 5 more years. Valero also has the right to buy 25% of Mission's common shares. The deal represents gross revenue potential to Mission of over US$3.5 billion.
Bio-succinic in PBS plastic
Bioamber (a joint venture between DNP Green Technology and ARD) and Sinoven Biopolymers Inc. have signed a supply agreement for biobased succinic acid. Bioamber will be Sinoven's exclusive supplier of biobased succinic acid, enabling Sinoven to produce renewable modified polybutylene succinate plastic (PBS).
Bio-succinic plant funding
Myriant
Technologies will receive from the Department of Energy (DOE) up to $50
million for its planned biobased Succinic Acid facility in Louisiana.
Myriant's bio-succinic acid will use local sorghum and carbon dioxide
(CO2).
Fiberglass fabric growth in wind energy
Demand for fiberglass technical fabrics is growing in Brazil driven by wind blade fabricators, according to Owens Corning.
The company is doubling its glass fiber capacity at its facility
northwest of Sao Paulo in Brazil. The country currently has the largest
installed capacity of wind energy power generation in Latin America.
Bio-oil development in Finland
Metso, UPM, VTT and Fortum are are developing a high-quality bio-oil production
concept from sawdust and forest residues. The consortium has developed
a bio-oil production process in which a reactor, linked to a
conventional fluidized bed boiler, can first gasify solid biomass and
then compress it into liquid form. More than 20 tons of bio-oil have
been produced.
Engineers for PetroAlgae project
PetroAlgae
signed a deal with Engineering company Foster Wheeler to develop
commercial solutions that will allow existing oil refineries to convert
micro-crop biomass into fuels.The two firms will create end-to-end
market solutions for the large-scale production of green gasoline,
diesel, jet fuel and specialty chemicals.
And in ICIS news (requires subscription):
Amyris Brasil and local sugar and three ethanol producers seek to diversify the use of sugarcane toward more value-added products.
NatureWorks expects to start using cellulosic feedstocks for its bioplastics production in five to ten years.
Bayer and Dow Chemical announced a licensing agreement for the worldwide marketing of Bayer's new biodiesel production technology.
US energy, petrochemical and other business interests said that an anticipated carbon dioxide ruling by the Obama administration is unwarranted by science, and some said they will file a lawsuit to block the rulemaking.
Leave a comment
Want a user icon? Get a Gravatar!