May 2010 Archives

It was fascinating to learn that Eastman's polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber modifier, Tritan, was originally developed in the late 1950s and was shelved until 2003!!

This is according to my colleague, Ivan Lerner, who attended Eastman's opening ceremony of its newly expanded 60,000 tonne/year Tritan copolyester facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, on May 13. In his ICB Endpoint blog, Mr. Lerner musingly noted the Law of Unintended Consequences regarding Eastman's Tritan and the issue of bisphenol-A.

According to Eastman, sales from the Tritan copolyester business has quadrupled in the past 12 months and expanded to seven markets including medical, infant care, bulk water, signs, from the initial three industries -- reusable sports water bottles, housewares and small appliances - since it's launch in 2007.

In fact, my boss had a pleasant surprise this morning as he received a package of Tritan-contained bottled water from the brand KOR. I, of course, swiped it (it's pink!) and told him that since he is more valuable to the magazine than an underling like me, I should be the one to try it out and prove that there is no BPA leaching from this bottle.

Now all I need are BPA-free plastic plates, cups, forks, knives and spoons to go with it, and I'm set for summer!!

I've learned several new information about the development of new green surfactants from the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) meeting, which of course I'll share here. But first, an announcement from Cognis about their green surfactant alkyl polyglucoside (APG®) caught my attention.

Cognis announced yesterday that it has officially opened its new production facility for its APG® surfactants at its site in Jinshan, China. The company claims to be the world's largest supplier of the original APG® surfactant, which is made from vegetable oil or starch.

Cognis has two other APG facilities, one in Dusseldorf, Germany and the other in Cincinnati, US. Applications for the surfactant include formulations for bath and shower gels, household cleaners, dish washing and laundry detergents and in agrochemical formulations.

Cognis said it has been producing APGs for 20 years now although the company said it was first developed in 1893 when German chemist Emil Fischer combined fatty alcohols and glucose for the first time.

Unlike the chemically synthesized APG, new surfactants are being developed using biotech processing. A researcher from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) talked at the AOCS meeting about sophorolipids and rhamnolipids, both are glycolipids that can be used to produce bio-surfactants via fermentation process.

Development of sophorolipids are more advanced compared to rhamnolipids. Sophorolipids, according to the USDA, can be produced by fermenting either fats/oils, glycerol, or soy molasses using the fungi Candida bombicola (thanks to Microbiology class for enabling me differentiate fungi species to bacteria haha!).

Dirk Develter of Ecover Belgium talked more about sophorolipids, which Ecover has been developing as biosurfactants for use in cleaning products and cosmetics. Potential applications for sophorolipids are in cleaning and cosmetics as antimicrobial wash active, emulsifier, hydrotrope, and low-high foaming surfactant. Sophorolipids can als o be used as surfactant for pest control, bio-remediation, in fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Ecover said it already has patent on sophorolipid-based biosurfactants for use in household and I&I products. The company is on the verge of launching new products made with sophorolipids.

Other companies currently involved in the development of sophorolipids include France-based Groupe Soliance, Japan-based Saraya and South Korea-based MG Intobio. Saraya is already commercialising its sophorolipid produced from fermented sugar and soybean oil in a low-foam dishwasher detergent called Sophoron.

Ecover said it is developing rhamnolipids as biosurfactant as well. Rhamnolipids, said Develter, can be produced by fermenting C18 fatty acid source such as oleic or esters, and linoleic (probably a few more...) using the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacteria, according to my recent Micro exam, is an opportunistic pathogen that can seriously give somebody serious infection and even pneumonia especially for people with reduced immunity (my professor will be proud!).

USDA researchers are actually trying to develop rhamnolipids using the non-pathogenic Pseudomonas chlororaphis. Another company developing rhamnolipids is US-based Jeneil Biosurfactant. Their technology was awarded the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2004.

Jeneil is currently marketing rhamnolipids in a biofungicide called ZONIX as well as a biosurfactant called RECO for use in cleaning and recovering oil from storage tanks.

[Photo of Cognis' APG facility in China]

I am so happy to get this news as I will be able to add this information to my upcoming article about chemical companies investing in biotechnology.

German specialty chemical company Lanxess has just plunked $10m in bio-butanol developer Gevo, which is based in Denver, Colorado. Gevo and Lanxess plan to jointly develop and produce renewable-based isobutene, a key raw material in the manufacturing of butyl rubber. The companies said they intend to produce the chemical by dehydrating isobutanol.

Gevo is already developing isobutanol via fermentation of corn and biomass. Isobutanol is a building block for making biodiesel, jet fuel, as well as plastics, rubber and fibers. In exchange for the $10m, Lanxess will also received a minority stake in Gevo as well as a seat on Gevo's Director's Board, which will be assigned to Ron Commander, head of Lanxess' butyl rubber business unit.

In another bio-butanol news by the way, DuPont, with its joint venture company Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC in partnership with BP, confirmed early this month that their biobutanol demonstration facility in Hull, UK, will start up in the third quarter this year. Commercial production is expected in mid-2012.

The JV plans to commercially produce the fuel in the US market in late 2012 to early 2013 by retrofitting ethanol plants to biobutanol. License to retrofit ethanol plants will also be available. DuPont says they are also looking to produce sugar-based biobutanol from Brazil, which will then be exported to strategic markets, including US and Europe.

Just finished my article about bio-based materials for automotive parts and I have plenty of left-over to share for the blog.

Before I do that, I am also compiling all information I've gathered last week at the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) meeting, which hopefully I'll be able to post. And on top of that, I am starting on a new article about traditional chemical companies such as DuPont, BASF, DSM, Braskem, Solvay, Wacker Chemie, and Arkema investing on/developing biotech-based industrial chemical processing....(My brain needs energy-efficiency processing asap!)

So here are this week's news roundup before my brain goes into force majeure:

Arkema on green chemistry
Arkema says it plans to increase sales of bio-based products from 7.5% of total sales to 10% by 2012 through project developments currently underway. The company is currently looking into producing acrylic acid from glycerol, and to market carbon nanotubes manufactured from bio-ethanol.

Novozymes partners with Ceres
Energy crop company Ceres and enzyme company Novozymes have entered a research collaboration to co-develop customized plant varieties such as switchgrass, miscanthus and sorghum, and enzyme cocktails for the production of cellulosic biofuel.

Honeywell and DuPont in green refrigerant
Honeywell and DuPont formed a manufacturing joint venture to produce a new refrigerant for use in automotive air conditioning systems. The new refrigerant has 99.7% lower global warming potential (GWP) than the current refrigerant.

New Green Institute
Consulting and certification firm MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) has formed the non-profit organization Green Products Innovation Institute in California to support the state's Green Chemistry Initiative. The Institute will audit and issue its Cradle to Cradle® certifications, which evaluates products and materials for human health, environmental health and recyclability.

Recycled water for Air Products
Air Products' manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, has installed a new water treatment system that uses recycled water instead of potable (drinking) water in its industrial cooling process. The facility produces oxygen, nitrogen and argon for industrial applications and also serves as a distribution center for electronic specialty gases and helium.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
An increasing number of microbe-produced surfactants are being developed and commercialised in cleaning products, a researcher from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

Supplies of oleic fatty acids are tightening as the material is being used to make dispersants - a key product that BP is using to break up a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The glycerine industry is making headway in its negotiations to have their product approved for heat transfer applications that would open the door for more glycerine to get into the huge anti-freeze markets.

It's been awhile since I wrote anything about the European chemical legislation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances). Under Reach regulations, substances that are manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities of more than 1,000 tonnes/year and hazardous substances must be registered up to the November 30 2010 deadline.

My colleague Anna Jagger recently had an interview with Geert Dancet, executive director of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which supervises REACH. According to Dancet, companies currently have four months to add information to incomplete registration dossiers but ECHA could extend this to six months from 1 October 2010.

Check out Anna's interview on this video. Complete story is also available on ICIS News (subscription only). By the way. ICIS has a forum about REACH called ICIS Connect, if anybody wants to ask questions, get information, send out information or just lurk around and see what everybody is talking about regarding this legislation.

School is over for now (yey!) and I am back (somewhat) in my blogging form. While I scan last week's news, here are some of the green stories I did for ICIS Chemical Business -- just to prove that I'm really working and not really playing hooky with the blog (lol!)

Walmart's green goals will impact chemical supply chain
Walmart is taking initiatives to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions via their supply chain. Chemical companies say "bring it on!" and are even taking steps to help Walmart achieve their sustainability goals.

Sustainability helps cosmetics companies beat the recession
The sustainability theme in cosmetics and personal care remains a big driver for chemical companies in bucking economic woes since last year. Interviews from Cognis, Dow Corning, Croda, Akzo Nobel, Bayer Materialscience, and chemical distributor Univar.

Development of BPA alternatives is increasing
While the safety of bisphenol A is being hotly debated, development of alternatives is on the rise. One is corn-derived epoxy resin by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) that may be able to replace bisphenol A (BPA)-based epoxies.

Bioplastic industry remains strong despite recession
The global bioplastics industry has proven its flexibility in navigating the recession, as companies restructured, delayed projects or significantly cut costs. Interviews from Cereplast, Novamont, Teijin, NatureWorks, Telles, BASF.

Green chemistry companies attract more investors
More and more companies dealing with renewable-based chemistries and industrial biotechnology are coming out of the woodwork, as interest from the investment community continues to surge. Interviews from DNP Green Technology, Segetis, Genomatica, Zeachem, OPX Biotechnologies, Elevance, Verdezyne.

I am here in Phoenix, Arizona, already baked brown under this afternoon's hot sun and preparing for the AOCS (American Oil Chemists Society) annual meeting. I hope to do some tweeting as well but that depends on the mercy of the WiFi gods. I'll try to post some info this week but I already have photos of cactus as alternative in case I couldn't make it.

By the way, AOCS is offering a free live webcast of their annual keynote presentation on Tuesday, May 18 at 7:15am (US MST). This year is going to be from Richard Theiler, Senior Vice President, Research & Development, from The Dial Corporation.

Try to tune in for that. For now, here are this week's news roundup:

Eastman opens new Tritan plant
Eastman opened its new plant in Kingston, Tenn., which is exclusively dedicated to the production of Eastman Tritan™ copolyester. Demand for Tritan has been increasing as it targets product applications such as infant care and bottled water products aiming to replace BPA-contained polycarbonates.

First algae customer
Algae technology developer OriginOil has signed multi-phase commercialization project with MBD Energy Limited, which is OriginOil's first algae-producing customer. OriginOil will supply MBD Energy its Quantum Fracturing™ and Single-Step Extraction™ systems, which will be integrated into MBD's proprietary growth system, the Algae Synthesizer, to enhance algae growth and perform oil extraction.

CO2 captured and reused
BECO2 commissioned its CO2 liquefaction unit on the INEOS Oxide Zwijndrecht site. Around 150.000 ton of CO2, which is produced as by-product of the Ethylene Oxide process will be captured, purified, liquefied, sold and re-used.

Honeywell in natural fiber
Honeywell has partnered with GreenFiber LLC, the largest U.S. manufacturer of natural fiber insulation, for the Honeywell's Enovate™PRO Weatherization Contractor Program. GreenFiber will become a distributor of Honeywell's new line of weatherization products.

Air Liquide solar cell JV
Air Liquide and Sixtron Advanced Materials have partnered to promote and distribute advanced coating materials to crystalline silicon ("c-Si") solar cell manufacturers worldwide. Sixtron's Silexium™ technology will enable crystalline solar panel producers to improve the performance of their solar cells efficiency and reduce costs without significant up-front capital investment.

And from ICIS News (requires subscription):
Climate change legislation introduced in the US Senate this week could result in higher prices for nitrogen fertilizers, trade group The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) said.

Biofuel sales in Argentina reached 115,000 cubic metres in the first four months of the year following the adoption of new blending mandates.

INSIGHT: Industrial, or 'white' biotechnology is quietly making great strides and the use of alternative chemical feedstocks is growing fast.

So I finally finished my article about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to regulate under the Clean Air Act (CAA) greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. This is very timely given that agency published its final rule yesterday (and my deadline is this week).

Here's a little bit of a snapshot of the GHG rule. EPA's GHG pollutants by the way include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. This is compared to the usual CAA pollutants such as lead, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. The CAA's current default emissions thresholds for these pollutants are 100 and 200 tons/year (tpy).

So under the usual CAA, companies who want to build a facility or modify a facility need to obtain from state environmental agencies permits such as the New Source Review Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) -- which is a pre-construction review for environmental controls of new or exisitng facilities that would create a significant increase of a regulated pollutant; and the Title V operating permit.

Now, since the EPA knows that it will take billions of dollars and too much state resources to produce and review permits if the GHG emissions threshold will also be at 100 and 250 tpy, the agency formed a Tailoring rule where the emissions threshold will be different for GHG. The agency figured that between 75,000 and 100,000 tpy will be just right, and will therefore exclude GHG emissions coming small farms, businesses, and other small-to-mid-size facilities ---FOR NOW.

Starting January 2, 2011, facilities that already were required to obtain permits for previously regulated pollutants under the CAA would need to report their GHG emissions in their PSD permit, and if these projects will have GHG emissions of 75,000 tpy or more on a CO2 equivalent basis, they would need to determine the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) for their GHG emissions.

By July 1, 2011, new construction projects that emit 100,000 tpy GHG emissions, as well as modification of existing facilities that increase GHG emissions by 75,000 tpy, will all be subjected to permitting requirements. The EPA estimates that 550 sources will need to obtain the title V permits for the first time due to their GHG emissions by next year. Around 900 permitting actions per year are expected.
The EPA plans to explore permitting programs for smaller sources by the end of April 2015, and said that it will complete another rule by April 30, 2016 that could involve smaller sources depending on their 5-year study.

So in a nutshell, large GHG emitters especially from industrial manufacturing that includes petroleum refinery, chemical production, cement factory, industrial waste facilities, etc, will have to get these new permits to construct and operate their facilities. Of course, this does not bode well for the manufacturing industry and complains that the EPA does not have the authority to even change the CAA rule much less regulates GHG under the CAA.

Here's a statement from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association(NPRA) and from the American Chemistry Council (ACC). One big problem for this, according to the ACC, is that state agencies will still be overwhelmed and could even change the thresholds themselves w/o any naysay from the EPA. Of course, come 2016, the rules can be changed again and even small businesses will have the probability of obtaining these GHG permits.

Chemical companies that the green blogger have talked to noted the difficulties that they will have to face if they want to construct new or modify existing facilities especially if the projects need to be finished in a timely manner to market opportunities.

An official from Dow Chemical noted that "the regulation will cause lengthy and burdensome permitting processes that can harm productivity, stifle innovation and lead to job loss. BASF said it could lead to less US investment especially as Asian competition have lower regulatory costs to deal with.

For now, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are exempted from this rule but an official from the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Associates (SOCMA) noted that they will still have to monitor this activity given the potential change in GHG threshold levels in future regulations. SOCMA agreed with the other industry organizations that CAA is not the best tool vehicle for regulating GHG emissions.

"Many of our members are SMEs and they could face challenges ranging from increased capital costs to difficulty meeting compliance deadlines with limited staff," - SOCMA.

I am trying to wrap up my article on EPA's GHG rule on stationary sources when I just saw on twitter that the EPA is expecting to announce its guidelines for that rule today. Aarrrrgh!!

So while my article is in limbo, we'll take a brief look on the newly introduced 1,000 page climate bill entitled "American Power Act" by Senators Kerry and Lieberman.

The bill would impose a cap on US emissions of carbon dioxide and six other greenhouse gases beginning next year and would require a reduction in emissions to a level nearly 5% below the nation's 2005 pollution volume by 2013. Other brief highlights of the bill (courtesy of ICIS News) include:

• The federal government would auction off emissions permits to electric utilities and industries.

• The bill provided tax incentives and funding for renewed US nuclear power production and encouraged offshore oil and gas exploration and development, although states would be allowed to unilaterally block offshore drilling if necessary.

• The bill would bar individual states and the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, and it would provide emissions allowances to carbon-intense industries that face competition from foreign producers.

• It would impose a border tax on imports of goods from foreign countries that lacked climate controls and emissions restrictions.

• The measure would provide rebates and financial support to low-income families that would be facing higher utility costs flowing from the cap-and-trade climate mandate.

Here are yesterday's various statements from chemical industry groups and companies on their views about the climate bill:

Dow Chemical - thumbs up. Wants Congress to pass the legislation this year.

Shell Oil - thumbs up. Approves inclusion of all energy sources including nuclear, coal, oil, gas, wind...

Dow Corning - thumbs up. Approves renewable energy incentives and reigning of EPA's authority on greenhouse gas emissions regulation.

National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) - thumbs down. Disapproves carbon reduction targets and timetables.

American Materials Manufacturing Alliance (composed of chemical, forest & paper, iron & steel, fertilizer and cement industry groups) - slightly thumbs down. Questions funding for energy costs and states that EPA's lowered power on GHG rule still not enough.

America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) - thumbs up. Appreciates inclusion of incentive for natural gas.

Here's a video from Procter & Gamble's purchasing officer Rick Hughes talking about their newly launched Sustainability Scorecard for their suppliers. This will definitely impact their surfactant and plastic packaging supply chain.

The new scorecard will assess P&G suppliers' environmental footprint and will measure energy use, water use, waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions on a year-to-year basis. Suppliers will have a full year to prepare to report their data before the rating can adversely impact their supplier rating with P&G.

P&G will use the scorecard in the future to determine each supplier's sustainability rating as part of P&G's annual supplier performance measurement process.

Sorry about the sparse posts folks, I'm working on two articles this week: One about the very important greenhouse gas regulation for stationary sources by the EPA; and the other is about bio-based products being incorporated in automobiles (got a response from Ford-- woohoo!)

Before I get mired in GHG politics again (watch out for the new Kerry-?-Lieberman climate bill today!), here is part two of my bioplastic musings this week. This time, its about various bioplastic products coming out or have just came out to the market...

By the way, got news from Metabolix yesterday that their joint venture Telles received the FDA approval for their bioplastic Mirel F1005 and F1006 injection molding grades for use in non-alcoholic food contact applications. Applications for the bioplastics include disposable cutlery, hot cup lids, tubs, trays, and packaging applications (caps and closures) as well as for house wares, cosmetics, and medical packaging.

1. Bioplastic 3-D glasses - Cereplast said their biobased resins are now being used in the world's first biodegradable/compostable 3D glasses offered by Oculus3D as part of its OculR 3D viewing system to movie theaters.

2. Bio-keyboard - Fujitsu launched the world first injection moulded keyboard made from FKuR's Biograde® resin. The newly developed eco-keyboard 'KBPC PX ECO' has been launched under the label "Green IT."
3. Biodegradable pen - Newell Rubbermaid's Paper Mate Biodegradable* pen and pencils, which uses Metabolix's Mirel bioresins, are now available in US and Canada stores (and the rest of the world later this year). The majority of the Paper Mate Biodegradable pen and pencil components biodegrade in soil or home compost in about a year.

4. Another bio-pen - Manhattan-based design group DBA launched its first product: a 98% biodegradable disposable (potato-based) pen. The DBA pen will be available for sale at the Shop at Cooper-Hewitt, Project No. 8a at the Ace Hotel and via http://www.dba-co.com.

Big merger and acquisition news in the land of fats and oils-based chemicals (or what the industry calls oleochemicals).

Last week, there was rumor floating around that BASF is looking to buy specialty chemicals company Cognis, which already shed its commodity oleochemicals business (now called Emery Oleochemicals) to both Malaysian Sime Darby and Thailand-based PTT Chemical.

ICIS Chemical Business, by the way, just published an article about Emery Oleochemicals and what they are up to this year.

Cognis, however, is still a big consumer of oleochemical products fatty acid, alcohol and glycerin. According to Financial Times, BASF's supervisory board has approved a bid worth around €3.0bn ($3.8bn) for Cognis, paving the way for an official offer in coming days. Cognis is owned by a group of private equity firms advised by Permira and Goldman Sachs.

Croda's news selling its German oleochemicals business to Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) is not a rumor by the way. Croda said it sold its German oleochemicals business for €60.5m to KLK Emmerich, a subsidiary of KLK Group.

Croda said the disposal completes the company's restructuring of its oleochemical operations following the acquisition of Uniqema in 2006. Last year, Croda closed its 100,000 tonne/year UK fatty acid and glycerin plant, and in 2008, sold its US oleochemical business (now called Vantage Oleochemicals) to private equity firm HIG Capital.

KLK, on the other hand, has been very busy expanding its oleochemical-related activities in Europe. KLK acquired Switzerland-based alkoxylation company Dr. W. Kolb in 2007.

[Photo source: ICIS Chemical Business]

Another late post for this month's new green chemicals. I'll try to do better next month but no guarantees!

1. Dow biobased plasticizers - Dow Chemical launched DOW ECOLIBRIUM™ Bio-Based Plasticizers, a new family of phthalate-free plasticizers for use in wire insulation and jacketing that are made from nearly 100% renewable feedstocks.

2. Safety-Kleen recycled coolant - Safety-Kleen Systems introduced "Khameleon Universal," a new antifreeze and coolant formulation using recycled ethylene glycol.It is available in 55-gallon drums and in bulk where available.

3. Rhodia veggie surfactant - Rhodia introduced Mackine®301, a vegetable oil-based non quaternized amidoamine surfactant for hair conditioners and masks. Mackine® 301 offers an excellent alternative to conventional CTAC (Cetrimonium Chloride). Rhodia also introduced Rhodapex® ESB-70 NAT, a vegetable-based Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS), ideal to formulate natural and high performance shampoo, body wash, liquid hand soap and detergents. Rhodapex® ESB-70 NAT is based on ethylene oxide made from sugar cane and lauryl alcohol sourced from palm oil.

4. DSM bio-based resins - DSM introduced Palapreg® ECO P55-01, a bio-based resin for automotive vehicle body parts, including exterior panels, and EcoPaXX™, a bio-based, high performance engineering plastic.

5. Air Products green surfactants - Air Products launched two new surfactants for the architectural coatings market, Carbowet® 13-40, a VOC- and APE-free alternative to 30-40 mole ethoxylate surfactants; and EnviroGem® 2010, a solvent- and APE-free surfactant that contributes no VOCs to zero VOC coating formulations.

6. SABIC green flame retardant - SABIC Innovative Plastics launched a new, Lexan* polycarbonate (PC) film technology - Lexan EFR film - that delivers non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardance at thinner gauges than flame-retardant polypropylene (FRPP) for electrical/electronics products.

7. Cognis green surfactant - Cognis launched its new Disponil NG series of APEO-free, VOC-free, and FDA-approved surfactants, which are based on modified natural and renewable-based fatty alcohols.

Next week, I'll be covering the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) 101st annual meeting and expo in Phoenix, Arizona (I'll make sure to bring my passport just in case...). Follow my tweets at @ICISchemicalbiz and I'll also be filing for ICIS News (for those who have subscription).

So, what to expect from there? A lot ranging from food, nutrition, biofuels, industrial oils, surfactants, oilseeds, biotechnology, processing...but I will only focus mostly on lipid-based industrial chemicals development especially glycerine and soybean oil chemicals, also updates in biodiesel, as well as a little bit of sustainability in surfactants and detergents, and a dash of bioplastics and bio-based plasticizers...sounds good?

I hope so. For now here are this week's news roundup:

Elevance expands facility
Elevance Renewable Sciences has expanded its office and lab facilities in Bolingbrook, IL. The office has grown by 28% and the lab expansion includes the addition of 3 different sized parr vessels, glove boxes for air sensitive catalyst research and a pilot-scale laboratory unit. Elevance also completed its first toll production involving the conversion of a 40,000 pounds of renewable-based feedstock into specialty and commodity chemicals.

Petrobras in Portuegese biodiesel
Brazilian oil company Petrobras have joined Galp Energia to produce 250,000 tons/year of biodiesel in Portugal. Production is expected to start in 2015 and will be aimed to supply the European market, with priority to the Iberian market.

Valero in algae
Algenol Biofuels partners with Valero Services, a subsidiary of Valero Energy to explore combining Algenol's Direct to Ethanol® technology with Valero's expertise in technology and infrastructure for production and distribution of transportation fuels and chemicals. If successful, the collaboration has the potential of resulting in joint venture, commercial scale algae-based facilities and off-take arrangements with a global reach.

Codexis bags carbon capture grant
Codexis will receive up to a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for development of customized carbonic anhydrase biocatalysts that have the potential to enable cost effective, energy efficient capture of carbon dioxide. Codexis is developing this technology in collaboration with Quebec, Canada-based CO2 Solution Inc.

Novozymes biofuel collaboration
Novozymes and Royal Nedalco, a leading yeast developer and ethanol producer, is collaborating to develop a new fermentation process that can efficiently ferment C5 and C6 sugars, which is essential for the commercialization of cellulosic biofuel.

From ICIS News (requires subscription):
The Netherlands-based chemical producer DSM is looking to invest in technology projects within the solar and biofuels industries.

Biobutanol-based fuels are on course to play a major role in the fast-growing $50bn annual world biofuels market, industrial biotech company Green Biologics said.

INSIGHT: Fatty alcohol buyers may switch from oleochemicals.

FMC expects 25-30% higher second-quarter earnings in its specialty chemicals business based on a demand surge for lithium from the energy services sector.

I've been noticing several bioplastic products cropping up such as a restaurant plastic bag called "BioBag" made from Novamont's Mater-Bi, and today during my lunch, I was sipping my "extreme berry" smoothie at this burger joint in Midtown NYC when lo and behold, my smoothie cup has this logo that says "GreenWare" with the website f-k.com/green below it. I checked it out and it's not a profanity website, thank goodness lol!

Apparently, Fabri-Kal makes these 100% compostable drink cups from NatureWorks' Ingeo PLA resin. The Greenware products (according to information on their facebook page --easier for me to get information there ha!), are certified to meet ASTM 6400 for compostability in industrial compost facilities.

 The company does not recommend home composting, though, so you have to locate a composting facility to make sure these biodegrade.

Where the heck is the nearest composting facility in Manhattan???

Houston-based Glycos Biotechnologies announced today that it is building a biochemical plant as well as a biotech R&D facility in Malaysia under a collaboration with the country's biotech hub Bio-XCell Sdn. Bhd., a government-supported industrial ecosystem focused on the advancement of biotechnology in Malaysia.

Recalling from a previous post on GlycosBio, the company licensed in 2008 a fermentation process developed by Rice University that can convert glycerine into high value organic acids such as formate, lactate, and succinate. GlycosBio are also working on biocatalytic production systems for renewable-based chemicals and fuels from starting materials other than crude glycerin.

But since they've been perfecting their glycerine-based acids, Malaysia is the perfect base for their new facility with tons of palm oil-based glycerine within reach. With their new 20,000 - 40,000 tonne/year facility, GlycosBio plans to produce bio-based acetone, technical grade ethanol and isoprene.

"The company's expansion into Malaysia makes GlycosBio one of the first companies to be focused on research and development as well as the commercialization of advanced biochemicals in the region, and we plan to leverage this position to help the Malaysian government maintain and improve its sustainability production goals in the downstream palm oil industry," said Rich Cilento, Chief Executive Officer of Glycos Biotechnologies.

There are so many green news today that include Codexis, GlycosBio, Elevance and DuPont. We'll first focus on DuPont as it has been awhile since the blog last heard of any biotech-based chemical news from them.

DuPont's joint venture, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, LLC, announced today that it is expanding production of bio-based 1,3 propanediol (Bio-PDO™) by 35% at its Loudon, Tennessee, facility, starting in June, and expected to be complete by second quarter 2011. Last I recall, DuPont's current bio-PDO capacity is around 45,000 tonnes/year.

The expansion is being driven by strong demand, according to DuPont. Their corn-based bio-PDO is used as an ingredient ranging from cosmetics and personal care formulations to fluids and polymers including DuPont's Sorona® renewably sourced polymer. The Bio-PDO™ is sold under the Zemea® and Susterra® brands.

"We had record sales last year and are already anticipating the need for additional capacity after just three years of operation," said Steve Mirshak, president - DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products. "This expansion is proof that cutting-edge industrial biotechnology can deliver products that meet the needs of industry and consumers while contributing to a smaller environmental footprint."

METabolic Explorer has already started operating its bio-PDO pilot plant in Clermont Ferrand, France, last year December. The company estimates the global PDO market to reach EUR 1.3bn by 2020.

[Photo of DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts' facility in Tenn.]

Plastic company PolyOne has been very busy last month launching new sustainable plastic products at the plastic trade fair ChinaPlas 2010 held last April 19-22. By the way, I have several bio-plastic updates lined up especially covering general overview of the market from several consulting firms. Now if only I have my doppelganger to work on that...

Back to PolyOne, it seems that many bio-based plastic developers and plasticizers are really targeting the Asian plastic market. Recall my previous post about Cereplast and DNP?

At the tradeshow ChinaPlas, PolyOne launched the following:

• OnCap™ BIO Impact T, a transparent impact modifier for polylactic acid (PLA), which is a polyester derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugarcane.

• Two new grades of non-halogenated, phthalate-free, flame-retardant thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), OnFlex™ HFFR 310 and OnFlex™ HFFR 320, which reportedly provide an alternative to traditional flexible vinyl jacketing and insulation for power cables, cords and connectors.

• Phthalate-free Versaflex™ HC TPEs for medical tubing

• BPA-free Trilliant™ HC specialty blends made with Eastman Tritan™ copolyester for medical device

• BPA-Free Edgetek™ XT Blends based on Eastman Tritan™ copolyester for plastic housing in hand-held device applications and products.

At NatureWorks' "Innovation Takes Root 2010" conference on April 21 in Texas, PolyOne presented its new reSound™ biopolymer compound product line, which reportedly incorporate up to 50% bio-derived content by weight.

[Photo of PolyOne's GLS HFFR TPEs for Wire&Cable]

DuPont, Dow Corning, BASF, Wacker Chemie, Solutia (and other chemical companies) have been announcing left and right about recent developments and projects within the solar market -- especially solar encapsulants.

According to DuPont, encapsulants are among the most important materials to solar module manufacturers for high-volume module sealing and integration.

DuPont has collaborated with Oerlikon Solar in the development of a new ultra-thin white reflective solar photovoltaic encapsulant sheet. The DuPont™ PV5223 white reflective polyvinyl butyral (PVB) encapsulant is said to enable easier manufacturing of next-generation thin film photovoltaic modules that not only capture sunlight coming in, but also reflect more sunlight back through the module, delivering more power.

In its recent earnings announcement, DuPont expects its 2010 photovoltaic sales to grow over 50% from increased market demand for new installations in Europe, North America and parts of Asia. DuPont sales to the photovoltaic market exceeded $550 million in 2009. The company's 2011 PV sales are expected to exceed $1 billion, while DuPont also targets its 2014 sales to exceed $2 billion.

Silicones manufacturer Dow Corning, meanwhile, is jointly promoting with Reis Robotics its new Dow Corning® PV-6100 Encapsulant Series. Reis Robotics supplies equipment used in a more efficient and cost-economic PV manufacturing process. The encapsulant is said to provide protection to solar cells in a panel and can replace commonly used ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) resin.

Solutia, with its collaboration with Oerlikon Solar (sounds familiar? See DuPont info to refresh your mind), recently launched its solar encapsulant Saflex(R) Radiant White PA27 that reportedly helps increase the efficiency of the solar module while reducing material usage.

In March, Solutia also bought Etimex Solar GmbH, a subsidiary of Etimex Holding GmbH, which is controlled by funds affiliated with Alpha Gruppe. Etimex supplies EVA encapsulants to the PV market.

But wait! There's more!

Wacker Chemie started in April 21, its additional 10,000 tonnes/year polycrystalline-silicon production at its Burghausen facility in Germany (which the green blogger had the privilege to tour). WACKER said it is 6 months ahead of its original, very ambitious schedule. The expanded output will reportedly enables the company to meet rising global demand for hyperpure polycrystalline silicon for both the solar sector and the semiconductor market.

BASF, meanwhile, introduced its new environment-friendly cleaning solution SELURIS® Clean range of process chemicals for the manufacture of solar cells. It is said to enable efficient hydrophilicity, i.e. the targeted modification of surface activity, as well as subsequent cleaning and passivation of the solar cell wafers.

And before I close this interesting solar developments, the US solar trade group Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reported in April that the US solar manufacturing industry showed a 7% increase in PV module production in 2009 compared to the 2008 level. PV installations (grid-tied) grew by 38%, and cumulative concentrating solar power plants last year reached 432 megawatts with a development pipeline totaling more than 10,000 megawatts.

Still, not everything is sunny and bright in the solar land. Environment group Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) released in March its annual Solar Company Scorecard, emphasizing the need for sustainable solar manufacture and a sustainable solar product encompassing its lifecycle - from raw materials to disposal.

Of the companies who responded to SVTC's survey, 36% said they conduct lifecycle analyses or risk assessments on new chemicals, including nanomaterials that they use in their products.

[Photo of DuPont's solar encapsulant sheet]

I'm officially stressed out from school and work, and thinking of a nice, sandy white beach to recuperate. My apologies if the blog suddenly blanks out...it's the web virus' fault. Don't worry it's not contagious!

But before all that will happen, here are this week's news roundup:

Arkema and Toyobo have formed a partnership to develop high temperature polyamides made from renewable resources. The new products' unique properties make them particularly suitable for highly technical metal replacement applications in consumer electronics and automotive applications.

Novozymes' bioproducts in China
Novozymes and starch processing company Dacheng Group agree to develop technologies to produce household cleaning products and plastics from biomass-based glycols. Dacheng's facility, located in northeastern China, is expected to produce the plant-based biochemicals within a few years.

OPX' $6m DOE grant
OPX Biotechnologies bagged a $6 million grant for the development of advancement biofuels by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). OPX, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO and Johnson Matthey Catalysts are developing new, economical bioprocess to convert hydrogen and carbon dioxide into diesel and jet fuel products.

Solvay reduces GHG
Solvay says its new Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) cogeneration plant at its site in Bernburg, Germany, is now supplying both electricity and steam for the production of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide in a test run. The cogeneration plant reduces Bernburg site's greenhouse gas emissions by 63% (350,000 tons/year).

Water sustainability center
ConocoPhillips and GE Power & Water, a unit of General Electric Company, opened the companies' joint Global Water Sustainability Center (GWSC) in Doha, Qatar. The center will research and develop innovative water solutions primarily for the petroleum and petrochemical sectors, but also will focus on municipal and agricultural solutions.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
US prices for detergent fatty alcohols are facing pressure from supply concerns, buyers and sellers said.

Bunge Europe declared force majeure on biodiesel and rapeseed oil contracts after a fire at the firm's rapeseed processing plant at Mannheim in Germany.

Indonesia's Sinar Mas reiterated its commitment to following sustainable practices in producing palm oil, amid allegations that it continued to illegally clear rainforests to pave way for plantations.