November 2010 Archives

The green blogger is stuffed up to her eyeballs with antibiotics and wishing her newfound knowledge on microorganisms will help her in her own private bacteria (or is it virus?) battle.

For the meantime, here are this week's news roundup:

BASF in CO2-based sodium acrylate
Catalysis Research Laboratory (CaRLa) and hte AG, a company in which BASF has a majority interest have joined research scientists at Technischen Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the University of Stuttgart in Germany to develop use of carbon dioxide (CO2) on an industrial scale for the production of sodium acrylate based on CO2 and ethene. Sodium acrylate is a key basic ingredient for high-performance polymers like the superabsorbent polymers used in diapers.

Arkema expands bio-polyamide capacity
Arkema is expanding its polyamide capacity at its Changshu, Shanghai plant by threefold by 2013 in order to meet sharply growing demand from its Asian customers particularly in the automotive and energy markets. The capacity increase include products such as its Rilsan® biosourced polyamide 11. The plant will start producing in the first half of 2012, reaching full capacity by summer 2013.

Penford's fluorochemical replacement
Penford is developing and testing novel technology utilizing natural and renewable ingredients to replace fluorochemicals used in food packaging applications. Penford said major producers of food packaging materials are currently testing the proprietary patent-pending technology.

Altogen's oil-degrading bacteria
Altogen Labs has successfully isolated natural oil-eating bacteria from polluted soil near Galveston Bay, Texas that has been shown in laboratory tests to be effective for the bioremediation of crude oil and petroleum saturated earth. The bacteria can be expanded in large aqueous volumes and then the water can be evaporated to store high concentrations of bacteria in dry form and low volume.

Biofuel sustainability certificate in Germany
Neste Oil has received an ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) certificate for the NExBTL renewable diesel produced at the company's Porvoo refinery in Finland. The certificate confirms that NExBTL diesel produced from certified raw materials is suitable for use in meeting mandated bio-content on the German market. Beginning in 2011, all biofuels sold in Germany will be required to have sustainability certification.

And on ICIS News (requires subscription):
The EU will tighten its controls on imports of kitchenware made from melamine and polyamide from China, the European Commission said.

A bacteria found in Antarctica may be useful in polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production, an investigator from Buenos Aires University (UBA) said.

The desire of major consumer companies such as Coca-Cola and Danone to promote recycling and the use of renewable resources to consumers will lead to the development of new bio-based packaging products, said Antonello Ciotti, commercial director of Equipolymers.

Here are this week's news roundup:

Iberdrola Renovables has begun construction of its first forestry biomass power plant in Oregon, US, which will have an installed capacity of 26.8 megawatts (MW). The power plant is due to be commissioned by the end of 2012.

Neste Oil started the world's largest renewable diesel plant in Singapore with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes/year. Production of NExBTL renewable diesel will be ramped up on a phased basis. Neste Oil is currently producing the biodiesel from palm oil, rapeseed oil and waste fat sourced from the food industry in Finland.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) unveiled a trademark that will enable consumers to distinguish products containing palm ingredients that are sourced following Roundtable rules. Product manufacturers and retail companies will be able to apply the new logo to their packaging starting early 2011.

Energy company Total will construct a photovoltaic panel production and assembly unit at Composite Park in France's north-eastern region of Moselle. The plant, which is scheduled to come onstream in late 2011 will have total capacity of 50 megawatt peak (MWp) representing about 220,000 photovoltaic panels per year.

Eastman Chemical received full registration for its Eastman 168™ non-phthalate plasticizer in accordance with the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. This entitles Eastman, to import, manufacture or use Eastman 168 in quantities exceeding 1000 tons per year - the highest volume registration band under REACH.

Chemtura's organometallics could see more demand from several end markets, such as photovoltaics.

US energy group warns of ongoing policy threat to 'fracking'.

"Sustainability is a business opportunity; you need to go out there and have the courage and the insights to exploit it," said marketing expert Phil Allen at the close of a seminar held in Brussels, which looked at sustainability opportunities for chemical companies.

I was too sick last week to post anything but I'm recovering enough now to hopefully be able to post last week's news, maybe one interview, and then I'm off for some Black Friday shopping to support the economy and the chemical industry (I will do my best...)

LanzaTech sent me this news on November 17 about their project with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop drop-in jet fuel using waste gas-based 2,3 butanediol (2,3-BD) as feedstock.

Now I've been confused with butanediols since I always encountered 1,4 butanediol (BDO) in previous posts (such as Genomatica's project) but I guess 2,3 BD is quite different and I have not really gotten much market information on this particular building block except a couple of research studies. I am guessing that there is not really a commercial market for 2,3 BD or if there is, it's a very small one although anybody reading this, pls. let me know if I'm wrong.

I have not yet spoken to LanzaTech but I'm planning to do it soon. According to various bits and pieces found on the web, 2,3-BD is typically produced by a variety of microorganism in an anaerobic fermentation of glucose. I have not yet found any mention that 2,3-BD can be produced via petrochemical processing.

Like 1,4 BDO, 2,3-butanediol also known as 2,3-butylene glycol can be used as a chemical building block to produce solvents, polymers, resins and fuel. With a heating value of 27,200 Joules/gram, BD is said to be favorably comparable to ethanol (29,100 J/g) and methanol (22,100 J/g) for use as a liquid fuel and fuel additive.

This is what LanzaTech and PNNL are looking to develop under the sanction of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The first phase of the development project is expected to be done within a year with the DOE funding and LanzaTech contributing to it. By how much is another question to ask LanzaTech. PNNL by the way, is a national laboratory of the DOE and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle.

For some other fun facts about 2,3-BD, dehydration of this chemical leads to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) production and then further dehydration yields 1,3 butanediene which is the starting material for synthetic rubber and as an important monomer for the polymer industry.

Latin America especially Brazil seems to be an increasingly high growth renewable chems sector not only because of the plentiful (and more logistically organized) sugarcane feedstock source but its burgeoning economy is also an added attraction.

I wrote an article (subscription only) on ICIS Chemical Business about the bioplastic opportunity in Latin America now that Braskem opened its Green polyethylene shop and plans for a sugarcane-based polypropylene manufacturing facility as well. Amyris will soon produce farnesene-based chemicals in Brazil also using sugarcane feedstock, while Dow Chemical and Solvay are still planning to go ahead with their own sugar-based plastic.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Brazil's bioplastic market in 2009 - mainly polylactic acid (PLA), starch-based and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) resins - reached a volume of 1,286 tonnes and revenues of $4.4m. It is expected to reach a value of $618m by 2015, with 250,086 tonnes consumed locally.

Latin America's share of global bioplastic production is estimated to reach 40% by 2013, according to US analyst firm Jefferies & Company. 

My ICIS colleagues attended the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA) annual meeting on November 6-9 in Rio de Janeiro, and reported several interesting information on renewable chems development.

Consulting firm McKinsey noted at the conference that chemical companies have the power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water usage at little costs. McKinsey also said that bio-based products could account for 8% of global chemical sales by 2012. 30% of consumers (worldwide? need to confirm this...) are said to be willing to pay as much as 10% premium for bio-based products.

Meanwhile, Braskem expects the renewable chemicals market to become a $59bn (€42bn) business by 2014. At the APLA conference, the company confirmed its plans to build a second Green PE plant (location not yet disclosed) with an annual capacity of 350,000 tonnes.

Braskem also plans to build a minimum 30,000 tonne/year green PP plant either in Triunfo or Sao Paulo, which is expected to come onstream by 2013.

When it comes to clean tech, consulting firm Nexant noted a rising renewable technology companies filing for initial public offering (IPO). Nexant noted chemical opportunities in the clean tech sector such as epoxy resins for wind turbines and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) for encapsulants in photovoltaic panels.

Dow Chemical noted at the conference its strategies in the clean tech sector especially it's new innovative product Powerhouse solar shingles. Dow also said it has recently developed a polyolefin-based encapsulate that could compete with the dominant material EVA.

New materials could also replace some of the expensive rare earths used in photovoltaics, according to Dow.

For more information, here are some of the APLA articles from ICIS News (subscription only):

APLA '10: IPO interest rising for renewable tech firms - consultant

APLA '10: Braskem predicts $59bn green chems market by 2014

APLA '10: Design, new uses key for sustainable products - US Dow

APLA '10: US Dow solar shingles overcome odd, varied obstacles 

APLA '10: Braskem to locate green PP in Triunfo or Sao Paulo

APLA '10: Chemicals helping to 'cut greenhouse gas emissions'

APLA '10: Bio-based products to make up 8% of chem sales in 2012

APLA '10: Chems can reduce emissions at little cost - McKinsey

APLA '10: Green chems a step into the future - Carbocloro chief

APLA '10: Solar modules boosting demand for EVA, VAM in China

My article about sustainable consumer packaging on ICIS Chemical Business is now free to access and this led me in noticing several consumer packaged goods (CPG) as well as food and beverage companies really becoming more intent in their sustainability goals of using renewable-based materials as well as reducing waste/material usage.

Interestingly enough, I also received three phone calls in two months inquiring about renewable-based surfactants particularly second generation feedstock (biomass, algae, non-food based oils/fats). These inquiries mentioned ongoing research for CPG companies.

As previously mentioned by the blog, there were public announcements of CPG companies such as P&G and Unilever working with start-up companies on the use of renewable-based chemicals. P&G is now working with LS9 and Amyris while Unilever is working with Solazyme. Henkel did not mention names but the company is working on the use of biotech-based surfactants with partners. Amyris is now also working with flavors and fragrance company Firmenich and cosmetic company Soliance.

In my article, I mentioned P&G aiming to replace 25% of all of its petroleum-based materials with sustainably sourced renewable materials by 2020. The company also expects to eliminate all uses of PVC in their packaging within the next few years as well as to have all of their waste  (both from company and their products) to end up in a valued waste stream such as via recycling, composting, and converting waste to energy without toxic emissions). 

The article also mentioned sustainability goals from Clorox, ConAgra and Walmart.

Meanwhile, Unilever announced this Monday its new sustainability goals and some of them include the following:

• Source 75% of the paper and board for packaging from certified sustainably managed forests or from recycled material by 2015, and to reach 100% by 2020.
  

• Purchase all palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015. Source sustainably all soy beans by 2014 and all soy oils by 2020.
  

• Reduce 1/3 of packaging weight by 2020; eliminate PVC from all packaging by 2012-2013; make packaging more recyclable (and use more recycled materials)

• Concentrate liquid detergents and compact powder detergents; reformulate washing products to reduce GHG emissions by 15% by 2012.

Unilever also made a statement about renewable materials:

"The hard truth is that much more work needs to be done to develop truly sustainable renewables before we can commit to 100% renewable materials in our packaging.

Bio-plastics, for example, are derived from renewable resources. But this does not mean that they are sustainable when all the environmental impacts and issues around their growth, production and subsequent disposal, are taken into consideration.

As one of the largest purchasers of packaging materials, we are making our expectations clear to suppliers and working with industry groups on viable solutions."

Some of my ICIS news articles based on CPG company interviews and recent presentations (requires subscription):

US Procter & Gamble to stop using PVC in packaging

Volatile chemical costs a challenge for Procter & Gamble - CEO

Feedstock increases tough to pass on to customers - Henkel

Detergent industry lacks presence in emerging markets - Unilever

DNP Green Technology said it has acquired 100% of the shares in Bioamber from Agro-industrie Recherches et Developpements (ARD). ARD, meanwhile has become a shareholder of DNP Green.

Bioamber was established as a 50/50 joint venture between DNP Green and ARD in 2008 to scale up and commercialize a biobased succinic acid technology platform. In 2010, Bioamber commissioned its bio based succinic acid plant in Pomacle, France, which is still owned and operated by ARD. Bioamber has secured exclusive access to the plant for the next three years through a toll manufacturing agreement.

DNP Green, which now officially changes its name to BioAmber Inc. will focus on commercialization of the bio-succinic acid while ARD focuses on process optimization in the plant and the scale up of a next-generation organism producing succinic acid.

DNP Green (now BioAmber) president Jean-Francois Huc told the blog to expect more announcements before Christmas on more deals that the company signed over the past six months.

While I'm in the middle of the battle of the bugs (flu bug that is), here are this week's (late) news roundup:

The DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle received Underwriters Laboratories' (UL) safety certification. Over 50 individual tests were conducted to assess the safety of the DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles against building code standards, including wind and fire resistance, and electrical code requirements, such as proper wiring and photovoltaic (PV) connections.

SG Biofuels and Bunge North America formed a partnership to research and develop a model to process jatropha seeds into a biofuel feedstock. SG Biofuels has introduced JMax 100, an elite jatropha cultivar optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with projected yields 100% greater than existing commercial varieties.

DuPont will acquire MECS, Inc., from affiliates of American Securities LLC. DuPont said a large share of the world's sulfuric acid producers use MECS technology to capture sulfur that would otherwise become a pollutant and transform it into sulfuric acid.

Amyris entered a collaboration and joint development agreement with fragrance and flavor company Firmenich, where the company will fund technical development at Amyris to produce a sustainable, cost-effective and reliable source of a key ingredient for the fragrance and flavor market. Firmenich has an option to collaborate with Amyris to develop a second ingredient.

Algae technology developer OriginOil has succeeded in producing hydrogen at a level comparable to solar photovoltaics. The research breakthrough points to a highly scalable and renewable source of hydrogen that can be deployed as an additional system output in algae production settings.

Rockwood Holdings will not spin off its lithium business in the short term but could consider a move in around five years, CEO Seifi Ghasemi said.

Canada is poised to see a surge in mergers and acquisitions activity in its renewables energy industry, driven by the country's "aggressive regulation" and support for the sector, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Worldwide production of paraffin wax is declining, and the industry needs to find alternatives to prevent shortages in the next decade, US wax supplier Schumann/Steier said.

Germany's chemical industry is welcoming a plan by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to spend €2.4bn ($3.3bn) over 6 years to 2016, on a "national research strategy for the bio-economy 2030," industry group VCI said.

Based on ICIS' calculations, the green chemicals blog's unique visitors are past 150,000 as the blog celebrates its 3rd year anniversary this month.

For our usual yearly statistics report, the blog continues its upward page views numbers from 12,628 in October 2009 to 20,203 last month - the blog's highest monthly record ever. Unique visits for October 2009 was 7,734 compared to 11,454 in October 2010 - also a record number.

From January to October 2009, total numbers were as follows: Unique visits - 56,904; Page Views - 92,713; Unique users - 50,231.

From January to October 2010, total numbers were as follows: Unique visits - 91,879; Page Views - 152,303; Unique users - 77,966.

Here's our yearly chart to make the numbers easier to digest. The blog just wanted to say thanks for the follow and interests and hopefully we'll be able to make it more informative and useful for you, our beloved green chemicals groupies ;-).

The last time I wrote something about bio-butanol was in September for an article on ICIS Chemical Business*. Gevo just announced its initial public offering (IPO), DuPont's Butamax joint venture opened its demonstration plant in Hull, UK, and Cobalt Technologies and signed up engineering firm Fluor to design its 1.5m gal/year plant which is expected to start in 2012.

In October, I wrote an article for ICIS News* about my interview with Chinese biobutanol producer Cathay Industrial Biotech, which is planning to build its second biobutanol facility either in China or in the US. Cathay Biotech's vice president Paul Caswell expects the planned facility's capacity to be around 100,000 tonnes/year.

The company is currently producing corn-based n-butanol for chemical applications at its 100,000 tonne/year biorefinery in Jilin Province, China. The facility, which uses the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation route, started production in 2009 of about 65-70% butanol, 20-25% acetone and 5-10% ethanol.

Caswell estimated the market growth for butanol in China at 8.9%/year with a market volume as of 2009 at 900,000 tonnes (mostly petrochem-based via propylene-based oxo synthesis) and a value of $1.5bn. Around 55% of butanol in China was imported last year, said Caswell.

An interesting information from Cathay Industrial Biotech unrelated to their bio-butanol is their production of bio-dibasic acids and dicarboxylic acids, which reminded me of Elevance's products of course. The company produces the organic compounds by fermentation of paraffins and Caswell said they have also begun trial production of certain diacids from vegetable oil-based fatty acids.

Caswell noted that they are number 2 supplier in China for their dodecanedioic acid (D12), which has big market use in polyamides manufacture (think of toothbrush bristles!).

Back to bio-butanol, Cathay Industrial said they have no plans (as of yet) to make the product for fuel use as chemicals application is more profitable especially in China.

Meanwhile, the blog saw press releases from Gevo, Cobalt Technologies and Butamax within the past several days. Gevo announced yesterday that its bio-butanol is the first isobutanol to be listed in the EPA's Fuel Registration Directory and is now approved for blending with gasoline.

Gevo will soon begin the retrofit of its first 22m gal/year (GPY) ethanol facility in Luverne, MN, to produce 18m GPY of isobutanol. The Company plans to expand its isobutanol production via the retrofit of additional ethanol facilities over the next few years.

Last week, Cobalt Technologies said it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy to develop technology for the conversion of biobutanol into full performance jet and diesel fuels.

N-biobutanol produced by Cobalt will be converted to bio-jet and biodiesel fuels using technology developed at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, CA. Cobalt will also have an option to obtain an exclusive license to commercialize process improvements, made under the CRADA, for the production of all military and civilian transportation fuels.

Butamax said it is making big milestones with their bio-butanol as the company prepares for global commercial launch via partnerships and setting up laboratory research, one recently in Brazil to accelerate commercial designs for sugarcane-to-biobutanol.

Butamax is conducting research in India, the UK, Germany and the US as well. The company said it has filed a portfolio of patent applications for its proprietary technology across the biofuel value chain including biocatalyst, manufacturing process and fuel applications.

*subscription only

The first time I saw Kimberly Clark's Scott Naturals Tube-Free bath tissue advertising, the first thought that popped into my head is how much chemicals demand will be reduced if all toilet tissue in the US will not use these cardboard tubes?

I'm pretty sure these cardboard tubes use adhesives and since the tubes itself are made of wood pulp, caustic soda comes to mind.

Kimberly Clark said this new innovation will reduce 160m pounds of waste coming from an estimated 17bn bath tissue tubes US households consume annually. Not to mention the savings they will get from eliminating material use and weight in transportation/distribution.

The products are currently being market tested at Walmart and Sam's Club across the US.

I'm throwing every information that I've got over the past weeks (and even months) about bioplastic here as they are already clogging my already overloaded drafts box.

The first one is from Melbourne-based Cardia Bioplastics who announced late last month that it is now seeking international commercial partner for its carbon dioxide-based biodegradable plastic carrier bags "CO2S". The bioplastic is made from a blend of CO2 emissions and starch.

How it works is that the pollutant CO2 is transformed into a polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymer and then blended with starch using the company's technology. Cardia Bioplastics said it is now working to increase the PPC content and renewable resource component "so up to 60% less virgin oil will be used compared to currently marketed biodegradable oil-based products."

Aside from Novomer, who I mentioned before is also developing CO2-based polymers, did you know that BayerMaterial Science is also looking to produce polymers from CO2??...now you know  =)

Bayer researchers are working together with RWE Power AG and academic partner RWTH Aachen University in Germany to produce CO2-based polyether polycarbonate polyols (PPPs). A kilogram-scale pilot plant is already being constructed at Chempark Leverkusen. The CO2 used for the project will come from RWE Power's lignite-fired power plant at Niederaußem.

In another waste-based plastic related news, an article from Plastics & Rubber Weekly talked about Dow Chemical looking at the possibility of using plastic waste to fuel its plastic operations. Too bad I forgot to asked about that during their Investor Day when I was in Michigan last week.

The article noted that Dow's process will use the waste itself directly as a fuel, as opposed to pyrolysis methods, in which plastic waste is heated and converted in to a chemical liquid or fuel which is then re-used.

Back to bioplastic, a more recent news is from Germany-based Wacker Chemie this week, which announced its development of biodegradable plastic products made from combination of its Vinnex vinyl-acetate-based polymeric binding agents with starch or flour. The blended polymer blends can be processed by injection molding, extrusion, vacuum forming or thermoforming.

Wacker said the binder system can also be combined with polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) aside from starch. The bioplastic products produced can composed within 180 days under industrial composting conditions.

Other news that came to my attention:

• China's Xiamen Wei Meng Environmental Materials Co. Ltd. announced the production and marketing of PLA products.
  

• Sigma-Aldrich entered into a distribution agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma to offer its portfolio of RESOMER biodegradable polylactide (PLA) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymers to the research community.
  

• NatureWorks in talks with potential partners including PTT Plc to jointly invest in a large-scale bioplastic plant in Thailand worth about $400 million.

• Demand in Europe for Cereplast bioplastic resin continues to soar as a result of Italian legislation banning the sale of plastic bags.
  

• The manufacture of NatureWorks' Ingeo™ plastic emits fewer greenhouse gasses than the comparable manufacture of every other common petrochemical-based plastic, according to a peer-reviewed article published in the August 2010 edition of Industrial Biotechnology.
  

• Petron Scientech has been selected by Greencol Taiwan Corp. (GTC), a 50/50 joint venture between China Man-Made Fiber Co. and Toyota Tsusho to provide process technology, catalyst, design and services for a 100,000 tons/year ethylene from ethanol facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  

• Bioplastics to Grow 41.4% Annually Through 2015 - BCC Research
  

• Henkel Releases World's First Tech-Forward Correction Roller Made with Ingeo Bioplastic.
  

[Photo from MediaHooker blogspot]

There have been so many new green product introductions for October and November because of various industry tradeshows and conferences where companies prefer to announce new product launch. I already kick-started some of the new bioplastic introductions from the K Show but there were others that I did not get in time so they're now posted here.

Here are our October's green chemicals:

1. Vereniums' ethanol enzyme - Verenium started selling its Deltazym GA L-E5 high performance enzyme for the saccharification of liquefied starch in ethanol fuel production process. The enzyme demonstrates high yields using substrates such as cassava, corn, milo, barley, and wheat.

2. AkzoNobel NPE alternative - AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry has introduced Berol 609, an alcohol ethoxylate blend designed as a drop in replacement for nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) particularly NP9 and NP10 in aqueous cleaning formulations.

3. Mitsubishi's eco-friendly flame retardant resins - Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics introduced two new environment-friendly flame retardant polycarbonate resins for optical uses. The resins dramatically improved fire safety in light transmissive cover parts, sheets, films, etc. in electrical and electronic fields.

 4. Kraton PVC alternatives - Kraton introduced its G1645 polymer product to replace polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in medical applications. The company also introduced other PVC alternatives in wire and cable applications as well as for automotive interior soft skins.

5. RadiciGroup's PLA yarn - RadiciGroup introduced CornLeaf, a solution-dyed continuous yarn made from polylactic acid (PLA) Ingeo resin for applications in intimate wear, furnishings and consumer goods.

6. PolyOne green polymers - PolyOne introduced a number of green polymers at the K2010 show including reSound 1200 biopolymer compounds; non-halogenated thermoplastic elastomer (OnFlex HFFR) and polyamide (Edgetek AM) compounds; and bisphenol-A free Edgetek XT, a blend of Eastman Tritan copolyester and select engineering thermoplastics.

7. FKuR bioplastic - FKuR introduced Bio-Flex F4110 bioplastic, which has a renewable resource content greater than 60%, and the plastic can be processed into film on conventional LDPE extruders. FKuR's new PLA and PBS-based Bio-Flex S5630 is suitable for thermoforming and injection molding applications.

Sorry for the sparse posts folks, I have been very busy with my day job at ICIS Chemical Business plus attending several conferences including last week's Investor Day by Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan.

I was able to interview Dow's VP of Sustainability Neil Hawkins and will post that interview soon. I'll also share some updates on Dow's green polyethylene project plans in Brazil, their solar shingle business and bits and pieces of their strategies in the clean tech areas (wind energy and battery storage in particular).

Yesterday, during another investor day meeting this time in New York, lithium compound producer Rockwood Holdings talked about the huge potential market of electric vehicles and energy storage batteries to their business. I'll also post some information about it.

For now, here is an interesting Canadian company that exploded in the green chem news scene last week.

Toronto-based Vertichem (according to their website) plans to harness the power of hardwood chips to produce specialty chemicals based on lignin (biopolymer), xylose (sugar) and cellulose. The company is looking at sawmills and forestry industries as source of feedstock. Vertichem said it holds exclusive US patents in the process of converting woody biomass into specialty green chemicals.

We don't know yet what particular chemicals Vertichem will focus on first and where the company is right now in terms of development, production or commercialization stages but I'm sure we will hear more in the next few months (or weeks).

Vertichem has commenced a $25 million equity raise and has begun marketing an upcoming investor tour. Last week, the company announced it has received $3 million in capital-market funding, as well as forming a 50/50 exclusive joint venture with Warner Babcock Institute (WBI) to investigate new applications for lignin- and xylose-based specialty chemicals.

WBI is co-founded by John Warner, who is known in the green chem field as one of the fathers of Green Chemistry alongside EPA's chief R&D Paul Anastas. WBI said, they chose Vertichem to be their exclusive partner in the lignin and xylose space because of the company's patents.

Another interesting aspect of this company is the chairman and chief executive of Vertichem itself. David Milroy is also the founder of New Zealand-based Pure Power Global which started venturing in the lignin-based biofuels and chems as well as in algae since 2008. Here is a nice article from Forbes on Dave Milroy and about his Pure Power company.

Like other major food ingredients companies such as Cargill, ADM and Roquette, British firm Tate & Lyle is also very proactive in bio-based chemicals segment especially through its joint venture DuPont Tate & Lyle Bioproducts.

Last week, Tate & Lyle announced that it will start contract producing corn-based farnesene for California renewable chemicals company Amyris. A similar deal by Amyris was taken in June 2010 with a facility of Biomin GMBH in Piracicaba, Brazil, which is expected to start farnesene production in the first half of 2011.

No timeline was disclosed when Tate & Lyle will start producing farnesene. 

I asked Tate & Lyle how much farnesene will be also be produced but of course the answer was "cannot be disclosed." Tate & Lyle will produce the chemical building block in its Decatur, IL, facility, where the company also manufactures dextrose, food and industrial starches, and corn syrup.

Amyris, by the way, just reported last week it's third quarter results. The company said it was able to get net proceeds of $90.7m from its IPO in September. Amyris' balance of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities was $271m at the end of the third quarter vs $207.5m in Q2.

The company also mentioned its recent partnership with flavors and fragrance company Firmenich to develop a cost-effective and reliable source of a key ingredient used in the fragrances & flavors market.

[Photo of Tate & Lyle Decatur facility by ecfman]

It's a week of biofuel news and two of them focusing on Brazil. Speaking of Brazil, ICIS Chemical Business has its Latin America feature last week and my colleague William Lemos wrote about the sweet success happening in the sugarcane-based biofuel and chemical developments in the region.

Also this week, we'll have our monthly new green chemicals roundup as well as little separate post about Amyris and Tate & Lyle's farnesene production deal. Stay tune!

For now here are this week's news round-up:

Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC opened a biobutanol technology laboratory in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new laboratory was built to accelerate the path to commercial market entry for cane-to-biobutanol production.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is constructing its second Brazilian biodiesel facility in Joaçaba, Santa Catarina. Construction of the 164,000 tonne/year facility will begin in March 2011 and is expected to be completed during the first half of 2012.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially registered Amyris's renewable diesel fuel blend level with ultra low sulfur diesel from 20% to 35%. The blend level is the highest awarded to date by the EPA for commercial sale of a motor vehicle renewable gasoline or diesel fuel.

Cobalt Technologies signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy to develop technology for the conversion of biobutanol into full performance jet and diesel fuels. The team will optimize dehydration chemistry for the conversion of bio-n-butanol to 1-butene, followed by oligomerization of the biobutene into jet fuel.

Inbicon has begun supplying Statoil with second-generation bioethanol made from wheat straw as Statoil rolls out a 5% ethanol blend at 100 selected petrol stations across Denmark. Inbicon's Kalundborg refinery can produce 1.5 million gal/year of the cellulosic ethanol.

Dow Chemical is pushing forward with its sugarcane-based 350,000 tonnes/year polyethylene plans in Brazil.

The European Commission has proposed to ban the use of phosphates and to limit the content of other phosphorous containing compounds in laundry detergents from 2013.

New forms of energy supplies such as unconventional gas and nuclear power may help to meet the surge in global demand.

Two companies announced this week their plans to set up green chem facilities in Malaysia using crude glycerine as feedstock.

France-based renewable chems developer METabolic Explorer said on Tuesday that it will construct a 50,000 tonne/year bio-1,3 propanediol (PDO) plant in Iskandar, Malaysia using crude glycerine as feedstock.

This investment is in partnership with the country's biotech hub Bio-XCell Sdn. Bhd. The facility is expected to have an initial output of 8,000 tonnes.

The blog is expecting more details of METabolic Explorer's announcement within the next few days as the company presented its plans this week at the BioMalaysia Conference & Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. (No, I'm not attending - pity - but I'm waiting for updates from other news organization...).

Meanwhile, the blog already posted in July Glycos Biotechnologies' plans to build a 20,000-40,000 tonne/year biorefinery producing crude glycerine-based isoprene, ethanol and acetone in Malaysia.

The company confirmed this week that it is pushing forward with its plans and GlycosBio is now evaluating partners for construction of the biochemical and R&D facility in Malaysia also under a collaboration with Bio-Xcell.

Further announcements about the construction is expected in Q1 2011. The facility is projected to be complete in 2012.GlycosBio said it plans to focus much of its initial research and development efforts on creating isoprene to support Malaysia's rubber industry.

By the way, ICIS (the company I'm working for) is monitoring the natural rubber market in Asia and prices seemed to have skyrocketed this year, which in turn are pressuring synthetic rubber prices such as styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) or styrene isoprene butadiene (SIBR). Isoprene is a key feedstock in synthetic rubber manufacturing.

Because of the volatility of the natural rubber market, the search is on for alternative feedstock in synthetic rubber production. Genencor is working with Goodyear for its bio-isoprene in rubber tire application, while biobutanol producer Gevo is working with Lanxess for isobutene, another key material for synthetic rubber manufacturing.

Another importance for both GlycosBio's and METabolic Explorer's technologies is that Malaysia is a key producing country when it comes to glycerine and since crude glycerine is an oversupplied global commodity chemical these days, I'm sure the oleochemical industry in Malaysia is waiting with bated breath for both companies' production success.

1,3 propanediol is currently mainly used as a building block in the production of polymers such as polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) polyester. Applications include textiles, coatings, carpets and thermoplastic films.

One company who is already producing bio-1,3 PDO is DuPont Tate & Lyle Bioproducts using corn as feedstock. GlycosBio actually said that it also has the capability to produce crude glycerine-based PDO. METabolic Explorer estimates the PDO global market at EUR1.3bn ($1.8bn) by 2020. 

The bioplastic industry strengthened its presence at last week's international plastic and rubber trade show "K" held every four years in Germany.

There had been several announcements from major plastic producers at the show and one of them the blog already reported about Braskem's plans to build a sugarcane-based polypropylene. Here is a video from the K Show organizers as they interview Braskem VP Riu Chammas on their green plastic.

Another big news is Belgium-based Solvay announcing its partnership with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) on the development of high performance castor oil-based polyamides. The plastic is expected to be among the highest temperature bio-based polyamides in the industry with a heat deflection temperature of approximately 270°C for glass-filled compounds, according to Solvay.

Solvay and MGC are currently working together to develop an optimized manufacturing process for the new polymer. MGC said it has filed numerous patents to cover its extensive development work in resin composition, production, and applications.

The multi-year development project will examine market viability, commercial scale-up, and capital planning.

At the show, Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics, meanwhile, launched its own bio-based resin called Reny®SRH0101, a high heat-resistance polyamide for injection molding materials that was newly created by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical. Mitsubishi said they plan to expand the resin in various grades.

In a K-show related news, Solvay featured the importance of plastic in the development of solar-powered planes, which were exhibited at the show. Really cool!

The blog also previously talked about Toyota Tshusho's bio-PET plans in Taiwan. At the show, Toyota Tsusho announced that it is sourcing its sugarcane-based hydrated ethanol (to produce ethylene for the use of monoethylene glycol for Toyota Tsusho's bio-PET ~ whew!) from Brazilian oil and energy company Petrobras. The company is expected to supply 43,000 cubic meters/year of ethanol for 10 years, which is estimated to be worth $820 million.

I was able to get information from New Jersey, USA-based Petron Scientech, who is supplying the bio-ethylene and bio-MEG processing technology for Toyota Tsusho's bio-PET business in Taiwan.  Toyota Tsusho's bio-MEG plant will be built by US-based Chemtex, which has the exclusive rights to build the plants using Petron's technologies.  Petron said they have similar projects going on in China for a Chinese domestic company.

Back to the K-Show, they had bio-based plastic launches from DSM, Telles, Clariant, DuPont, Roquette, Novamont, and Cromex.

Dutch company DSM launched at the K-Show a bio-based high performance thermoplastic copolyester under the trade name Arnitel® Eco. The plastic is said to have 20%-50% content derived from renewable resources made from rapeseed oil. DSM also introduced 5 new grades of its bio-based Ecopaxx resin. Ecopaxx was launched last year, and is said to contain 70% bio-based materials derived from castor oil.

DuPont and its partner Germany-based Takata-Petri launched a new grade of DuPont Hytrel RS, said to be the industry's first renewable-sourced thermoplastic elastomer for use in airbag systems. The material contains a minimum of 35% renewable-based materials by weight.

DuPont said it is based on a thermoplastic ether-ester elastomer (TPC-ET) with hard segments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and soft segments that contain a polyether derived from non-food biomass.

In masterbatches, Swiss producer Clariant and Brazilian company Cromex both launched additives for use in bioplastic. Clariant said their Renol compostable colors and CESA compostable additive masterbatches can now enable bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) and Novamont's Mater-Bi to have wider range of options in color and performance-enhancing additives.

Cromex launched at the K-Show new colors and additives aimed at improving bioplastics performance specifically sugarcane-based PE and PLA, from manufacture to recycling. The company said the additives enable the bioplastics to serve markets such as automotive, toys, cosmetics and personal care packaging, among others.

Finally, from bioplastic producers themselves, Telles, the joint venture between US-based Archer Daniels Midland and Metabolix, announced that it has expanded its bioplastic application in food packaging and food service ware with its new Mirel thermoforming grade for use in non-alcoholic food contact applications.

The U.S. thermoforming market was reportedly estimated at 5bn pounds in 2008, growing at 4.3%/year. Telles estimates that about 70% of this demand is in food contact applications.

France-based starch chemicals producer Roquette announced at the K Show that it has entered the bioplastic market with its GAIALENE plant-based thermoplastics for transformers and compounders. The bioplastic contains over 50% plant-based materials and is said to be a product of hemisynthesis.

Roquette is targeting applications in packaging, household applicances, automobile, interior design, etc. The bioplastic can be formed and transformed using existing processes such as injection molding, blow film extrusion, extrusion blow molding, etc.

And last (but not the least), France-based Novamont introduced NATURENE, an Italy-produced biodegradable packaging developed by Novamont and Italian flexible packaging producer Safta. The bioplastic is made of Novamont's Mater-Bi and is said to be suitable for most automatic FFS packaging lines.

Novamont also launched at the show its first industrial renewable-based clingfilm that is biodegradable and compostable. The stretchy clingfilm can be used for any kind of foodstuffs, even food that has a high fat content (oils, sauces, butter, etc.) or that is acidic. After use it can be disposed of as organic waste.

Flushed from its startup success with its new 200,000 tonne/year green polyethylene (PE) plant in Brazil, Braskem announced last week that it will now build a sugarcane ethanol-based polypropylene plant after concluding the conceptual phase of the project.

Work on the basic engineering studies for the plant is expected to conclude next year and operational startup of the facility is projected in the second half of 2013. Investment of the plant is around $100m and capacity is said to be a minimum 30,000 tonne/year.

Braskem did not state what particular Green PP technology will be used except that it will be an already proven technology on an industrial scale using sugarcane ethanol as feedstock. The conceptual engineering was conducted in partnership with Fundacao Espaco Eco.

The company has been looking into producing green PP since 2008 in various development partnerships including the one last year with Novozymes. At the plastic and rubber K Show in Germany, where the announcement was made, Braskem reportedly confirmed through Plastics News that it will not use the enzyme-based fermentation technologies it is developing together with Novozymes.

According to consulting firm Nexant, there are several routes where green PP can be produced:

Case 1: Fermentation of sugars to produce bio-ethanol followed by dehydration to bio-ethylene. Some of the bio-ethylene are dimerized to produce n-butene, which are then reacted to remaining bio-ethylene via metathesis to produce green PP.

Case 2: Butanol is produced either by fermentation of sugars or gasification of biomass and the bio-butanol is dehydrated to produce bio-butene. And you know the rest from Case 1...

Case 3: Bio-propane produced as a byproduct of biodiesel is dehydrogenated to produce green PP
.
Case 4: Vegetable oil is fed to an enhanced fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit to produce green PP.

Case 5: Gasification of biomass to produce a syngas is followed by synthesis of bio-methanol. Green PP is produced via methanol-to-olefins technology.

Looks like the only option from bio-ethanol here is Case 1 and 2...