March 2011 Archives

BASF says its biodegradable plastic Ecovio FS film is being used in a pilot project by German waste management service AWB. Ecovio FS film is made from combination of petroleum-based Ecoflex FS biodegradable polyester (also produced by BASF) and corn starch-based PLA (polylactic acid).

Starting April 6, a 3-month test will be conducted to see whether the bags are suitable for collecting organic waste and how the bags would do on a large scale at an organic composting plant.

In the district of Bad Durkheim, 65,000 households will each receive 10 Ecovio-based bags free of charge by mail along with information material. More bags will be available at several distribution points throughout the district. Residents  are encouraged to use the bags for their food waste and then dispose them in an organic waste bin. BASF said the bags are not however suitable for home composting.

BASF and AWB are cooperating with additional partners, the Weltplast company, which is producing the organic waste bags using Ecovio granules provided free-of-charge by BASF; and GML and Veolia Umweltservice GmbH, which are carrying out the actual composting at the Grünstadt organic composting plant.

The independent consulting company IBK-Solutions will be monitoring the project and performing the scientific evaluation. Once the project has been concluded, all of the companies involved and the local residents will be informed about the results. Should the pilot project be successful, then the bags will be permanently approved and made available throughout the district of Bad Dürkheim .

The bags used in the Bad Dürkheim project consist of more than 50% renewable raw materials. By the way, here is a video of some of the tests BASF and GML did on the compostability of Ecovio FS-based bags. The companies also compared the bag to oxo-degradable plastic and traditional PE plastic.

The countdown begins! I need 6 more twitter followers to reach my 1000 mark before my birthday ends today. For those who are already in the twitter world and would like to get instant blog updates (and updates from conferences I attend from time to time), follow me at @ICISgreenblog.

And after that self-advertising, here are this week's news roundup =)

Gevo denies Butamax infringement claims
Bio-butanol producer Gevo denies all claims of patent infringement filed against them relating to the production of isobutanol by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC (a joint venture between DuPont and BP). Gevo said the company's Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT) is covered by over 150 patent applications and has a different approach than  the one described in the Butamax patent.   

Construction of flue gas-to-ethanol demo plant begins
LanzaTech, Baosteel Group and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have launched the construction of a 100,000 gal/year demonstration plant that will produce fuel ethanol from steel mill off-gases using LanzaTech's gas fermentation technology. A new joint venture company Shanghai Baosteel LanzaTech New Energy has been formed to run the unit and future commercial production facilities.

Evonik builds biodiesel catalyst plant in Argentina
Germany-based Evonik Industries plans to build a new biodiesel catalyst production facility in Argentina with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes/year. Construction is expected to start in July and the plant is scheduled to come onstream at the end of 2012. The plant will be located in Puerto General San Martin, in the Rosario region, at the heart of Argentina's biodiesel industry.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice of allowance allowing patent claims that protect Modular Genetics' green surfactant myristoyl glutamate. The company claims the surfactant is tenfold more effective at reducing surface tension and three times more water soluble than leading marketed product. Modular is initially targeting the product for the personal care market.

Neste Oil has secured EUR50m ($71m) from Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) to fund further research on extending the range of raw materials used for producing Neste Oil's renewable diesel. The company has already been doing research in microbial and algal oil as well as wood-based biomass.

Nalco and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have reached a licensing agreement for Argonne's resin wafer electrodeionization (RW-EDI) technology. One application for Argonne's patented technology is bioprocessing where it allows for the continuous removal of charged products like organic acids from aqueous process streams and eliminates the requirement to continuously add neutralizing agents, avoiding resulting waste stream.

Netherlands-based DSM is likely to sign several technology partnerships in biotechnology-based chemicals and fuels during 2011including the upscaling of its bio-succinic acid joint venture, the company's chief innovation officer said.

The US Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), PlasticsEurope and 40 other plastics and chemicals trade groups have pledged to work together in fighting plastics litter and waste in oceans.

DuPont's commitment to biotechnology is clear and has been highlighted this year by the $6bn-plus offer for Danisco, a long-time partner in developing bioplastics.

It is interesting to note that the petrochemical industry is now interested in learning more about renewable-based chemicals alternatives as seen on this year's International Petrochemical Conference supplement commissioned by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) for distribution at their annual meeting this week in San Antonio, Texas.

The NPRA picked ICIS to do the supplement although the trade group already had suggested topics for coverage. I, of course, was happy to contribute when I heard the NPRA wanted to know more about bio-based chemicals and their developments.

Thanks to my colleague John Baker (who put together the supplement) for giving me the chance to write this one. And I can post the article for free too! (Check it out below)

For those attending the NPRA, ICIS has a hospitality suite Salon C at the Marriott Riverwalk hotel. The ICIS suite will be open from Sunday 27th-Tuesday 29th March. You can also follow ICIS tweet updates at the NPRA via #ICIS and #NPRA hashtags.

France-based specialty chemical company Rhodia seems to be now looking to invests in US-based green chemistry/renewable chemicals companies after the blog heard this announcement today of the company acquiring equity stake in a a venture capital company Phoenix Venture Partners based in Silicon Valley, California.

Phoenix Venture Partners specializes in start-up companies focusing primarily on advanced materials but the venture fund group stated that it will now include Rhodia's strategic focus in the area of green chemistry and bioresourced materials when scouting for start-up candidates. The firm mostly focuses on North America and to a lesser extent, in Europe and Asia.

Rhodia also invested in another venture capital group, Aster II, which is based in Europe last February. This fund focuses on energy, advanced materials and in other environmental sectors.

Th French chemical company has been very active in green chemistry R&D the past few years. Last year in August, Rhodia signed a green chemistry scientific collaboration with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Ecole Normale Superieure of Lyon (ENSL) and the East China Normal University (ECNU) of Shanghai.

In June, Rhodia partnered with the University of Bordeaux Foundation aiming to expand the role of pine chemicals as raw chemical feedstock, while in February last year, Rhodia also formed a new international research collaboration called COMPASS (Complex Assemblies of of Soft Matter) with the University of Pennsylvania and CNRS, which will explore renewable and sustainable ingredients initially for consumer products in home and personal care markets as well as address critical issues such as water scarcity and novel printable electronic solutions for energy transfer and storage down the road.

Failed to meet my schedule yet again...to compensate, I have more than enough two weeks worth of news here. I am also preparing to write an article on bio-based surfactants so those who are interested to participate, just email me.

Eastman Chemical will discontinue the manufacture and supply of two of its orthophthalate plasticizers and will no longer offer the products as of December 31, 2011. Eastman said it has broad offering of non-phthalate alternatives.

Materia will open a catalyst manufacturing and R&D facility in Singapore with initial operating capacity of 10 tonnes by the end of 2012. Material expects to choose the site in 3Q 2011 and construction to begin by year-end. (FYI: Materia's olefin metathesis catalyst technology is currently being used by Elevance Renewable Sciences.)

Cereplast formed a distribution agreement with DMT Plasticolor to supply Cereplast Compostables® Resins and Cereplast Sustainables™ Resins to the Croatian marketplace. DMT Plasticolor will also use the Cereplast Compostable 3000 film grade to produce bioplastic films for food packaging.

Amyris expands capacity  in Brazil
Amyris formed a manufacturing deal with sugar and ethanol producer Paraíso Bioenergia S.A. where Amyris will construct fermentation and separation capacity to produce Amyris products and Paraíso will supply sugar cane juice and other utilities at Paraiso's facility in Sao Paulo. Amyris expects to be able to begin production at the location in 2012.

Amyris will form a joint venture with U.S. Venture, Inc. for the production, marketing and distribution of finished lubricants for the North American market. The joint venture would market and sell lubricants employing Amyris's synthetic renewable base oils derived from Biofene.

Bayer has sponsored GreenCentre Canada, a government-funded center dedicated to developing environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional chemical and manufacturing products and practices. As a sponsor, Bayer gains one-stop access to Canadian green chemistry discoveries submitted to GreenCentre.

Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) created the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used to create jet fuel and bioenergy for other sectors. The consortium also will seek to lower overall sustainability certification costs.

International Battery formed a collaboration and license agreement with Hydro-Québec to further develop water-based manufacturing processes of Lithium-ion batteries. International Battery is the first company in North America to produce commercial Lithium-ion products using a water-based manufacturing process.

Yulex Corporation, a manufacturer of biobased elastomer products derived from guayule, closed on a $15 million private placement to expand its natural rubber production capabilities in Chandler, Arizona. The new facility producing guayule natural rubber and feedstocks for bioenergy is expected to start by early 2012.

Vertellus Specialties will increase prices of its castor-based chemical products by 10-40% depending on product line. The increases are necessitated by unprecedented global price volatility on upstream castor oil feedstocks.

Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM) glycerine-to-monopropylene glycol (MPG) plant at Decatur, Illinois has entered start-up mode, the company said.

Around 75 lawsuits have been filed thus far in the growing effort to block US federal regulation of greenhouse gases, but congressional efforts to revoke those rules have little chance of success, an environmental attorney said.

SOCMA said that major congressional work to renew the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) probably would be delayed to 2013 because of many larger issues before Congress and wide disagreement about how to reform the 35-year-old statute and regulations.

I can't believe I missed this news! I must have been very busy that week (that or I was in a zombie land) when this news about Solazyme filing for IPO (initial public offering) came out on March 11.

As you've probably seen in recent previous posts, Solazyme has been very busy with the launch of its algae-based skin care line Algenist, collaboration with Dow Chemical on algal oil-based dielectric insulating fluids and partnering with Qantas airline for algae-derived jetfuel Solajet.

The SEC prospectus did not indicate how much the company is targeting but sources indicate initial target of up to $100m IPO common stock to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol SZYM. 

In its prospectus, the company indicated three target markets for its algae oils: fuels and chemicals, nutrition, skin and personal care. Unlike most other algae companies dealing in biofuels, Solazyme said its technology is based on indirect photosynthesis where it produces oils by feeding microalgae plant with sugars in dark fermentation tanks (photosynthesis usually use carbon dioxide as feedstock instead of sugars). Their sugar feedstock can be dextrose, sucrose or cellulosic-based sugars.

For the company's nutritional business, Solazyme has access to feedstock through a multi-year supply arrangements with Roquette via their Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals joint venture. The company is currently negotiating with multiple potential feedstock partners in Latin America and the United States to supply their feedstock other than for the JV's nutrition business.

I really like reading IPO prospectus as it gives me a lot more information to chew on =). Like the cost of Solazyme's oils which the company said can be below $1,000/tonne ($3.44/gal or 91cents/liter) if produced in a built-for-purpose commercial plant.

Solazyme currently operates a 600-1,000 liter pilot fermenter in San Francisco and a 75,000 liter fermentation equipment via manufacturing partners in Pennsylvania and California although the company said it mostly relies on contract manufacturing to produce its products.

The company also recently acquired a commercial production facility in Peoria, Illinois that has a fermenter capacity of 2m liters/year in order to meet demand through 2012. For its fuels and chemicals business, the company plans to bring online a commercial facility in 2013 and additional capacity in 2014 and 2015 that will be co-located at feedstock mills.

"We are currently negotiating with multiple potential feedstock partners in Latin America and the United States to co-locate oil production at their mills. We believe that our ability to utilize much of the existing mill infrastructure will allow us to build capacity at a much lower cost than green field construction." - Solazyme

Here are some of Solazyme's recent activities concerning feedstock sourcing:

• In December 2010, Solazyme said it has signed a non-binding letter of intent with one of the largest sugarcane processing companies in Brazil to form a joint venture and co-locate oil production at one or more of their sugarcane mills, which will provide up to 8 million metric tons of annual sugarcane crush.
  

• Solazyme entered into a non-exclusive and non-binding letter of intent with Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S), Hawaii's last active sugarcane mill operator.
  

• Solazyme signed a development agreement with Ecopetrol, the largest company in Colombia and one of the four major oil companies in Latin America, to evaluate manufacturing options based on Colombian sugarcane feedstocks.

I also read Solazyme's intent to enter the oleochemicals market since the company said it can cost-effectively produce individual algal oils with high capric, lauric, myristc, palmitic, oleic fatty acids content. The company said it can tailor the oil profile and modify saturation level of the oil unlike the naturally fixed oil profiles of commonly used oleochemical feedstock such as palm kernel oil (PKO) and coconut oil.

"An oleochemical facility utilizing Solazyme's PKO+ versus standard PKO could increase its output of the desired components by more than 30% (over 80% desired content in PKO+ versus approximately 60% in conventional PKO). As such, our oil would create a significant increase in value for us and our partners as outlined in the table below." - Solazyme

Near-term product applications for Solazyme's oils in this field include bar and liquid soap, detergent feedstock (such as surfactants I'm guessing), lubricants, solvents, and industrial fluids (where Solazyme is already working with Dow Chemical for dielectric fluids).

There are more fascinating information to read on but my blog is getting way too long. I mentioned before that Solazyme will be participating in the ICIS' 1st World Surfactants Conference in May 12-13 so that might be a good time to pepper Solazyme with questions if permitted since filing for IPO usually requires a quiet period of certain number of days following the filing. 

I am still working on the Weekly News Roundup but in the meantime there is an interesting and very lively discussion going on in one of LinkedIn's group that I joined regarding PepsiCo's recent announcement of its plans to use 100% plant-based polethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle.

PepsiCo said that its "green" bottle is made from raw materials such as switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. In the future, the company expects to expand its raw material sources such as orange peels, potato peels, oat hulls and other agricultural food by-products.

Pepsico plans to pilot produced the new bottle next year and intends to move directly to full-scale commercialization once the pilot scale is successfully operated.

Now, I think the key words here are "combining biological and chemical processes." PET is basically made from 15-30% ethylene glycol (MEG) and 70% terephthalic acid (TPA). Recalling Coca-Cola's Plant Bottle, their EG component is made using sugarcane-based ethylene while the TPA part is still petrochemical-based. 

Coca-Cola said at that time that in the long term, it plans to also use non-food waste such as wood chips, wheat stalks to produce their Plant-Bottle. I asked somebody from Pepsico last year (where we were both attending a conference) why the company has not made any launch like that of Coca-Cola's Plant Bottle. He said the company does not want to start making something that uses just very minimal renewable-based materials. The official did admire Coca-Cola's marketing strategy in promoting the Plant Bottle.

Last week, Coca-Cola partnered with food company H.J. Heinz in producing Heinz ketchup bottles using Coca-Cola's PlantBottle packaging. Heinz planned to globally convert to the PlantBottle packaging starting this summer.

Now, if EG can already be made 100% plant-based, who is producing 100% bio-based TPA, how is it being produced in order to get 100% renewable-based PET like what PepsiCo has, and at what cost and scale? That is the major question posted by Jim Lunt on the Linked In group Bio-based Chemicals - Grow the Industry.

One theory is that the EG portion is the one with the biological process and TPA can be produced using a thermochemical route maybe such as biomass-to-syngas.  Lunt noted companies who are interested in producing bio-based TPA such as Gevo (isobutanol to paraxylene to TPA), Draths (TPA from muconic acid), Anellotech (biomass to BTX, xylenes to TPA), and Avantium (furan dicarboxylic acid -FDCA- as a replacement for purified terephthalic acid -PTA).

There was also a link about TPA being produced through synthesis of limonenes or D-fructose. As far as Lunt was concerned, none of the technologies he mentioned are close to being commercial (but he said he could be wrong).

Unfortunately I am not an expert with TPA chemistry but I do know that Avantium is already planning to replace PET with its PEF (not sure what this stands for... polyethylene furanics???) which is composed of bio-based EG and its FDCA-based TPA alternative. The company said so during their presentation at the recent Infocast Biobased Chemicals Summit (which I was unable to attend as my attention was caught in another presentation in a different room).

I do have Frank Roerink's (Avantium's CFO) contact information so I'll definitely send him an email soon. The process technology for Avantium's FDCA involves a catalytic chemical process that uses C6 and C5 sugars from non-food biomass as feedstock. Carbohydrates of the biomass are dehydrated to produce 5-HMF derivatives, called RMF. Catalytic oxidation of RMF produces the 2,5-Furan-dicarboxylic-acid (FDCA).

According to Roerink's presentation, the price for petroleum-based PTA (which is a key building block for PET) was$1,500/ton while their FDCA (which is a key building block for their PEF) is less than EUR1,000/ton.  In terms of performance, their PEF is said to have similar or better properties compared to PET and it's also recyclable.

Avantium is further enhancing the color, molecular weight and bottle design of its PEF plastic. The company plans to have a demonstration plant of around 200-400 ton/year for its FDCA in 2012-2013 and an industrial plant with capacities between 30,000 and 50,000 tons/year is expected by 2015.

Roerink said it plans to partner with consumer goods manufacturers for commercializing PEF applications in bottles (could it be PepsiCo??), green packaging materials, green diapers and green carpets and textiles. Avantium's 20-40 ton/year pilot plant at Chemelot, the Netherlands, is expected to come onstream this year.

As like any other interested followers of this exciting bioplastic industry, the green blog hopes to get more insight soon on the who's, what's and how's regarding PepsiCo's 100% green PET bottle so I don't have to resort to pure speculation = ).

[Aerial view of Avantium's pilot facility in the Netherlands]

Here's our very,very late news roundup for the week...my apologies. Jury duty is over and my next civic duty that I should really tackle now is filing my tax report!

Solazyme is collaborating with Dow Chemical to advance the development of Solazyme's algal oils for use in bio-based dielectric insulating fluids key to transformers and other electrical applications. Dow may obtain up to 20 million gallons of Solazyme's oils for use in dielectric insulating fluids and other industrial applications in 2013 and up to 60 million gallons in 2015.

Several companies including Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, ConAgra, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Kellog, MeadWestvaco, Procter & Gamble, Tetra Pak and Sealed Air Corporation formed a new packaging trade organization called AMERIPEN that will engage on public policies impacting the packaging value chain. The trade group aims to encourage science-based decision-making on sustainable packaging initiatives.

The CO2 scrubbing research project being conducted by RWE Power, BASF and Linde will now go through a long-term test from March until the end of 2013. The CO2 scrubbing pilot plant connected to the Niederaussem lignite-fired power plant in Germany was able to reduce energy input by 20%. The new scrubbing agent also reduces the solvent consumption substantially. If the test is successful, CO2 absorbers for large-scale power plants, for example, could be made smaller and hence less costly.

Nextlife™ will begin supplying its FDA approved 100% post‐consumer recycled (PCR) polypropylene (PP) resin to Preserve for use in select products in the company's line of stylish, eco‐friendly personal care, tableware, kitchen and food storage products. Nextlife's PCR PP resins from plastic waste supplied by U.S. retailers can be mixed with virgin food grade resins or used as is to create thermoformed or injection molded products.

Envergent Technologies, a Honeywell company, has been selected by Premium Renewable Energy (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. to perform the engineering design for a project that will use Envergent's RTP® Rapid Thermal Processing technology to convert palm biomass to renewable heat and electricity. The initial Premium RTP facility will start in late 2011 and completed in early 2013. Premium expects that the first facility will be followed by additional RTP units to be built by 2020.

Coca-Cola Enterprises has entered into a joint-venture with bottle recycling firm Eco Plastics to develop a new purpose-built recycling facility in Lincolnshire, UK. The plant would Coca-Cola achieve its sustainability target of 25% R-PET content in all its plastic packaging in the UK by 2012.

Singapore is developing a "comprehensive strategy" to expand its biorenewables industry as part of a larger scheme to enhance the competitiveness of its chemicals hub on Jurong Island.

UK firm Cynar is going ahead with plans for a 6,000 tonne/year project in Ireland to convert non-recyclable waste plastics into liquid fuels, primarily diesel.

While on jury duty, I've been trying to catch up as much as I can about the impact of ongoing crisis in Japan within the chemical industry based on the coverage from ICIS. The green blog along with my ICIS colleagues are deeply saddened and very much concerned about the disaster still happening in Japan.

The principle of sustainability and green chemistry is not just focusing on improving environmental and economic aspects within the chemical industry but also the social responsibility of each companies. The blog is glad to note the humanitarian efforts of Dow Chemical and Dow Corning. I'm sure there are more companies right now doing the same thing.

My ICIS colleagues John Richardson, Malini Hariharan and special contributions from Nigel Davis on the Asian Chemical Connections blog have excellent post updates on plant shutdowns and impacts on several petrochemical markets. We are glad to hear from many chemical companies based in Japan that their employees were not harmed.  I have met so many great colleagues and acquaintances from Japan throughout my years writing for ICIS/Chemical Market Reporter and my thoughts and prayers for their safety and health go out for them.

Finally, blogger colleague Paul Hodges from the Chemicals and the Economy blog looked at the potential impacts of the Japan disaster on the petrochemical and polymers industry as well as the energy markets, end user markets, and financial markets.

By the way, a quick thought that popped in my head is that we have seen how disasters can quickly create water and energy problems. It might be time to look at how green chemistry innovation can enable the development of creating quick and efficient portable water and energy sources.

Biosuccinic acid producer BioAmber is now venturing into the bio-adipic acid market (and other intermediates) with an exclusive licensing deal with US bioengineering firm Celexion LLC.

Unfortunately, I am still on jury duty and so do not have time right now to do more information digging. Hopefully I'll be able to post more information on this recent transaction sometime soon.

BioAmber said it will leverage its succinic acid know-how, infrastruture, partnerships and customer base to accelerate the development of biobased adipic acid. In this case, Celexion owns the bio-adipic acid production technology.

"CELEXION's highly attractive metabolic pathway, coupled with our novel purification process and scale-up capabilities, gives us a clear path to biobased adipic acid that, like our biobased succinic, is lower cost and has a better environmental footprint than the current petroleum route." - BioAmber

BioAmber noted the current adipic acid market at close to 3m tons/year valued at $8bn at current market prices. Just to refresh our mind on bio-adipic acid developments, companies currently working on this area include Verdezyne and Rennovia.

(By the way, Verdezyne's VP of business development is now working at Genomatica with the same position)

Here's an article I wrote in September about bio-adipic acid development.

Genomatica announced today that food ingredient producer Tate & Lyle will produce its bio-1,4 butanediol (BDO) in Decatur, Illinois, starting third quarter this year.

Tate & Lyle seems to be profiting from being a toll manufacturer for green chemicals production, first with Amyris and now Genomatica.

Genomatica said it is ramping its fermentation process from 3,000 liter-fermentation tanks to 13,000-liter fermenters followed by an integrated downstream process for BDO recovery and purification. The company did not indicate how much BDO will be produced on the demo plant, which is co-located with a corn wet mill owned and operated by Tate & Lyle. Fermentations are expected to begin in the second quarter.

According to Genomatica, the bio-BDO produced will be used for large-volume sampling to BDO customers. Applications for the intermediate chemical include spandex (PTMEG), automotive plastics (PBT), running shoes, insulation (TPU) and other high value downstream derivatives.

As mentioned in another post before, I am actually planning on posting an article about the bio-BDO market so stay tune for that. Genomatica said it has already achieved a cost-competitive BDO product based on their pilot scale production. I guess the demo plant will be needed not only to produce sample but also to verify the cost-economics of the bio-BDO in a much larger scale. It's first world-scale commercial plant is expected to be operational around late 2013.

Genomatica did not indicate how much is the base production costs of their bio-BDO but the company did note that their direct BDO production is more cost-effective unlike the bio-BDO route from succinic acid, which Genomatica said "could add at least 20 cts/lb (€0.36/kg) to the cost of the final product."
 

I've been picked as a juror! Fortunately, the lawyers of both sides said it will be a one (or maybe two)-day trial - let's hope that's true as you never know the truth from lawyers right? Ha!

And yes, they know that I'm a blog/twitter/facebook junkie so they forbade me to do any of these things regarding the trial ;-) I'll try to hold off my fingers from my laptop/Iphone.

In the meantime, I'm still putting together the weekly news roundup and saw last week's two big announcements coming from oil firms Total based in France and BP based in the UK.

My colleague John Baker who has his Chemicals and Innovation blog first noted the announcement from Total's petrochemical business about participating in a development collaboration on producing bioethylene by dehydration of ethanol with IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and its subsidiary Axens. IFPEN is a public research center focusing on energy, transport and the environment.

This development will use Total's original proprietary catalyst for producing bioethylene, while IFPEN will complete the process development at its Lyon, France site, and Axens will finalize and prepare the technology for commercialization. The goal, they said, is to implement a new generation of catalysts for more cost-effective, energy-reducing production of polymer-grade bioethylene.

The technology is expected to be industrially implemented at the end of this year. The alliance is also developing other olefinic monomers production from bio-alcohols.

Now this is not the first time that Total Petrochemicals has ventured into the bioplastics market since its 50/50 joint venture company Futerro with lactic acid company Galactic has already inaugurated its PLA plastic pilot plant last year in Escanaffles, Belgium.

But it does makes more sense for Total Petrochemicals to look into the bio-ethanol route given that it's parent company Total has investment in bioethanol producer Coskata. Also during the Infocast Biobased Chemicals summit where Total Oil and Gas was a keynote speaker, the company indicated Total's 2011 biofuels budget is close to three times its 2009 levels as the company is seeking to capitalise on short-term government policy initiatives.

More on presentations from the Biobased Chemicals Summit in another posts.

Meanwhile, UK oil firm BP is not shy as well in investing in biofuels especially in Brazilian ethanol where the company announced its expanded acquisition of bioethanol and sugar producer Companhia Nacional de Acucar e Alcool (CNAA) for $680m.

BP said this is its biggest biofuel investment to date. Like Shell (with its Raizen JV), BP plans to be a big bioethanol producer worldwide. CFO of BP Alternative Energy Craig Coburn noted during his presentation at the recent Jefferies Clean Technologies conference in New York that biofuels is expected to play an increasing role in the global fuels mix driven by US and Brazil going forward unlike oil where its use in transport sector is expected to slow.

"Brazil will act as the swing producer, the 'Saudi Arabia' of biofuels" - Coburn

Aside from CNAA, the company's biofuels business developments interests comprise of Vivergo Fuels (wheat-to-ethanol based in Hull, UK), Vercipia Biofuels (cellulosic ethanol in the US), Butamax Advanced Biofuels (biobutanol JV with DuPont), Martek BioSciences (now owned by DSM, research in microalgae), and Tropical BioEnergia (sugarcane ethanol in Brazil).

BP said the acquisition of CNAA will not impact its 50% ownership and operation of Tropical's ethanol business in Goias, which has a production capacity of 435m liters/year of ethanol.

CNAA currently has two sugarcane mills, each has equivalent ethanol production capacity of 480m liters/year at full capacity. Another mill is currently under construction.

[Photo from BP]

The green blogger will be doing her patriotic duty and hopefully will have internet access while doing so. Not yet sure when I'll be back online but in the meantime I found this hilarious blog on ways to spice up the jury duty selection process...

This is the green blogger's first time attending the selection process and personally hoping that... "people on trial that day set tables up next to the line and offer free face painting and cotton candy."

"Green is now embedded in the DNA of every chemical industry's research and development activities"

This is what industry analyst Chris Cerimele of Houlihan Lokey noted during the Question and Answer session at the Green Chemistry panel I co-moderated in New York last week.

The panel discussion and webcast hosted by the American Chemical Society's Chemical and Marketing Economics (CM&E) group - NY chapter - was well attended with over 60 audience in total (including in the webcast), according to co-moderator Neil Burns of Neil A. Burns LLC, who also helped organized the event.

Here are some of the interesting points that took my attention during the discussion:

• Bill Barclay, the co-founder of Martek BioSciences (now part of DSM) noted that investors are too impatient when it comes to the development of algae-based biofuel. According to Barclay, there are still some major technical issues needed to be resolved for algae biofuels which could take years and he is worried that there are people/companies that are promising short term returns.
  


"On algae photosynthesis, the industry needs to have patience as it will take 10-15 years before that technology comes online for biofuels. They have to figure out how to harvest efficiently as well as deliver carbon dioxide efficiently as feedstock. This is an exciting area but they really need a strong dose of patience here." - Barclay

Barclay predicts that there is going to be a negative impact on algae biofuels in the next year or two because of overpromising the technology too fast and too soon.

Martek BioSciences is actually currently working with BP on algae biofuels since 2009 and said that the companies have already identified several processes in the last 5 years to be able to make cheaper biofuels. Barclay noted that they were able to change the fatty acid profiles to match those currently used for biofuels in Europe.

Martek is also gearing up to enter the biochemicals market with its successful microalgae technology and noted polymers and surfactants as "potential areas" where their organisms can be very adaptable.

• Jason Anderson, manager of Novomer's Polymers Business Development, noted the biggest barrier for bioplastic in general is still performance. He cited the problems being encountered with using polylactic acid (PLA) resins (case in point is the SunChips bags) as well as in vegetable oil-based polyols (automotive companies can only use a very small portion of it in their overall foam use because of smell issue, not as reactive, etc..)
  


"We have to replace existing plastics which have been around for decades. It needs to match and exceed all the end product performance characteristics which is a huge challenge. There is also the entire processing infrastructure that the industry needs to adapt to. If you need a different type of extruder or film blower to make your polymer work -- that could be almost a game stopper." - Anderson

 Having a green product to offer is a door opener but the company does not count on getting any sort of premiums especially when competing in the commodity plastics market. Novomer is currently developing its polypropylene carbonate (PPC) made from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide, and polyethylene carbonate (PEC) made from carbon dioxide and ethylene oxide.

Initial applications focus for the carbon dioxide polymers is in thermosets and eventually in thermoplastics. According to Novomer, application testing from customers is already underway for coatings, composite resins and foams application. Coating resins is especially an attractive application for Novomer's technology given the current issue surrounding bisphenol-A (BPA).

• Houlihan Lokey's Cerimele presented his views on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and initial public offerings (IPOs) concerning green chemistry technologies. In the M&A area, the value is usually when a particular technology fits into the buyer's business needs (e.g, to solve their regulatory or technical problems such as having water-based or low-VOC solvents products). Development of green products in adhesives and sealants markets is particularly being driven by regulations.
  

"Right now there are traditional chemical companies who have green products on their portfolio but either it is too expensive or their efficacy is not up to par," said Cerimele.

On the IPO front, Cerimele noted only five companies (associated with green chemistry) that venture into this area since 2008. Most of them were losing money when they went public (and are selling on a promise) but there had been continuous strong level of enthusiasm and interests from investors.


"These IPOs generally traded up after they closed. There is significant investor interests in the equity community for these even though they tend to be in an earlier stage."- Cerimele

Cerimele noted industries such as adhesives and sealants, surfactants and preservatives (and other consumer products-oriented chemicals) as areas of opportunities for green chemistry companies to focus on.

I just finished my biochemicals article, which will be included in the National Petrochemical and Refineries Association (NPRA) supplement to be distributed on March 28 at their international meeting in San Antonio, Texas. 

The article focuses on the commercialization advancement of succinic acid, biobased 1,4 butanediol (BDO) and bio-acrylic acid. With Metabolix, I was actually surprised how advanced the company's commercialization goals for their C4 chems focusing on the pyrrolidones and BDO segment of the market. Metabolix just announced its Q4 and full 2010 earnings yesterday.

The company tailors its polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) technology to produce a range of C2-C5 chemicals using a common fermentation and recovery process. Metabolix says it will first focus on C4s and C3s. Metabolix has already successfully scaled up the fermentation process for its gamma butyrolactone (GBL), and production of bio-BDO based on direct hydrogenation of GBL will follow, said CEO Rick Eno.

"Metabolix is aiming to deliver product samples to potential customers before the end of first quarter this year and we expect to meet this commitment." - Eno

For the GBL market, the company estimates market size potential at $800m where most of the applications are in solvents and personal care. The company expects attractive returns from this market with crude oil priced at $60-70/bbl. Partnership discussions are already ongoing for this development, according to Metabolix.

For bio-BDO, a whopping $2.5bn market potential mostly going to engineering resins, fabrics and even for GBL is very attractive indeed! No wonder there are so many interests in the BDO sector especially now that prices are going up (according to ICIS). Traditional producers such as BASF and ISP just recently hiked their BDO prices.

I will put a separate post about the bio-BDO market in April based on some of my interviews with Metabolix, Genomatica, Myriant and BioAmber.

Back to Metabolix, the company said it has also already demonstrated proof of concept for C3 chemicals first targeting the $7bn acrylics and acrylates market. Other products the company is currently examining include maleic anhydride, n-butanol and polyurethane additives.

Metabolix noted that all of their chemical activities are outside of the Telles joint venture.

Speaking of Telles, the bioplastic business has been very busy this week with the following announcements:

• Sustainable thermoplastic developer TECNARO GmbH is incorporating Mirel bioplastic into its Arboblend line of biodegradable thermoplastics. TECNARO customers are currently using Arboblend for a variety of products in the household and sporting goods markets. TECNARO's new offering will combine Mirel with other biopolymers including lignin, starch, cellulose, organic additives, natural resins/waxes and natural reinforcing fibers.

• Canadian film producer AL-PACK Enterprises will launch a new home and garden mulch filrm based on Mirel bioplastic.

• Dutch supplier of home aquarium systems Reef Interests is launching a biodegradable product based on Mirel for managing waste generated in aquariums and marine environments. The product will be sold throughout the US, Europe, Russia, China, and other key markets.

Another news from Metabolix is the advancement of its research in producing PHA in non-food biomass crops. The company said its multi-gene expression technology has already resulted in PHA levels of up to 9% of the total plant weight in test tobacco crop. PHA levels of up to 17% were found in leaf tissue.

You can get more information on Telles and Metabolix's activities in their recent presentation at the Jefferies Clean Technologies conference.

There are several news that came out this week especially from Metabolix and Solazyme (a bird told me Genomatica is also coming out with something), that I have my hands full with the weekly news roundup. Let's start first with those that came out last week...

Genomatica raises $45m
Genomatica has raised $45m with new investors that include VantagePoint Venture Partners, Bright Capital and Waste Management. The new cash inflow will be used to complete the company's bio-butanediol (BDO) demonstration scale production planned for this year. Genomatica plans to have its first commercial scale plant start operating in late 2013.

Evonik has acquired the biodegradable polymer portfolio Resomer from Boehringer Ingelheim. The degradable RESOMER® polymers are made from lactic acid and glycolic acid for use mostly in pharmaceutical and medical applications.

Alpha Natural Resources has purchased 10.3% equity stake of Alexandria, Va.-based CERATECH, Inc. (CTI), with the option to increase to 28.3% if certain criteria are met. CTI manufactures cement that utilizes 95% waste fly ash from electric utilities, an alternative to portland cement.

Monsanto will make an equity investment in algae developer Sapphire Energy (financial numbers undisclosed) as well as formed a multi-year collaboration on the discovery of algae genes that could be applied to agriculture. 

Advanced Ethanol group formed
US-based Renewable Fuels Association has formed the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC), which will focus on accelerating the commercialization of advanced ethanol. Founding companies include Abengoa Bioenergy, BlueFire Renewables, Coskata, Enerkem, Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inbicon, Iogen, Mascoma, Osage Bio Energy and Qteros.

ISP's biodegradable Sorez® polymers have been declared Ecolabel compliant within the European Union (EU) and may now be included in cleaning products formulation such as all-purpose cleaners and cleaners of sanitary facilities. ISP's Sorez® HS 205 polymer is based on vinyl pyrrolidone.

US petrochemical, chemical and refining interests welcomed The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to postpone the March 31 deadline for industrial reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

European recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) colourless flake prices extended their record highs due to tight supply and strong demand.

Bipartisan US Senate and House members moved to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, charging that the agency has exceeded its authority.

I'm still assembling my weekly news roundup but decided again to separate biofuels as there seem to be several interesting ones that came out last week

BASF plans to build its second Latin American sodium methylate plant in Rosario, Argentina with annual capacity of 60,000 tonne. It's first biodiesel catalyst plant located in Brazil will start at the end of 2011. The company said it wants to strengthen its regional presence in one of the most important growth markets for biodiesel.

Japan-based Itochu Corporation has purchased shares in US biofuel catalyst developer Benefuel, to develop low-cost and efficient biodiesel manufacturing in Asia. Benefuel's catalyst called bifunctional solid catalyst can convert low quality fat, oil and fatty acids into biodiesel without the need to purify the feedstock. Itochu aims to develop biodiesel operations using the catalyst in Asian markets by 2012.

Algae-based ethanol developer Algenol has acquired Germany-based Cyano Biofuels, which the company said has extensive experience in producing hybrid algae for ethanol and green chemicals feedstock. Algenol plans to build a pilot-scale biorefinery this year.

Renewable diesel producer Neste oil will increase its use of waste fat for production of its NExBTL renewable diesel this year. Palm oil will account for under 50% of total raw material use followed by waste animal fat at under 20% of its raw material input, stearin (byproduct of palm oil production process) at over 20%, palm fatty acid distillate at 5-10%, and the rest will include vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil.
  A team of chemical engineers at the University of Arkansas has developed a method for converting common algae into butanol. Carbohydrates are extracted from algae and converted into natural sugars, which can then be fermented into organic acids - butyric, lactic and acetic. The researchers use electrodeionization to isolate butyric acid for conversion to butanol. The researchers is currently working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to create biofuel from algae grown at the Rockaway Wastewater treatment plant in Queens.

I am still working on the Weekly News Roundup including a separate Biofuel News roundup but in the meantime, I want to acknowledge BSchool.com, an online MBA school information and resources, for including Green Chemicals blog in its list of 50 Best Blogs for green business students.

Not sure if the blog has been included in any list before but it is exciting and encouraging to hear that MBA students are interested in the economics and new technologies coming from the green chemistry field.

The blog was included under the category "Industry and Engineering"  citing an archived post about green buildings trend as a recommended read.

Thank you very much for putting the blog on the list!

[Photo image by Go Green Blog]

Exciting news from Solazyme this morning as the company announced its microalgae-based skin care line Algenist will now be available in Sephora stores and on television shopping channel QVC (my favorite shopping channel actually).

Solazyme said its Algenist anti-aging skincare products include its patented alguronic acid, a polysaccharide extracted from microalgae. In the company's website, Alguronic acid is said to prevent DNA damage and stimulates collagen and elastin production. It can be delivered either directly in personal care formulations or in Filling Spheres prepared in anhydrous solution.

It has been awhile since I last wrote articles about the cosmetic and personal care market and so I am not sure if there are other new microalgae ingredients out there with the same type of applications and benefits. I do wonder what type of applications Solazyme is working with Unilever.

The company's Health Sciences business is currently developing a class of ingredient products also based on microalgae that can serve as a delivery vehicle in personal care formulations for a variety of oil-based micronutrients (I'm quoting their website on this). Initial product targets include shampoo and conditioner formulations and skin moisturizer.

Back to the Algenist news, the line will have four initial product offerings that will include concentrated serum, two moisturizers (one with SPF 20), and eye renewal balm.

By the way, Solazyme will be presenting in ICIS' 1st World Surfactants conference to be held in May 12-13 in New Jersey. I am very excited about this conference as it has been a long time since I last attended a surfactants presentation packed with market information on commodity chemicals such as LAB, EO, alcohols, oleochemicals; trends on cosmetics and personal care affecting the surfactants industry; M&A within the surfactants market; and new renewable-based chemistries in the industry (Elevance Renewable Sciences will also present in this category).

This news I actually first heard during Codexis' presentation in a recent Clean Technologies conference hosted by investment and securities firm Jefferies & Co. 

According to Codexis' Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer Robert Lawson, the company hopes to soon begin commercial production of detergent alcohols using sugar as feedstock. Detergent alcohols will be Codexis' first chemical product target for their planned bio-based chemicals portfolio.

"We have already produced laboratory-scale detergent alcohols today," said Lawson. "We first plan on using sugar as feedstock and proceed to biomass in the near future."

Codexis said the technology its developing with Shell on cellulosic biofuel can also be applied to develop renewable detergent alcohols. By the way, take note that Shell is still a producer of synthetic detergent alcohol so it's definitely beneficial for Codexis to learn the market from a pro (and maybe even beneficial for Shell to diversify its alcohols portfolio...).

During Lawson's presentation, he noted the rising prices of detergent fatty alcohols since last year which is now at around $2,000-3,000/ton (showing ICIS' fatty alcohols historical pricing charts). Detergent alcohols, according to him, constitute a 2m tonne global market which mostly goes to consumer products.

"Consumer products companies that use detergent alcohols are concerned about sustainability and price volatility," said Lawson. "Approximately 75% of the global detergent alcohol capacity is derived from the conversion of natural oils and fats, the remaining 25% is produced synthetically from petroleum. There is a correlation between fluctuating crude oil prices and vegetable oil prices, which results in unpredictable costs and volatile margins for consumer products companies that formulate these alcohols into final products. We believe that our renewable detergent alcohols can address concerns of both sustainability and price volatility."

According to Codexis, over half of the global detergent alcohols demand goes into household detergents that include laundry liquids and powders, dishwashing liquids and hard surface cleaners. Around 20% is in personal care products and the remaining half consists of industrial and institutional cleaners as well as other smaller applications.

Nothing definitive was announced on when the company expects to start commercialization although there were news reports that products are starting to make their way into customer trials in the first half of this year, demonstration of its technology expected this year, and a rapid drive towards commercialization underway before year end.

For those who like to see some chemistry, you might be interested in this patent submitted by Codexis this year on fatty alcohols production using certain enzymes.

In another recent news from Codexis, the company announced last week its significant progress towards developing economical, commercial scale technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. The program is supported by an ARPA-E Recovery Act program grant, which supports development of custom enzymes to decrease energy needed to capture CO2 from coal-fired power plants.

The enzymes carbonic anhydrase (CA) or biocatalysts developed by Codexis have been shown to be functional and stable in relatively inexpensive and energy efficient solvents for 24 hours at temperatures up to 75 degrees Celsius. Use of these solvents with fully developed enzymes is expected to reduce the energy needed to capture CO2 within the plant by 30%.

Before all my interviews get buried deep in my draft box, let's start with Bioformix' CEO Adam Malofsky, which I had a great time talking with during the Infocast Biobased Chemicals summit in San Diego. California

The green blog has heard of Bioformix last year in June through fellow blogger Green Underworld. Until recently, I have not found much information about the company and its technology except a press release in May last year when the company raised $1.05m in venture capital funding from CincyTech and Queen City Angels (QCA).

During my interview, I get to learn more about adhesives, sealants and coatings where some of the issues centered on solvent use, curing times, energy costs, curing efficacy and of course, issues with bisphenol-A. This is actually an industry I'm not really familiar with so I did lots of googling although when it comes to Bioformix' monomer platform - di-substituted vinyl monomers - I really had a hard time finding information!

Now, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company was founded in September 2009 by mostly ex-employees of "super glue" developer Loctite company (which was acquired by Henkel in 1997). According to Malofsky, their monomers has been known for decades but every previous attempt to commercialize the product (until know) has failed.

"Historically, di-substituted vinyl monomers were very unstable and have very poor yields. No one has been able to make it commercial. We discovered the secrets last year and was able to develop a quantitative process with a 90% plus yield," said Malofsky.

The company filed broad-scale IP on the multiple processes for the monomer manufacture, use of the specific, proper stabilizer systems in the monomer manufacturing process as well as their formulation, storage and transportation. Bioformix has partnered with contract manufacturer Shepherd Chemical for toll production of the monomer, which Malofsky said can easily be around 3m lbs/year.

Now the fun part about their monomers, according to Malofsky, is that they can make high performance resins and polymers that provides epoxy-like bonds with high-speed curing at ambient temperatures. Imagine having an adhesive and coatings that can stick instantly without applying heat and at the same time compostable and metabolically compatible (I guess it means you can chew on it as much as you want...maybe they have fruity flavors too...). The polymers are said to exhibit excellent UV and light resistance, as well as thermal, solvent and water resistance.

"Energy savings are the dominant feature via a high speed (seconds or less) cure that requires no heat input. By example, eliminating heat for adhesive and binder cure allows for dramatic energy savings and the selection of lower cost, non-heat resistant materials in products." - Malofsky

Bioformix' first target applications is in light assembly adhesives that could include consumer electronics assembly and consumer adhesives. These are the low-volume, high margin applications  where their polymers could demand price anywhere between $25/lb to $1000/lb. 

"We can be profitable almost immediately. We are bringing out products that we can essentially sell for $200/lb in small volumes and ride that technology over a period time to commoditization," said Malofsky.  

The company's monomer's feedstock, acetic acid, can be sourced from petroleum-based materials (which currently what the company is using) or biological-based materials such as direct fermentation from sugar. Bioformix expects to start looking into renewable-based feedstock next year. Malofsky said they can easily switch feedstock as needed.

Bioformix could already supply 1,000kg/day of the monomers if required, although Malofsky noted that they're more focused on selling formulated products and finding an application instead of substituting a chemical. Long term, the company expects to sell the monomers at prices well below $1/lb, which can compete against acrylics, epoxies, urethanes and reactive polymers.

"We will start selling in adhesives and coatings this fall until early 2012. Within the first three years, we expect to complete higher production scale strategic partnerships for both monomer and polymer manufacture as well as application development," said Malofsky.

The company is said to be working already with leading adhesive and coatings players in several application areas. The companies business strategy in end market applications is to license as well as set up a separate startup with another venture group. The company will also be looking to form strategic partnership with a large chemical company for the monomer manufacture.

Here is a video of the blog's interview with Adam Malofsky:

Dutch ingredient company Purac and its partner, Thailand-based polyester supplier Indorama Ventures PLC (IVL) are now in discussions for the construction of their new polylactic acid (PLA) plant in Rayong, Thailand, which will have initial capacity of 10,000 ton/year and capable of expanding into 100,000 tons/year.

IVL will market the PLA as a green polymer alternative for packaging materials, fibers and non-woven textiles through its existing global marketing and sales network. Lactide monomers feedstock for the PLA production will be sourced from Purac's lactides production plant in Rayong, Thailand, as well as from other Purac sites.

ICIS news reported late last year of Purac's intention to start up the PLA plant around fourth quarter of 2011. Also late last year, Purac announced their development of a PLA compound with heat stability and impact strength comparable to the common thermoplastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Purac noted that the global lactic acid market is currently estimated at 250,000 tons excluding the volume used to produce PLA.

According to Edward Ludwig, Purac's business development manager, the company is aiming to create superior heat resistant PLA based on L and D lactides for its second generation PLA product. The third generation PLA will be based on a gypsum-free lactic acid process that are carbon neutral, while the 4th generation PLA will use biomass as substrate.

[Photo source from NViroplast.com]

My draft box is piling up with pending posts from the Infocast Biobased Chemicals Summit (I had an interesting conversation with Bioformix CEO Adam Malofsky which I'll put out soon) as well as from my attendance of the annual Jefferies Clean Technologies meeting last week where several renewable and big chemical companies update investors of their green strategies for the year.

Tomorrow, I'll be co-moderating the CM&E Green Chemistry Panel and it will be interesting to get views from Martek Biosciences, Novomer and Houlihan Lokey. For now, let's start with the very much delayed Weekly News Roundup:

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has placed a significant order of DFSustain deicer made with DuPont's Susterra bio-propanediol (PDO). DFsustain has the potential to use up to 40% less energy in manufacturing than more traditional fluids. In performance tests, the fluid was effective at temperatures as low as -40ºC, the company said.

Amyris has partnered with Givaudan, which will develop a derivative of BiofeneTM (farnasene) to be used as a building block for one Givaudan's most important proprietary fragrance ingredients. Givaudan intends to market and distribute the final product as early as 2012.

Eastman Chemical has completed debottlenecking of its manufacturing capacity for Eastman 168™ non-phthalate plasticizer at its Kingsport, Tenn., USA, facility. The approximate 10% increase in capacity came on stream at the end of 2010. Demand is said to be rising for the plasticizer in toys, childcare articles, medical devices and a wide range of other consumer applications worldwide.

IOI-Loders Croklaan shipped its first bulk vessel shipment of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified sustainable palm oil to North America. The palm oil will be kept fully segregated during transport to the IOI-Loders Croklaan refinery and will be offered to customers beginning April.

Glycos Biotechnologies (GlycosBio) has been granted the BioNexus Status, a recognition awarded by the Malaysian Government, through BiotechCorp, to qualified companies that participate in and undertake value-added biotechnology activities. To date, 187 companies have been granted the BioNexus status and ten of these companies have United States shareholding.

Changes in lubricant refining technology have led to a decline in the supply of petroleum wax, and have opened the door for alternative wax formulations to grab market share, a study released by the Kline research group said.

Shell Global Solutions International and China's Wison Engineering have signed an agreement to jointly develop a hybrid gasification technology demonstration plant.

US government actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the long term would only have a modest credit impact on most segments of the chemicals industry, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said.

The EU is to ban six chemical substances (musk xylene,and phthlates MDA, HBCDD, DEHP, BBP, DBP) that are classifed as being of very high concern within the next three to five years unless it grants authorization for their use, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said.