October 2011 Archives

The blog was able to interview the CEO of Seattle-based Blue Marble BioMaterials Kelly Ogilvie and get to know the company. At first the blog compared Blue Marble BioMaterials (we'll call it BMB for short) to Allylix and Amyris as the company also aims to target the food, flavorings and cosmetic markets with their fermentation-based terpenes, organic acids and natural esters products.

The difference is BMB's use of waste feedstock specifically fermentation residues like spent grains from beer manufacture and spent coffee grounds. The company does not genetically modify bacteria but instead combines different species of bacteria and hybridize them to produce the molecules they want.

So here's how their AGATE (Acid, Gas, and Ammonia Targeted Extraction) process works: The feedstock go through emulsification, subcritical and supercritical extractions followed by a fermentation process which is a hybridization of up to 9 different varieties of molecules. One of the byproducts is hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production which is converted into mercaptans and thiols for food flavorings and personal care applications.

The waste stream undergoes pyrolysis and gasification creating syngas while fermentation and distillation produces natural esters and organic acids. Supercritical extraction meanwhile yields carotenoids, terpenes and oils.

BMB has been around since 2005 and currently has 10 employees. The company started this year its zero-waste 100,000 liters/month commercial biorefinery in Missoula, Montana, which will initially produce around 60-70% carboxylic acid (mixtures of butyric, propionic, formic acids), and 30-40% natural esters. The first product BMB plans to sell into the market are thiol esters for savory flavoring applications -- think of curry flavored potato chips or coffee-flavored chewing gum ;-).

The facility is expected to produce 72 tons/year of fine chemicals. Around 70% of the production in Montana are already under customer agreements, said Ogilvie.

In terms of feedstock, the company is sourcing spent grains from Colorado via its partner, which is a global beer manufacturer. Unfortunately, the blog's lips is sealed when it comes to the name of the beer company but if you watch the video, you might find out who that is ;-). Just making sure it didn't come from me!

The best part of collaborating with a beer manufacturer, according to Ogilvie, is that they can access its fermentation expertise.

"The lesson of the brewing industry indicates that there will be more emphasis on local production, based on access to feedstock with resulting product differentiation."- Ogilvie

BMB said it is targeting 5% of the global specialty chemicals and flavors/fragrance and cosmetics markets, which is projected to reach $5.5 trillion and $69.3bn, respectively, by 2025.

Another interesting point that BMB noted is that aside from using waste for feedstock, beer and coffee are actually among the top five most consumed liquids in the world (#1 water, #2 petroleum, #3 tea, #4 beer, #5 coffee). That means, there will be plenty of spent grains and coffee grounds worldwide to get into. Of course, the company can also use waste woods and algae but I guess using beer mash and coffee grounds for feedstock does makes sense.

Beer and coffee? Sounds like a biorefinery tailor-made for college students like me ;-).

Back to BMB, the company emphasized it's zero-waste system given that the company recycles water through a reverse osmosis system; biogas using algae remediation systems developed by partner Bionavitas; and solid waste materials using gasification and pyrolysis reactors.

By the way, why pick Montana for their biorefinery site and not Washington State? Ogilvie said Montana was very generous in terms of funding. Regulatory environment and cost to market were also lower in Montana, he said.

In terms of financials, the Montana biorefinery costs around $1.3m to $1.5m, which is not a huge investment compared to petrochemical-based projects, said Ogilvie. The company has raised $4.1 million since 2005 and received a $30,000 matching grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to study possible use of woody biomass in its processes.

The challenge, according to Ogilvie, is separating salts from water, and water from chemicals - which is where most of the operating costs are focused on.

BMB's long-term vision includes developing partnerships to build facilities at several major breweries to manufacture drop-in chemicals from spent grains and other wastes created on-site.

Last year, BMB partnered with global chemical distributor Sigma- Aldrich which will assist BMB with quality assurance procedures in order to bring renewable chemicals to market. BMB also signed memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with two global flavoring houses for purchase agreements starting this year.

I guess you could call this Halloween a nice treat for Michigan-based Draths Corporation as the blog found Amyris' intention in an October 28 filing notice at the US Security and Exchange Commission to buy Draths for an undisclosed sum.

Draths, if readers don't know this company yet, has the fermentation technology to produce renewable-based monomers from muconic acid that can lead to production of 100% bio-based polymer such as nylon and PET. The company's product portfolio includes bio-based terephthalic acid (PTA), caprolactam, adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine (HMDA).

The company just said in June that it was planning to scale up its bio-PTA for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to 1,000 kilograms in 2012 and commercial production of around 100m kg by 2015. The same timeline and scale was planned for bio-caprolactam for the manufacture of polyamide 6.

The blog wonders if that goal will be accelerated with Amyris' acquisition. Amyris already raised $7m in an equity sale as "partial consideration for purchase of all of Drath's assets." I'm guessing Amyris will formally announced this acquisition in its third quarter conference call tomorrow (November 1).

Unfortunately, the tricks are all on Drath's 38 employees, which has been laid off since the company disclosed the acquisition on October 18 when the Lansing State Journal broke the news. According to LSJ, Drath's CEO Dex Brown will not be staying with the company

A Draths employee also announced the sale of some of the company's remaining assets including a wide range of  lab equipments on a LinkedIn group since October 17. There might be some left for those who are interested.

Here are some of Draths' intellectual property by the way.

These are some of the bioplastic news that have been piling up in my draft box for the last several months. I am actually working on a bioplastic article for ICIS Chemical Business' November 21 green chemicals issue so these are worth looking over especially as I am focusing more on the consumer side of the market.

Hopefully, several brand owners who have recently announced the use of bioplastic in their product packaging will take pity on me and talk to me soon (my deadline is looming!).

For a little macroeconomics background on bioplastic, BCC Research estimated the global biodegradable polymers market to reach 932m lbs this year and to further increase to 2.5bn lbs by 2016 at a compound annual growth rate of 22% for the 5-year period. The market reached 771m lbs in 2010. The packaging segment accounted for 70% of the  market in terms of total volume in 2010. This sector reportedly will reach 656m lbs this year and should increase to 1.7bn lbs in 2016.

Consumer news:

• AT&T started using sugarcane-based PE for its branded accessory packaging mostly device cases and power accessories as of October 2.

• Coca-Cola introduced PlantBottle packaging to Africa as it opens a new facility that will manufacture the company's Valpre Spring Water manufacturing plant in Heidelberg, southeast of Johannesburg. Coca-Cola also rolled out its PlantBottle packaging in the UK starting September. Coca-Cola suggested on this NNFCC article that the company's next generation renewable packaging could be released by 2014.

• Nestle is using more bioplastic materials in its product portfolio. Nestle is currently involved in over 30 projects to introduce bioplastics in its product packaging portfolio worldwide. Third generation bioplastics made from non-food source is also in the pipeline but scale availability will be unlikely until at least 2015. In August, Nestle also launched bioplastic caps for its milk brands Ninho and Molico in Brazil.The bioplastic caps were developed in partnership with Tetra Pak and Braskem.

• Danone's Activia and Danonhinho Fermented milk brands hit the shelves in August and September, respectively, in containers using Braskem's sugarcane-based polyethylene plastic.

• Toyota Motor is now using bio-PET in the seat trim, floor carpets, and other interior surfaces of its redesigned Sai hybrid car in Japan. Toyota has also been using bio-PET in the trunk lining of its Lexus CT 200h, which was launched in January 2011.

• Fuji Xerox has been developing biomass-based plastics to replace petroleum-based plastic parts in copy machines and printers. The biomass plastic consists of 30% or more polylactic acid (PLA) by weight. This plastic has obtained the "BiomassPla logo" of the Japan BioPlastics Association (JBPA) and is already being used in some of Fuji Xerox products.

Chemical News:

• Henkel has collaborated with Tecnaro in the development of new renewable-based polyamide additives that upgrade the performance of bioplastics. The additives based on dimer fatty acids are said to be capable of reducing processing temperature and improving impact resistance and fiber-matrix adhesion of bioplastics formulation.

• Dow Plastic Additives has introduced PARALOID BPM-520, a new impact modifier that improves the impact resistance of opaque, injection-molded polylactic acid (PLA) articles with minimal effect on heat distortion temperature and stiffness.PARALOIDTM BPM-520 is produced by Dow in Jurong, Singapore and is available for sale in Asia, Europe and South America.

• Brazilian chemical company Braskem and European bioplastic compounder FKuR are collaborating on development and commercialization of tailor-made sugarcane-based polyethylene (PE) compounds in Europe.

• Germany-based Rhein Chemie has launched new additives for biobased polyesters trademarked BioAdimide for durable applications. BioAdimide™ additives are specially suited to improve the hydrolysis resistance of bio-based polyester, specifically polylactide (PLA).

• BASF has developed latex for carpet backing adhesives to be made with a minimum of 10% renewable materials.Trademarked STYROFAN ECO 4810, the latex reportedly achieves key product performance levels targeted by both residential and commercial carpet manufacturers.

• Teijin has developed film and sheet versions of its BIOFRONT highly heat-resistant polylactic acid bioplastic, which is available as fiber and resin. BIOFRONT reportedly has a melting point of at least 210ºC, has good hydrolytic stability and achieves semi-crystallization in just 20-25% of the time required by conventional bioplastic, making it an excellent choice for molded plastic, clothing and interior materials.

• Italian plastic converter Andolfi has partnered with Telles, the bioplastic joint venture between Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to launch a compostable bag product line based Mirel bioplastic.  The compostable bags will be for retail shops, supermarkets and for use inorganic waste collection.

• Trellis Earth Products has filed two new patents for bioplastics technology with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The first patent covers improved method of bioplastics formulation and technology for the Company's starch/hybrid blend, enabling the production of a food safe, waterproof, injection moldable and thermoformable blend at approximately 70% biomass. The second patent covers implementation of next generation technology blend for a bioplastic that uses byproducts such as wheat chaff and soybean hulls as feedstock.

• EcoLogic's Eco-One additives for enhancing biodegradation of plastics are now being used by La Primera de Cuyo, a leading manufacturer of flexible packaging in Argentina, in a new line of polyethylene plastic bags. In accordance with ASTM D5511, EcoLogic said the plastic bags will undergo significant biodegradation in biologically active landfills.

• Minerals Technologies has launched a new product line of engineered mineral additives designed for bioplastic-based consumer disposables such as packaging, food and beverage service ware, gift cards, signage, films and bags. EMforce® Bio improves the impact resistance and ductility of biopolymers. UltraTalc® 609 and MicroTuff® AGD 609 are nucleating agents for semi-crystalline biopolymers that increase stiffness and melt strength of bioplastics containing PLA and PHA.

Italian chemical firm Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi (M&G) and its engineering and technology subsidiary Chemtex have been very busy this year with regards to partnerships and collaborations on the renewable chemicals and biofuels front.

The recent ones are Chemtex's collaborations with Brazilian biofuels and biochemicals company GraalBio Investimentos SA and the formation of BETA RENEWABLES with TPG Capital and TPG Biotech -- both news announced on October 13.

Let's start with the joint venture firm BETA RENEWABLES, which was established to exclusively license Chemtex's PROESA Technology into the global marketplace. PROESA enables cost-effective production of fermentable sugars from cellulosic biomass, which can then be converted into biofuel and other chemical products and intermediates.

If readers recall, some of the companies that are expected to benefit from PROESA included Codexis on the development of ceelulosic biomass-based detergent alcohols; Genomatica on the production of cellulosic biomass-based 1,4 butanediol (BDO); Novozymes with its partnership with M&G for the production of cellulosic ethanol in Crescentino, Italy; and Colombiana de Biocombustibles Celulosicos (COLBIOCEL) for sugarcane bagasse-based cellulosic ethanol using the PROESA process.

TPG and M&G are investing a total capital of EUR250m into BETA RENEWABLES in which M&G will hold a majority stake. BETA RENEWABLES will handle the pilot plant in Tortona, Italy and the 40,000 tpy cellulosic ethanol plant being constructed in Crescentino.

The GraalBio deal will also use the PROESA process for the construction of cellulosic ethanol plant in Brazil. The new facility is expected to begin operation in 2013. Chemtex and GraalBio said they are currently in discussion towards broader development and production of biofuels and biochemicals in Brazil.

Speaking of Brazil, I just wanted to mention that US renewable chemical firm Cobalt Technologies recently announced its partnership with French specialty chemical firm Rhodia in the development and production of sugarcane bagasse-based n-butanol for biofuel and chemicals use throughout Latin America.

I will soon have an interview with Cobalt Technologies CEO Rick Wilson to know more about this partnership so stay tune!

The blog apologizes for the delay in my NatureWorks/PTT interview story on ICIS Chemical Business. This was supposed to come out and October 24 and will now be out on November October 31. In the meantime, here is a free access link on my story about Japanese chemical companies and their renewables chemicals strategies.

The story is part of ICB's Japan issue published this week. For the blog, here are this week's news roundup:

Solazyme and Unilever continued their collaboration deal with a new commercial development agreement, which is funded by Unilever to expand the companies' current research and development efforts. Initially, the two parties will continue focusing innovation efforts on the production of tailored oils for use in soap and personal care product applications, while committing additional efforts to developing new tailored oils for use in other applications.

Amyris and ETH Bioenergia, a Brazilian producer of ethanol, electric energy and sugar will form a joint venture to produce Biofene®, Amyris's renewable farnesene by 2014. The JV would be able to access up to 2m tons/year of sugarcane crush capacity at one of ETH's greenfield mills in Brazil. The joint venture will be controlled by ETH, and Amyris will have exclusive marketing rights for the Biofene produced at the facility.

Verenium has entered into an agreement with Comerica Bank and the Export-Import Bank of the United States ("Ex-Im Bank") for two 18-month, secured revolving credit facilities totaling up to $13m. The proceeds of these facilities will be used for general working capital purposes. Verenium has also put in place a facility for up to $3m in secured equipment financing to help support the planned build-out of its research and bioprocess development laboratories and corporate headquarters in San Diego.

Arcadia Biosciences received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) worth $950,000 to develop technology that enables plants to produce high levels of oil in their leaves and stems. The technology could significantly increase the amount of energy produced by plants, making the production of biofuels and other oleochemicals more cost efficient and environment friendly. Vegetable oil is the most concentrated source of energy made by plants, but is usually made only in seeds.

EcoLogic's Eco-One additives for enhancing biodegradation of plastics are now being used by La Primera de Cuyo, a leading manufacturer of flexible packaging in Argentina, in a new line of polyethylene plastic bags. In accordance with ASTM D5511, EcoLogic said the plastic bags will undergo significant biodegradation in biologically active landfills.

Ford and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company are researching the use of coconut fiber reinforcement for molded plastic parts in automobiles. Coconut coir is a natural fiber from the husk of a coconut, and ScottsMiracle-Gro uses the material as a carrier for its soils and grass seed products. In a car interior, the material could be used in storage bins, door trim, seat trim or center console substrates. It could also potentially be used on underbody and exterior trim. Ford is currently testing the material's properties to ensure it passes all of the company's durability tests and if it has natural flame-retardant properties.

• Japan's Mitsui Chemicals signed a fundamental agreement with a group of companies experienced in renewable energy to study the feasibility and collaboration in building a solar and wind electricity generation facility at Midorigahma in Tahara City, Japan.

• The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is interested in investing in Brazilian bioresearch projects related to the transformation of biomass into chemical products and polymers as well as biofuels, Brazilian business intelligence firm Maxiquim said.

• Troubles facing the UK bioethanol industry.

• German producer LANXESS hopes Asian countries would adopt tire labeling to give consumers informed choices in a push for wider use of fuel-efficient or "green tires", company executives said.

So many news that came out while I am away (Solazyme, Amyris, Cobalt Technologies, Chemtex...). Thank goodness for free wifi in Vienna airport so I have 15 minutes to write this post about BioAmber and Lanxess working on biosuccinic-based plasticizers.

By the way, just wanted to let my readers know that I already suspected some sort of partnership will happen between the two companies when BioAmber announced that it is building a 17,000 tonne/year bio-succinic acid plant in Sarnia, Canada, given that Lanxess' bio-based chemicals manufacturing (e.g. bio-isobutene for tires from the Gevo partnership) seems to center in Sarnia.

The companies said they have been working together for over 2 years assessing the performance and opportunities of succinate based esters in the plasticizer market. Samples are now available and the companies said they expect to begin commercialization in 2012.

FYI. The market for phthalate-free plasticizers is hot right now, just take a look at Eastman's continuous manufacturing expansion and several acquisitions of phthalate-free plasticizers.

The blog also wanted to congratulate BioAmber for winning the Best Innovation Category at this year's ICIS Innovation Award. Other winners in different categories include Teijin, LanzaTech and Novomer.

Yes, this week's news roundup is one day early (or four days late I guess) as the blogger is going to be in the middle of a big editorial board meeting this Friday and trying to promote the blog's course towards fame (back me up here now my faithful readers!). I might also be able to get an interview with the CEO of Thailand-based PTT Chemical very early Friday morning - crossing my fingers.

Maybe I should just camp out in the office on Thursday night after school...

On Wednesday, we received a formal announcement about PTT Chemical acquiring 50% of US bioplastic producer NatureWorks. The green blog had the opportunity to interview NatureWorks marketing director Steve Davies, and the interview will be on ICIS Chemical Business' October 24 issue under the Green Chemicals column.

Speaking of ICB, my article (subscription required for this link) about my interview with DSM on their bio-adipic acid strategy came out this Monday. As I've mentioned before, DSM  is looking to commercially produce drop-in biobased adipic acid (produced either through fermentation or chemo-catalytic routes) by forming partnerships along the value chain. DSM said a 'cost-advantaged and more sustainable route' for adipic acid will offer significant value in the company's polyamide markets. DSM has a global leading position in caprolactam, a key precursor to polyamide 6.

DSM said it is looking at a 100,000-150,000 tonne/year commercial scale with the possibility of entering the market around five years or so.

Next week, I will be in Vienna attending ICIS' 8th Oleochemicals conference. If there's a free wifi, I will try to tweet some of them via @ICISchemicalbiz so stay tune! When I come back, I will start on my interview with BlueMarble Bio as well as information on Renmatix, updates on Dow and BASF. Did I already mention that my first midterm exam is coming up on Oct. 25? Whew!

For now here are this week's news roundup (I'm separating a post on several bioplastic news that I came across the past two weeks):

Allylix starts Valencene production
Allylix has begun production of valencene for the flavor and fragrance industry in large-scale commercial quantities using 200,000 liter fermentation tanks. Allylix's fermentation process is said to offer a stable supply of valencene at a fifth or less of the cost of these traditional methods. Valencene is an orange flavor and fragrance material being used as a key element in beverage, confection and OTC healthcare flavors, among other applications. Traditional methods of producing valencene entail extracting it from the peel of valencene oranges.

LanzaTech partners with Virgin Atlantic
In partnership with New Zealand-based LanzaTech, Boeing and Swedish Biofuels, Virgin Atlantic plans to use jet fuel made from waste gases captured from industrial steel production. The waste gas using is fermented and chemically converted into jet fuel using Swedish Biofuels Technology. A demo flight with the new fuel is planned in 12-18 months.  LanzaTech expects to have a commercial facility producing the waste gas-based fuel by 2014.

Eastman expands non-phthalate plasticizers 
Eastman Chemical is increasing manufacturing capacity of its Eastman 168 non-phthalate plasticizer at its Kingsport, Tennessee site by 6,000 tons/year. The additional capacity is expected to begin before the end of 2011. Eastman said market and regulatory pressures are driving manufacturers of toys, childcare articles, medical devices and other PVC plastic products to switch to non-phthalate plasticizers.

Virent's biofuel gets Air Force thumbs up
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) corroborate the potential of Virent's jet fuel and confirm that it warrants further study as a 100% renewable fully synthetic standalone jet fuel or as a 50/50 blend with petroleum based jet fuel.  AFRL has released analytical test results of Virent's plant-derived fuel with technical corroborator Shell. As larger volumes of Virent jet fuel become available, the AFRL will conduct further analysis, focusing on fit-for-purpose testing as required by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

Honeywell, Sinochem in green blowing agents
Honeywell and Sinochem are forming a 50/50 joint venture to produce and sell in China HFC-245fa, a non-ozone-depleting rigid foam blowing agent used in insulation for appliances, construction, transportation and other energy efficient foam insulation to meet growing demand in the Asia region. The joint venture, to be located in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, is expected to begin production in late 2013. Honeywell's newly launched next generation HFO lower-global-warming-potential blowing agent - Solstice™ Liquid Blowing Agent -- may also be produced by the joint venture.

Dyadic raises $3m Dyadic International, a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzyme and protein products for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme and biopharmaceutical industries, has completed a private placement of $3m in convertible subordinated secured promissory notes (the "Notes") to five investors. Dyadic expects to use proceeds from this offering for working capital including continued investments in research and development, new product introductions and general corporate purposes.

And on ICIS News (requires subscription):
In the same breath used to admit defeat at the hands of the California State Assembly this session, proponents of proposed legislation that would have banned California vendors from serving food in polystyrene (PS) foam containers vowed to return next year for another try.

US-based polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturer NatureWorks said on Wednesday it will invest in a new plant in Thailand, following PTT Chemical's (PTTCH) purchase of a 50% stake in the company.

Eastman Chemical presented a new line of bisphenol A-free (BPA-free) copolyester products in Mexico as an alternative for polycarbonates (PC).

It's 12 midnight and my school exam Tuesday night was not exactly pretty so here I am scanning news reports (because I can't sleep) and I saw this one from Thailand-based The Nation about PTT Chemical reportedly buying 50% of NatureWorks for $150m (Baht 4.6bn).

The blog already reported rumors of this floating around a couple of weeks ago but I actually got an email from NatureWorks Tuesday morning about a possible big news coming from them Wednesday morning. Of course, no details were disclosed by NatureWorks but with my googling expertise, I saw this news from ThaiPR.net about PTTCH and NatureWorks' press conference scheduled today (1p-2:30p Bangkok time) in Hotel Plaza Athenee Royal Meridien for their formal signing ceremony of the joint venture.

We will hopefully have more details today in an interview with NatureWorks (and also hopefully with PTTCH later this week), which I am planning to write for ICIS Chemical Business' October 24 issue.

Meanwhile, according to The Nation article, PTTCH and Cargill are planning to build a 150,000 tonne/year polylactic acid (PLA) plant in Thailand, which would cost about $300m. Plans for the new facility is expected to be finalized by early next year.

Yesterday, US bio-succinic acid producer Myriant announced that it was able to develop a proprietary process for producing succinic acid, L(+) and D(-) lactic acid from cellulosic feedstocks.

Myriant said this will enable them to produce low-cost price-stabled cellulosic-based chemicals around the world without being restricted to scarce availability and expensive food-based feedstocks. The company is currently building a 30m lb/year bio-succinic acid facility in Louisiana partially funded by the US Department of Energy. The plant is expected to start in the first quarter of 2013. Myriant said it plans to expand the facility to 170m lbs/year by the end of first quarter of2014.

Myriant is also in the early stages of planning other production facilities in Germany and Asia. By the way, a Tweety bird told me to expect an announcement soon on the bio-succinic acid front. I have a good feeling that this will involve Myriant (since BioAmber has pretty much announced a lot within the past several weeks).

One news that just came out today on ICIS (subscription only) is that Myriant's partner PTT Chemical (PTTCH) said to our reporters to expect announcements coming soon on investments in succinic acid and derivatives in southeast Asia from the companies. A source from PTTCH said that the companies are exploring options in terms of marketing, production and technology. PTTCH has already invested $60m in Myriant last January.

By the way, Myriant also filed its own IPO (initial public offering) last May. I hope somebody can tell me any company update in that area...

Speaking of lactic acid, there's a lot of biobased chemicals developments going on with this chemical as far as I recall in several conferences I attended the past two years. Major developers on scene included Roquette, Purac, and NatureWorks. I think the blog mentioned that Thailand seems to becoming the targeted hotspot for production of polylactic acid (PLA). I will not be surprised if PTTCH will also announce a facility for cellulosic-based lactic acid in partnership with Myriant.

PTTCH also filed a statement to the Thailand Stock Exchange in September that it is planning to acquire a 50% (or more) stake in an international PLA bioplastic producer. The company has not yet announced any details on this investment but anybody I asked within the bioplastic industry concluded that NatureWorks will be their final answer based on Reuters news ;-). It was reported that the purchased should have been concluded last week.

According to F.O. Licht data, the only PLA producer right now in the US includes NatureWorks in Nebraska (140,000 tpy capacity), HEPLOM American Chronopol in Colorado (2,000 tpy) and Purac in Nebraska (75,000 tpy).

Back to Myriant, its D(-) lactic acid technology (using food-based feedstock) is currently being commercialized by Purac, who by the way has a partnership with BASF in bio-succinic acid production. It is interesting to note the twist and turns of biobased chemical partnerships these days...

Myriant continues to work with Purac in the development of high purity D(-) lactic acid for polylactic acid (PLA) production.

I've been seeing a lot of movements within renewable chems within the past several weeks...

• Sam Kratzer has joined BioBased Technologies as the company's chief operating officer. Kratzer comes to BioBased Technologies® most recently from Archway Sales where he was director of marketing. Archway is a distributor of Agrol® polyols, one of the products developed by BioBased Technologies®.

• Elevance Renewable Sciences has picked David Kelsey as its new chief financial officer. Kelsey was most recently senior vice president and CFO at Sealed Air Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and a leader in global manufacturing of a wide range of food, protective and specialty packaging materials and systems.

• Verdezyne has appointed Brian Conn as chief financial officer and Steve Jackson as chief operations officer. Conn was formerly CFO of MicroIslet, Inc., a preclinical biotech company developing a therapy for Type 1 Diabetes. Jackson has served as Verdezyne's CFO and COO since 2008.

• Christophe Lacroix has been appointed Head of Alliances, Partnerships and Business Management at France-based METabolic EXplorer. He will be responsible for global strategy for the Company's product lines, and for setting up strategic alliances and manufacturing and commercial cooperation agreements.

• Gevo has appointed Gary W. Mize, partner and owner at MR & Associates, as a director. Prior to his current position at MR & Associates, Mize was president of Rawhide Energy LLC, an ethanol company, and served as non-executive chairman at Ceres Global AG, a Canadian public company that serves as a vehicle for agribusiness investments.

• John Melo, CEO of renewable chemical and fuels company Amyris, has joined the Renmatix Board of Directors. Ellen Purdy, will fill the chief financial officer role as Renmatix expands operations. Prior to joining Renmatix, Ellen Purdy served as CFO for SDI, serving the pharmaceutical and biotech markets.

• Proterro has established a three-member advisory board of experts in the fields of renewable energy, biofuels and chemical production. Making up the board are Harrison F. Dillon, president and the chief technology officer of Solazyme; Thomas Dries, founder and managing partner of NCN Partners; and Christos Papadopoulos, led BP Chemicals' efforts that resulted in Department of Energy funding of the Green Olefins Machine project.

Yesterday, I attended Dow Chemical's Investor Day event and got some interesting news on their bio-based chemicals portfolio including an update on their bio-polyethylene project in Brazil with Mitsui.

One of their announcements was their development of soybean oil-based acoustical foam formulation under the the tradename BETAFOAM Renue. Dow said it is currently in trials with a major North American OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and will be commercialized starting December this year.

The foam will be injected into vehicle cavities and rocker panels to reduce air and road noise. Dow said the foam replaces baffles traditionally used in these areas. The foam also has low density to reduce overall vehicle weight.

The nine-month project started from a grant given by the United Soybean Board (USB).

This announcement followed an earlier news from BASF, which said that it has partnered with automotive manufacturer Ford in developing castor oil-based foam product for Ford's 2012 Focus instrument panel. The foam contains more than 10% renewable content (by weight I assume).

The castor oil-based foam is said to be more durable with a 36% better tensile strength and 5% improvement in tear strength while elongation is reduced by almost 12%. By the way, did I mention that I used to work in a quality assurance testing company focusing on textiles materials? I remembered measuring tensile strengths of fabrics and textiles over and over...

Another benefits of the foam, according to the companies, is that curing time is reduced by 43%, and product scraps are also reduced due to improved flow and processing characteristics.

Ford has been a very active proponent of biobased materials and chemicals for their automobiles. Ford has also partnered with USB on various soy-based technologies including using soy foam in seat cushions, seatbacks and vehicle headliners. The blog remembered a presentation from Ford last year talking about potential consumption of 844m bushels of soybean just by using soy foams on all interior foams of Ford cars.

Aside from Dow Chemical, some of the US companies active on soy oil-based foams include Urethane Soy Systems, Cargill, and BioBased Technologies. Canada-based OEM manufacturer Woodbridge Group has also been working with Cargill on soy foams for automotive headliner systems.

Research organization Battelle announced in June this year that it has licensed its soy polyols technology for making foams, coatings and adhesives to Emery Oleochemicals. Emery will exclusively produce the polyols for use in various flexible and rigid foams, polyurethane coatings and adhesives.

The blog remembered a 2008 report from OmniTech International (paid by USB) projecting the use of soy polyols in North America could increase to 620m pounds by 2013 if soy polyol economics remain competitive and performance properties compared to petro-based counterparts continue to improve.

The consulting firm estimated the 2009 polyol market for foams at 2.03bn pounds in North America and potential soy polyol substitution in foams at around 400m pounds.

[Photo credit: Cargill's BiOH soy foam]