November 2011 Archives

For those who have emailed me the past few days, bear with me as I am sifting through hundreds of emails (mostly newsletters and press releases - yeah I do need to unsubscribe to some of them one of these days...) My system inbox manager is also berating me for having several mega-byte attachments - it's not my fault!!

Tessenderlo starts PVC recycling plant
Tessenderlo Group through its subsidiary Eurocell has started the UK's largest PVC (polyvinyl chloride) recycling operation in Derbyshire. The recycled PVC material is used for the manufacture of new energy-efficient products such as thermal inserts and cavity closers used in window systems.

Cereplast distributes in Turkey
Cereplast formed a 3-year distribution agreement with GAMA Plastik AS to supply bioplastic resin in Turkey. GAMA Plastik plans to initially purchase 200 tonnes/month in 2012. GAMA Plastik has capacity to produce 30,000 tonne/year plastic in Turkey.

Gevo, Butamax welcome patent ruling
Both Gevo and Butamax welcome a ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in their dispute over an alleged infringement of biobutanol patents. Butamax alleges that Gevo infringed two of its patents referred to as patents '188 and '889 which cover technologies for biobutanol. The USPTO ruled against re-examining patent '188 but agreed to re-examine patent '889. A hearing on Butamax's motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Gevo's alleged infringement is scheduled for early 2012.

Global Bioenergies, LanzaTech partnership
Global Bioenergies S.A. and LanzaTech have formed a collaboration to begin a feasibility study on whether Global Bioenergies' pathway leading to direct production of isobutene can be functionally transferred into LanzaTech's carbon monoxide using organism. Global Bioenergies currently uses carbohydrates such as glucose for its feedstock.

Rhodia, Endura in sustainable PBO
Rhodia Aroma Performance and Endura Fine Chemicals have signed a supply agreement that will guarantee a viable alternative to the production of piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a synergist in household insecticide formulations, that was previously made from limited natural raw material sassafras oil. Endura has developed a patented process that can produce a synthetic route for PBO. Roughly 70 kilogram of sassafras wood are required to make 1 kilogram of PBO.

OriginOil's commercial algae system
OriginOil has launched its Algae Appliance, a commercial entry-level algae harvesting system that will help producers process algae at very low cost and without chemicals. The system is slated for commercial release in the first half of 2012. Field testing will soon begin with select partners who have current or near-term large volume of algae for harvesting.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) on Wednesday dismissed a recent Harvard study on bisphenol A (BPA) as misleading.

Chemical firms, research institutes and governments need to cooperate closely to explore ways of utilising carbon dioxide (CO2) as a raw material for the production of chemicals, plastics and other products, experts said.

Trading conditions in the solar power sector will likely be tough for the next two or three years because of cuts to incentives for renewable power in some countries, Fitch Ratings said.

South Africa's plastics recycling sector is set for sustained growth and could easily be leading the country's efforts to move towards a low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive green economy.

Before I indulge myself into the holiday (and shopping) mood, let's get this weekly news roundup out of the way, which seems to be biofuels-centric. By the way, the blog just received an interesting news from LanzaTech and Global Bioenergies so we will take a look at it later this week -- after I finished my shopping.

For the US readers, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!

ConocoPhillips enters biomass fuels
ConocoPhillips has partnered with Enviva LP, a manufacturer of processed biomass fuel in the US and Europe, to create a new company called ECo Biomass Technologies which will bring torrefied biomass fuels to the market. Torrefaction involves superheating biomass to create highly efficient fuel akin to coal. ECo Biomass' initial facility, scheduled to start in 2013, will produce wood pellets that will be sold under agreements with major utilities.

BASF creates global battery biz
BASF has created a new Battery Materials global business unit that will be effective January 1, 2012. The new business will integrate BASF's existing battery activities and catalysts division focused on cathode materials development), intermediates division focused on electrolyte formulations, and BASF Future Business GmbH that is focused on next-generation lithium battery opportunities.

Rivertop Renewables bags $1.5m
Rivertop Renewables has received a $1.5m bridge round investment from Cultivian Ventures, a venture found focused on high tech opportunities in the food and ag sectors. The funding will allow Rivertop to continue commercialization of its first products - glucaric acid-based detergent builders and corrosion inhibitors.

Waste Management invests in Fulcrum
Waste Management has closed an equity investment in Fulcrum Bioenergy and at the same time has secured a loan of up to $70m for Fulcrum's proposed Sierra Biofuels plant located east of Reno, Nevada. The plant, designed to process 147,000 tons/year of waste and produce 10m gal/year of ethanol, will start operations in 2013. Waste Management has previously committed in a separate feedstock agreement to supply the Sierra BioFuels plant with post-sorted municipal solid waste.

DuPont changes cellulosic ethanol name
DuPont Industrial Biosciences has changed its cellulosic ethanol business formerly known as DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE) to DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol. DuPont said it is entering the next phase in making its advanced biofuels a commercial reality. DuPont's Vonore, Tennessee, demonstration facility can produce 250,000 gal/year f ethanol while plans for the new Iowa facility are set to produce 27.5m gal/year, which is expected to start in 2013.

Grace expands silica gel output
W.R. Grace & Co. has expanded its silica gel manufacturing facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, to support growth in renewable fuels demand. Grace's TriSyl® silica improves a refinery's economics by removing contaminants from natural oil feedstocks more efficiently than alternative products.

Innovia, Sappi partners in laminates
Innovia Films and Sappi Fine Paper Europe have joined forces to develop next generation plant-based laminates, which could be used in food, confectionery and pharmaceutical packaging. The laminates will be designed to provide technical functionality and will be suitable for composting. The companies have now started trials with converters to demonstrate the capabilities of such laminates in terms of sustainability and technical packaging solutions.

BlueFire Renewables forms SucreSource
BlueFire Renewables has formed a wholly-owned subsidiary SucreSource, which will focus on the production of cellulosic sugars to establish commercialization-scale pathway for companies with back-end fermentation, bio-reactor and catalysis processes. SucreSource will capitalize on the process design packages already completed by BlueFire, providing either a 34,000 tons/year or 163,000 tons/year source of cellulosic sugars.

Mission NewEnergy's in palm waste
Malaysia-based Mission NewEnergy is constructing a 60,000 tonne/year waste processing facility in Sabah, Malaysia, that will recover palm oil from waste material called Spent Bleached Earth (SBE) in the palm oil refining process. The SBE will be used to produce biodiesel. The waste processing facility will start operations in September 2012.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance (CPIA) plans to conduct an antidumping and antisubsidy survey on photovoltaic (PV) products imported from the US.

Brazil-based Novvi, the 50-50 joint venture between US-based Amyris and Brazilian agribusiness Cosan, expects to start commercial production of renewable base oils in 2012.

Arizona Chemical has established a legal entity to operate in China, the US-based pine chemical producer said.

Braskem's environmentally friendly "green" plastics account for 10% of the company's polyethylene (PE) revenue, the Brazilian company said.

California-based AE Biofuels, which just changed its name to Aemetis, has refocused its company from producing first generation biofuels to producing renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels instead.

In June, AE Biofuels acquired Maryland-based industrial biotech company Zymetis, which led to the change of the company's direction. Aemetis now owns Zymetis' proprietary aerobic marine organisms, ( Saccharophagus degradans 2-40 trademarked Z-microbe) that will  enable the company to produce bio-isoprene, glycerine, and in the pipeline - adipic acid and butanediols.

The bio-isoprene activities are really increasing!

Aemetis is still operating its 55m gal/year ethanol plant in Keyes, California, and a 50m gal/year integrated chemicals/biofuels plant in Kakinada, India. The India plant has been using non-food palm stearine to produce specialty chemicals and pharma-grade glycerine for domestic and export use (particularly Europe and US).

From what I saw on their company presentation, Aemetis' plans is to convert existing biofuels plants (such as their California ethanol facility) into biorefineries through joint ventures. Aemetis will provide funding, technology and will market the chemicals and advanced fuels while biofuels plant owner receives 25% of ongoing operating cash flow from joint venture.

I'm sure we'll hear more about Aemetis in the near future.

Let me put this news in before I completely get lost on the incoming busy holiday season.

Japan chemical firm Toray announced last week that it has successfully produced in laboratory scale its 100% renewable-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber using Gevo's isobutanol-derived paraxylene (PX).  If readers recall the blog's recent post on Gevo, the companies are currently on the planning stage to establishing commercial-scale operations for the bio-PX, targeting a pilot production next year and commercial production by 2014.

Gevo is also in discussion with a third party for bio-PX joint development agreement which it plans to announce soon.

Toray said it was able to produce terephthalic acid (TPA) synthesized from Gevo's biobased paraxylene, and combined with commercially available sugar-based monoethylene glycol (MEG), Toray successfully produced in lab scale its first 100% bio-based PET fiber. For those who are not familiar with PET, it is made from 30% MEG and 70% TPA (or PTA - purified terepthalic acid).

Toray claimed this is the first fully renewable PET fiber in the world. In my recent interviews for a bioplastic article that came out today, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo also claimed that they were already able to  also produce 100% bio-based PET in lab scale but I guess a PET bottle is different from a PET fiber.

Toray said around 40m tons/year of polyester fiber (for which PET is the source) is produced worldwide. Toray is also involved in PLA-based plastic developments.

An interesting note during my interview with Coca-Cola is that the company claims there is only one bio-based MEG producer right now in the world (that will be India Glycols according to other sources). I am not sure if Toyota Tsusho's JV Greencol Taiwan Corp. (GTC) has already started its 100,000 tonne/year bio-MEG plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as it was expected to start by the end of this year.

Toyota Tsusho has contracted Petrobras last year to supply the bio-ethanol from Brazil --- 1.4bn liters (or 378m gal) for 10 years from 2012 -- for Greencol's use. The contract was worth Yen 70bn ( around $911m). Chemtex was awarded the engineering, construction and procurement contract for the Greencol bio-MEG plant.

Also interesting to note that Toyota Motor announced last month that it is using bio-PET plastic (30% bio-MEG, 70% petro-based PTA) in the seat trim, floor carpets and other interior surfaces of its Sai gasoline-electric hybrid car being sold in Japan. AT&T also announced in September that it is now using bio-PET (same 30% biobased by weight) for the packaging of its branded wireless accessories, device cases and power accessories.

Now who else can these companies source its bio-MEG from but Greencol given that the other supplier is busy with Coca-Cola? That is if there really is only one (or now two) bio-MEG supplier out there.

Speaking of which, sources say petro-based EG companies such as Dow Chemical and Brazil-based Braskem and Oxiteno are all eyeing the bio-MEG market given Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's (and other branded companies) plan to use more bio-PET for their packaging in the future.

Now, it's up to renewable chemical companies to supply the 70% biobased component.

PS

By the way, I am attending two bioplastic conferences next year. One in February organized by Jim Lunt LLC and it's all about bioplastic feedstock; and the other, I am actually presenting at the Bioplastek forum in March.

It'll be interesting what 2012 will hold for the bioplastic industry. 

Here is a brief Q&A with Dow Chemical's Jeff Wooster, global sustainability leader, regarding the company's views on bioplastic. Some of these will be included in my bioplastic article that will be published next week Monday, November 21 on ICIS Chemical Business.

As a background, Dow has partnered with Japan chemical firm Mitsui this year on sugarcane ethanol and bio-polyethylene plastic in Brazil. Feel free to read ICB's latest article on the Dow/Mitsui JV.

Q: It seems like increasing branded companies are increasingly promoting the use of bioplastic, how are they benefiting from using bioplastics and has these already translated to increase in their demand/sales profit?

A: Brand owners are eager to provide consumers with packaging made from bio-based plastics because the use of those materials offers several potential benefits. Among those are reduced use of fossil fuels and reduced greenhouse gas emissions during the manufacturing of the packaging materials.

In each case those benefits need to be confirmed through the use of scientific methods such as the completion of a full life cycle assessment. If a particular bio-based material provides the right combination of performance attributes for a specific application then its use can provide meaningful environmental benefits as well.

Q: What are the challenges/complaints that consumer products and food/beverage companies relay to bioplastic producers/compounders when it comes to using bioplastic? 

A: Bio-based materials must meet criteria for performance and cost as well as provide a scientifically verifiable environmental benefit. As with materials that are not bio-based, not all materials are suitable for use in all applications. The needs of a particular application need to be met in each case, which means designing packaging for individual applications rather than simply picking a material and then using it across the board.

When materials are not drop-in replacements for existing materials they may require capital investments or significant changes in operating procedures, both of which are barriers to adoption. The application of sound scientific principles and use of fundamental criteria for consistently evaluating performance can help assure that the proper materials are selected for use.

Q: Do you see these branded companies paying for premiums for bioplastic? 

A: Yes, there are certainly cases where companies will pay a premium for improved performance. If a bio-based plastic offers meaningful environmental benefits and improved performance in use then it may command a premium in the market place.

It is worth noting that a material need not be bio-based to offer improved performance and environmental benefits. High performance plastics from conventional feedstocks - such as our current DOWLEX® LLDPE, ELITE® EPE, and AFFINITY® POP - may also provide lifecycle environmental benefits, for example by increasing the shelf-life of perishable food, which reduces the environmental burden associated with growing food that spoils before being eaten.

Q: Are there any particular type of bioplastics that already show high growth in terms of usage in consumer products/food/beverage packaging? 

A: The use of bio-based plastics is growing rapidly, but is currently limited by availability, performance, and cost. Drop-in replacements that minimize capital investment across the value chain are in particularly high demand.

Q: What important points will you advice for companies who are looking to use bioplastics for their packaging?

A: Consider bio-based packaging with the same criteria as used to evaluate all types of packaging. For example, does the packaging provide the needed product protection and marketability at good overall value? If a bio-based material provides excellent product protection and increased opportunities for consumer marketing then paying a premium to use that material will improve business results, which is something that we can all agree is good advice.

----------------------------------------------------
Other recent "renewable chemical" updates from Dow:

• Dow has developed 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.


• Dow has partnered with Solazyme on the development of algae oil-based dielectric insulating fluids (DIFs). Dow said this $2bn market represents more than 500m-gallon opportunity for the companies.Dow and Solazyme are expecting to soon start testing and scale-up trials for the algae-based DIFs. Commercialization is expected in 2013.


• Dow has developed a range of impact modifiers and process aids for polylactic acid (PLA) that enable and extend the applications open to bio-plastics.

Sorry this post was late. I had to deal with the magazine deadline and a headache-inducing exam. The good news is that this news about BioAmber's IPO filing came in just in time for my editor-in-chief to include it in his upcoming article covering the financing environment within the renewable chemicals space. This article is going to be published on ICIS Chemical Business' November 21 Green Chemicals issue.

So let's analyze some of the S-1 information that BioAmber registered on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). First of all, BioAmber hopes to raise $150m from this stock offering. We've covered enough of BioAmber and succinic acid developments on the blog that I will enumerate some of the "new information" that stood out in my view:

Manufacturing/Technology:

• BioAmber's 350,000 liter fermenter in Pomacle, France, which started operating on January 2010, has now produced 487,000 pounds (221 tonnes) of bio-succinic acid. The company has supply agreements for the sale of over 84,000 tonnes of bio-succinic acid and derivatives over the next five years, of course, coming from its planned 17,000 tonne/year (expanding to 35,000 TPY) succinic acid facility in Sarnia, Canada, that will start in 2013, and 65,000 TPY succinic acid Thailand plant that will start in 2014. It's bio-BDO production capacity in Canada will be 23,000 TPY and 50,000 TPY in Thailand.


• Aside from biobased succinic acid and derivatives, 1,4 butanediol (BDO), BioAmber plans to also develop biobased adipic acid and caprolactam.


• The company estimates its succinic acid will be cost-competitive with oil price as low as $35/bbl and corn price at $6.50/bushel. Oil price as of this post is $100/bbl and corn price $6.54/bushel.


• Partnered with Mitsubishi Chemical and Cargill to develop organisms (yeast-based) that will have higher yields and less contamination risk than E.coli. Partnered with DuPont for catalysts and methods for converting succinic acid into BDO. Partnered with Celexion for a procedure to make C6 compounds, such as adipic acid. 


• Partnered with Lanxess and Solvay to develop and market succinic acid-based bioplasticizers. 


• BioAmber has partnered with Mitsui for the construction and operation of the Sarnia plant through its Bluewater Biochemicals subsidiary (Mitsui now owns 30% of the company). Mitsui has also partnered with BioAmber on the Thailand plant and another future plant with the same scale that will be located either in the US or Brazil.


• BioAmber and Mitsui are negotiating the terms for the third US or Brazil facility and could collaborate with local equity partner that could secure feedstock either glucose from corn starch or sucrose from sugarcane.


• BioAmber has entered a non-binding deal with Tereos Syral S.A., a European producer of starch-based products, for joint construction of two plants that would be located in France and Brazil.The facilities will produce crystalline bio-succinic acid and/or BDO. Tereos is expected to provide long-term feedstock supply, utilities, available infrastructure and shared services

• Like most renewable chemical startups out there (BioAmber started in 2008), the company does not have much revenue and no profits. For the first six months of 2011, BioAmber lost $10.8m and had accumulated a deficit of $22.6m over that period. 


• The company expects to begin recording revenue from commercial sales of bio-succinic acid in the first quarter of 2012. Since its inception, BioAmber raised an aggregate $76.1m from private placements of equity securities and convertible notes.


• The company expects to spend around $200m per plant on construction and start-up operating costs for facilities in Canada and Thailand. BioAmber already secured funding commitments for the initial construction phase of the Sarnia plant, which will cost around $74m. 

"To produce $1bn worth of bio-succinic acid and $1bn worth of bio-BDO at current prices, we would require around 1.2m MT of sugar. Assuming we split production equally between North America, Thailand and Brazil, we would need to source 400,000 MT of sugar in each geography.

In North America, 400,000 MT of sugar represents 2% of existing corn wet milling capacity, which is currently under pressure from dropping U.S. demand for high fructose corn syrup. In Thailand, 400,000 MT of sugar represents 3.6% of Thai sugar production (sugar available from both cane and tapioca starch). In Brazil, 400,000 MT of sugar represents 1% of Brazilian sugar production (excluding sugar dedicated to the production of ethanol).

Even if the entire $2bn worth of bio-succinic acid and bio-BDO were produced in North America, it would require only 6% of the sugar produced in existing corn wet mills."

Admittedly, the blog is not that familiar with Ontario, Canada-based EcoSynthetix. The company first came into the blog's attention when it filed an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange on July this year and began trading on August 4 as it raised around C$100m by selling 11.15m shares at C$9 (C$1= US$1).

By the way, just an interesting information to share, EcoSynthetix relocated its operations from Lansing, Michigan, to Burlington, Ontario,  this year after accepting government grants from Canada.

EcoSynthetix claims itself as a pure-play renewable chemicals company specializing in biomaterials such as starch-derived latex binders and monomers for adhesives and resins. EcoSynthetix said their EcoSphere biolatex polymer can be a drop-in replacement for styrene butadiene and styrene acrylic latex with their current equipment and processes. Only minor alterations and minimal capital expenditures are reportedly needed for the conversion.

We will get to know more abut EcoSynthetix in a later date but for now, the company announced on November 4 that it has commissioned a new 80m lb/year production line in an existing facility in Oosterhout, the Netherlands, bringing its current total capacity to 155m lbs/year that will produce its ECOSPHERE Biolatex binder for the coated paper and paperboard market.

EcoSynthetix also expects to bring its fourth production facility - a new 80m lb/year facility that will be installed later this year in Tennessee, US.

The company also commissioned in October its new BIOLATEX® binder pilot plant located at the Company's Centre of Innovation in Burlington, Ontario. The pilot plant is being used for research and development purposes to support new product development.

EcoSynthetix said the pilot plant supports plans to further penetrate the paper and paperboard industry and expand into new markets to displace petrochemical polymers with a low cost, bio-based alternative. The company's lead product EcoSphere® biolatex binders is reportedly already used commercially by 3 of the global top 5 manufacturers in the coated paper and paperboard industry, and 11 of the the global top 20 manufacturers are said to be in the process of evaluating EcoSynthetix's products.

Here's an interesting investment analysis from Seeking Alpha contributor talking about EcoSynthetix.

So I have a problem keeping up with my weekly news roundup these days...might as well experiment with a semi-monthly instead. We'll see...

SABIC creates VC for renewables
Petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has launched a new global corporate venture capital arm called SABIC Ventures based in the Netherlands that will seek out innovative technologies and businesses such as in the areas of advanced materials and composites, alternative feedstocks for chemicals and materials, alternative energy, and cleantech. Targeted countries for sourcing venturing investments incude the US, Europe and Asia.

Zeachem raises $19m
Zeachem has raised $19m in series C funding led by Birchmere Ventures. Zeachem expects to soon startup its 250,000 gal/year demonstration biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon, later this year initially producing cellulosic ethanol and ethyl acetate.

Cereplast completes Italian plant purchase
Cereplast has finalized the $12m purchase of a 125,000 sq. foot facility in Cannara, Italy, that will produce 100,000 tons/year (220m lbs/year) Cereplast bioplastic. The first phase will allow for a 50,000 ton capacity with manufacturing expected to begin by the fourth quarter of 2012, with the second phase expected to be completed based on market demand. Cereplast has also expanded its distribution agreement with Italy-based ColorTec Srl to supply bioplastic resin to the Italian and Slovenian markets effective November 4, 2011 through December 31, 2012. ColorTech projects to purchase $20m of materials in 2012.

ADM produces USP bio-PG
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) announced the production of a renewable-based propylene glycol that meets the US Pharmacopeia (USP) and USDA Certified Biobased Product Label standards. The product will be sold under the trade name EVO-100 starting November.

Dow and Mitsui JV approved
Dow Chemical and Mitsui said it has secured all regulatory approvals and has completed the formation of their 50:50 sugar ethanol and bioplastic joint venture in Brazil, which was announced in July. Engineering and equipment fabrication for a new sugarcane-to-ethanol facility in Santa Vitoria is on-schedule and is expected to start in second quarter of 2013.

Bunge enters palm oil industry
Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bunge Limited has formed a joint venture with PT Bumiraya Investindo (BRI), the Indonesian palm plantation subsidiary of PT Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food Tbk. Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte. Ltd would acquire a 35% minority stake in BRI. This would be Bunge's first investment in the palm oil industry.

Synthetic Genomics forms Agradis
Synthetic Genomics has launched a new agbiotech company called Agradis that will focus on developing and commercializing products that will improve crop production efficiency using genomics and plant breeding. The first two crops the company will focus on  are castor and sweet sorghum.

LanzaTech's first commercial sale
LanzaTech signed its first commercial customer India-based Concord Enviro Systems (CES) where it licensed LanzaTech's syngas-to-ethanol technology. CES plans to have initial demonstration plant that will convert municipal solid waste to ethanol.

Rentech biorefinery construction complete
Rentech's integrated demonstration biorefinery in Commerce City, Colorado, is expected to start up by the end of 2011. The facility will produce cellulosic ethanol using wood waste and sugarcane bagasse feedstock. The demonstration-scale project is expected to lead to the final design basis for commercial-scale facilities including for potential biomass-to-energy projects that are contemplated in the southeastern United States, Hawaii and Canada.

Algenol, Dow collaboration ends
Algenol Biofuels' joint development program with Dow Chemical has come to an end, and the relationship will shift to purchasing specialty plastics and films developed during the program for use in Algenol's photobioreactors for the pilot scale biorefinery. Algenol starts construction of the pilot scale biorefinery, which will have a capacity to produce 100,000 gal/year fuel-grade ethanol.

Chinese firm invests in BlueFire Renewables
BlueFire Renewables has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China Huadian Engineering Co. to finance its integrated power plant and biorefinery in Fulton, Mississippi, and up to 5 additional plants in the US. Huadian will initially buy an equity stake in BlueFire Fulton project. The MOU also contemplates formation of similar joint venture projects in China. The Fulton project uses wood waste as feedstock for the production of 19m gal/year cellulosic ethanol.

Bunge invests in Argentina ethanol
Bunge has partnered with Aceitera General Deheza to invest in a corn wet milling plant for the manufacture of ethanol and by-products. The 140,000 m3/year plant will be located in Alejandro Roca, south of Cordoba City in Argentina. In stage one, dry milling volume is expected to reach 1000 tons/day by the first quarter of 2013. In stage two, processing capacity is expected to reach 1,400 tons/day, with the wet milling and refining processes for corn by-products operating at full speed.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
Bio-based industrial lubricants for use in typical base oils applications make up less than 1% of the global lubricant market, a representative of Evonik said.

Brazilian health regulator Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (Anvisa) suspended the use of bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles citing recent studies about evidence that BPA posed risk to human health.

Braskem expects to ship ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) holding the Bonsucro certificate of sustainability to Europe in the next few weeks, a company source said.

Solvay does not expect its Epicerol (glycerin-to-epichlorohydrin) projects in Thailand and China to have a big impact on glycerin demand, a company official said.

I've got 20 minutes before going to school so here's a short news from Myriant that announced yesterday about plans to expand distribution of its biobased succinic acid in Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan through a partnership with Japan-based Sojitz Corporation.

Sojitz said it plans to set up a commercial biobased derivativese plant that will consume 150m pounds/year of Myriant's biobased succinic acid. The facility is expected to start in 2015.

Under the deal with Myriant, the companies will collaborate in the sales and marketing exclusively in the above-mentioned countries for applications such as plasticizers, polymers, urethanes and solvents.

Now 2015 is still a long way so the blog speculates that the biobased succinic acid for this collaboration will come from a production facility in Asia. The question is where will that facility be, when it is going to be announced, and if PTTGC will be involved in that planned Asian facility (most probably yes in my opinion).

I don't usually follow much of the earnings season (except for titanium dioxide, chlor-alkali and soda ash that I have to cover for ICIS Chemical Business...) but I'll make an exception on this quarter for some of our renewable chems companies such as Codexis, Amyris, Gevo, Solazyme, and Metabolix. I hope I did not miss anybody else.

We've already covered a bit about Amyris in this post. Not much new information on Gevo after the blog covered the company's investor day in September.

CODEXIS:
Codexis, however, told investor analysts during its third quarter earnings call on November 1, that it is re-positioning itself as more of a "product company" than a tech licensing company. Codexis said much of its future revenue will now come from product sales made using the company's enzymes and microbes instead of R&D funding.

"While more than half of our revenue today comes from R&D funding, we expect in the future to earn revenue from three sources - the sale of enzymes, of products made using our enzymes and microbes, and royalties from the use of our technology. We now have more than 50 pharmaceutical companies using our enzymes. We intend to repeat that revolution in biofuels and bio-based chemicals - where our CodeEvolver platform enables us to extract sugar from non-food biomass and to turn that sugar into high value chemicals and fuels." - Alan Shaw, CEO of Codexis

SOLAZYME:
Solazyme, on its Q3 earnings call on Monday, announced that United Airlines flew the world's first commercial Boeing 737-800 plane that used 40% Solajet (Solazyme's algae-derived jet fuel) and 60% petroleum-derived jet fuel. The flight departed from Houston, Texas' IAH airport and landed at Chicago's O'Hare airport carrying 189 passengers.

United Airlines said it will buy 20m gal/year ( around 70,000 tonnes/year) of the biofuel from Solazyme for delivery as early as 2014. The blended fuel is processed by Honeywell's UOP technology. Solazyme said it will ramp up production capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes of their renewable oil by 2015.

During its earnings call, Solazyme said it has signed four non-binding agreements accounting for around 90% (450,000 tonnes) of its estimated 2015 capacity. Initial fermentation operations at the Peoria, Illinois, facility is said to be on track for startup in the first half of 2012. In August, Solazyme and Bunge formed a joint venture to construct a 100,000 tonne/year triglyceride oils facility in Bunge's sugarcane mill in Brazil, startup expected in 2013.

In October, Solazyme also expanded its commercial development agreement with Unilever for the use of its algae oils in soap, personal care and nutritional products.

METABOLIX:
Telles, Metabolix' PHA (polyhdroxyalkanoate) bioplastic JV with ADM, is said to be adding more customers this year for its Mirel bioplastic - total customer counts of 57 up from 50 with 26 repeating customers (up from 15). However, commercialization timeline for the bioplastic has been delayed to the first half of 2012. Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander estimated that Telles has already shipped around 500,000 lbs of Mirel to date and is expected to reach the 1m lb commercialization milestone in 75-150 days.

Resin sales to compounders are expected to be below the $2.25-$2.75/lb target for compounded materials, according to Alexander. Metabolix also recently announced new distribution partners Entec Polymers and Channel Prime Alliance for Mirel in North America.

In terms of Metabolix's C4 chemicals platform, the company said it has successfully scaled up its C4 chemicals fermentation capacity to the 15,000 gallon (60,000 liter) scale and remained on target to reach tonnage scale production of samples by the end of the year.

Metabolix announced in July its development partnership with Korea-based CJ CheilJedang to commercialize C4 chemicals. Initial market entry with its C4 chemicals is expected to be through gamma butyrolactone (GBL), with subsequent growth into butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and polyester engineering resins (PBT). The Company also noted that it had seen increased interest among potential partners for C3 chemical development, particularly in the bio-acrylic market. Jefferies' Alexander said he expects a commercial plant design to be available by year-end.

I still don't know what specific chemicals the company is working on but if readers recall, LS9 is also working with HCL CleanTech to improve and demonstrate an integrated process for converting biomass feedstocks into fermentable sugars.

LS9 is also working with Chevron Technology Ventures to produce specific hydrocarbon products.

LS9 said it expects to make additional runs at the 20,000 liter level through the first quarter of 2012, and then increase production to 50,000 liters for both their chemicals and fuels products.

LS9 is currently retrofitting its facility in Okeechobee, Florida. which will have a 135,000 liter fermentation vessel. This facility is expected to be online by the first quarter of 2012. LS9 said the facility will be a stepping stone to a commercial plant, which would require only a 4 or 5-fold further increase in scale.

The race for bio-BDO commercialization is on as BioAmber and Mitsui announced their collaboration to build both bio-succinic acid and bio-1,4 butanediol (BDO) plants - one in Sarnia, Canada, and the other in Rayong, Thailand. A third one is being planned either in North America or Brazil (I'm betting on Brazil...).

BioAmber and Mitsui have long been partners as Mitsui currently distributes BioAmber's biosuccinic acid-derived products. The companies expanded their partnership today when Mitsui decided to go all the way in the bio-succinic acid/BDO business by jointly investing with BioAmber in the new manufacturing facilities.

BioAmber is currently constructing a 17,000 tonne/year biosuccinic acid plant in Sarnia, which is expected to start in 2013. The partners will subsequently expand the capacity to 35,000 tonnes/year as well as build a 23,000 tonnes/year BDO on the site using biosuccinic acid for feedstock.

For the Thailand plant, which is expected to come online in 2014, BioAmber initially stated on an earlier press release its plans to build a 65,000 tonne/year bio-succinic acid facility and 50,000 tonne/year bio-BDO. The blog is not sure if the planned capacity remains the same. BioAmber and Mitsui stated that they are currently undertaking a feasibility study for the Thailand plant with PTT MCC Biochem.

BioAmber has been chosen by PTT MCC to exclusively supply bio-succinic acid for their new 20,000 tonne/year polybutylene succinate (PBS) plant being constructed on the Rayong site, which is expected to start operating in 2014. I wonder if this new partnership means PTT MCC has also picked them for their bio-BDO supply? (FYI. The biodegradable PBS plastic uses succinic acid and BDO for feedstock)

For all three sites that the partners plan to build and operate, they expect to have a total cumulative capacity of 165,000 tonnes/year of succinic acid and 123,000 tonnes/year of BDO. BioAmber will be the majority shareholder in the plants.

Mitsui said it has secured renewable feedstock in Brazil, Thailand and other countries as part of its strategic focus on renewable chemicals. If readers recall, Mitsui has also recently partnered with Dow Chemical for the production of sugarcane-based polyethylene in Brazil.

For more updates on the Dow-Mitsui partnership, my colleague Anna Jagger wrote an article about renewable chemical investments updates in Brazil published this week on ICIS Chemical Business.

For more on Mitsui's renewable chemicals strategies, I wrote an article also on ICIS Chemical Business about several Japanese chemical firms expanding their investments in renewable-based chemistries.

Both articles are free to read!

So, the blog was finally able to listen to the Amyris earnings webcast on November 1 and heard the confirmation that the company did buy Draths' assets although no amount was disclosed. Draths, according to Amyris, has been working with E.coli on bio-monomers production but Amyris intends to switch over to using yeast.

Draths' technologies in producing biopolymers such as biobased terephthalic acid (TPA) for PET manufacture and biobased polyamides and polyurethane represent over $50bn opportunity in several specific markets, according to Amyris.

"Draths' technology will be integrated really well in our current R&D activities," says Amyris. "Several very large companies are very interested in the Draths platform and we expect to have collaborations in place in the next several quarters."

Amyris said during the conference call that it does not expect to commercially scale-up farnesene production for both Method and P&G's use until 2013. The company expects to deliver commercial products in 2012 to five markets: diesel (Total JV), lubricants (Novvi), polymers (M&G), flavors and fragrances (Firmenich, Givaudan) and Cosmetics (Nikkol).

Speaking of production, Amyris also said that it has received final approval from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for a R$22m ($12.6m) project financing facility for Amyris' first industrial-scale production facility in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo.

Amyris is already producing farnesene from contract manufacturers Biomin in Piracicaba, Brazil; Antibioticos in Leon, Spain; and Tate & Lyle in Illinois, US, with a total production volume of around 600,000 liters/month.

Next year, Amyris expects additional farnesene-based production currently being constructed in Sao Paulo coming from two joint ventures -- one with Paraíso Bioenergia S.A. and the other with Grupo São Martinho. Amyris' target Biofene production volume in 2012 is around 40-50m liters/year. Just to remind readers, 85 liters of ethanol is equivalent to 50 liters of Biofene.

Interesting times in the bio-butanol industry. First we recently seen an announcement from Cobalt Technologies partnering with Rhodia for biobased n-butanol production in Latin America (just had an interview with Cobalt CEO Rick Wilson and will write an article on this soon), and then yesterday, Eastman announced that it has acquired the assets of TetraVitae Bioscience.

By the way, an official from Eastman Renewable Materials owes me an interview. You know who you are ;-)

Earlier this year, I actually had an interview with somebody from TetraVitae Bioscience but they were a little bit shy in discussing strategies. Not much was disclosed on the Eastman press release so I guess the blog has to dig in a little deeper.

From what the blog recalled, Tetravitae's last announcement was in December 2010 when the company announced the demonstration of its biobased n-butanol process in a corn dry-mill pilot plant owned by the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) on campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

TetraVitae's core technology, according to its website, is its bacteria Clostridium Beijerinckii that came from the University of Illinois. The company said it was able to capture the economic advantages of the organism and enables low capital implementation through retrofit of existing ethanol assets.

Like other bio n-butanol producers, the company uses the ABE (acetone, butanol, ethanol) fermentation technology. My last ICIS Chemical Business article on biobutanol was in September 2010 but I mentioned TetraVitae in my February 2009 article, which talked more about the ABE process.

Speaking of which, another bio n-butanol producer that was recently in the blog's radar was China-based Cathay Industrial Biotech, which filed an IPO in July and retracted its IPO filing in August blaming the current economic condition.

I wonder if the renewable chemicals space is now in the M&A mode because of the current financial condition? One note that the blog also wanted to point out is the acquisition of Draths by Amyris, which Amyris has not yet publicly announced.

ICB is actually going to publish an article on the current investment environment in the biobased chemicals market on November 21 (written by ICBchief Joe Chang) so watch out for that! It's free!.

Back to TetraVitae, the blog will aim to get more information as soon as possible. Stay tune!