Dow Chemical explains how their joint venture development with algae company Algenol Biofuels will work. The company says the ethanol produced from algae can either be used as biofuel or chemical feedstock.
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A new study from the European Bioplastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) estimated that substitution potential of up to 90% of the total consumption of plastics by bio-based polymers are technically possible.
Still, that estimate will not be fulfilled in the near future because of low oil price, high production costs and restricted production capacity of biomass-based polymers, researchers of the study concluded.
2007 global bioplastic capacity (at 360,000 metric tonnes) is said to be only 0.3% of the global plastic production, which is dominated by petrochemical plastics. The bioplastic market, however, experienced a 38% growth rate from 2003 to 2007. European growth rate was said to be as high as 48%.
Standard polymers like polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC or PET, as well as high-performance polymers like polyamide or polyester have already been been totally or partially substituted by their renewable raw materials equivalents.
Based on recent company announcements the production capacity of bio-based plastics is projected to increase from 360,000 tons in 2007 to about 2.3 million tons by 2013, corresponding to an annual growth of 37%.
"Important major projects were delayed in the years 2008 and 2009 due to the financial and economic crisis. Despite the still uncertain data, we deem such studies to be very essential. The role that lightweight conventional plastics played in the past, substituting durable materials like iron and steel in vast products, could soon be taken over by bio-based plastics. As the study shows, the potential is enormous," says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics.The study estimates that if the overall bioplastic industry grows under a 'business-as-usual' condition, the 2020 market will reach 2.94 million MT. In a low growth rate scenario, half of the total capacity announced for 2013 will not be implemented even by 2020. On the other hand, a high growth scenario will see total installed capacity in 2020 to increase nearly twice as much as capacity announced for 2013, according to the study.
The study has a lot of good information about starch plastics, cellulosic polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) polymers, PTT from biobased propanediol, biobased polyamides, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), biobased polyethylene and PVC from bio-PE, and other emerging biobased thermoplastics.
FYI. Some recent news on bioplastics that I was not able to post:
Renewable chemical companies seem to be getting better in raising money from venture firms these days.
An article from Reuters cited the recent news (which I also posted in my news roundup) about biosuccinic acid producer DNP Green Technology raising $12m from venture firms Sofinnova Partners, Mitsui & Co., Venture Partners, Samsung Ventures Investment Corp., Clifton Group, and AquaRIMCO. All are new investors except for AquaRIMCO.
Reuters also noted other examples such as bioplastic developer Novomer when it raised $14m in August; Draths Corp. with $21.7m in spring; Segetis with a $15m start-up investment from Khosla Ventures in 2007; and recently Rennovia, where I posted in September about their $6m seed funding from 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures.
Other company activities not mention were OPX Biotechnologies which raised $17.5m in April led by Braemar Energy Ventures; Zeachem, which raised $34m in January; Amyris Biotechnologies, which reportedly raised $41.75 million recently from new investors GrupoCornelioBrennand of Brazil and Naxos UK; and it is also noteworthy to mention the formation of Elevance last year with a $40m funding led by TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners.
There are of course several biofuel/renewable chemical players that are getting funds from traditional oil and chemical firms. These include Gevo that received X amounts of dollars (or Euro?) last April from French oil company Total; Shell increased its equity stake in Codexis last March; and ExxonMobil investing in Synthetic Genomics last July for more than $300m.
I'm sure there are many more out there that I haven't covered. Let me know! One more thing to mention (that probably already mentioned before) is that there seems to be a lot more interests from venture capital firms to look into green chemistry other than biofuels or other clean techs. I also recalled an email last summer from a venture capital firm interested in knowing more about who's who in this area.
That is why I formed my Green Chemical company list, which I hope will continue to grow.
After collaborating with Samsung on its new eco-friendly mobile phone Samsung Reclaim which debuted in the US last August, Sprint now redesigned its wireless accessory packaging line with environment-friendly alternatives.
Beginning this month, Sprint is selling in their retail stores various accessories packaged with recyclable polyethylene terapthalate or PET instead of polyvinyl chloride or PVC. They will also be 20-40% smaller than previous packaging to reduce waste.
The packaging will also use soy and vegetable-based inks while the paperboard used in the packaging will be certified under the Forest Stewardship Council. Less resin will also be used in shipping the accessories, according to Sprint.
The company recently established its own green design criteria for future devices and accessories, and has committed to reduce paper usage by 30% during the next five years.
Specialty chemicals company Clariant has been very enthusiastic last month in launching new greener products and formulation concepts.
To start, the company launched its new EcoTain label (promoting Ecological, Economic, Sustainable products) for cosmetics and personal care, detergents, industrial cleaning products, coatings and deicings.
Examples of their EcoTain labeled product offerings include sunflower oil-based emulsifiers; and vegetable-based cationic detergent surfactant that is biodegradable, has low VOC, and is free of alkylphenoethoxylates (APEOS). All of the personal care products with this label are said to be natural-based and free of ethylene oxides as well.
Clariant also launched under this label their deicer recycling system. It covers the collection of deicer fluid from aircraft run-off, which is then recycled, cleaned and stored for future use. Reutilization rates of the deicing fluid is said to be up to 60%.
The company also introduced in October a new bio-based amine oxide under the trade name Genaminox® CHE for hard surface cleaning application. The surfactant cuts active ingredient use by up to 66% enabling manufacturers to reduce material purchasing, storage and transportation costs.
Clariant assures that the chemical delivers 50% better soil removal in an anti-bacterial formulation and a 44% improvement in a green all-purpose cleaner formulation. Genaminox CHE is said to be made from a plant-based hydrophobe, with 60% of the chemicals used originating from bio sources.
This week, Clariant announced its new silicone-free concepts that include rheology modifiers, emulsifiers and active ingredients for cosmetics and personal care formulations that don't need to add silicones. Clariant noted that the non-biodegradable nature of silicone restricts its use in natural/eco-labeled cosmetics.
Clorox announced today that it will modify its bleach manufacturing process in seven US facilities in order to eliminate the transport of chlorine feedstock to those facilities.
ICIS news* reported that this move was driven by potential US regulations that could restrict chlorine transport or increase associated costs.
Clorox will begin transitioning from chlorine to high-strength bleach as a raw material for making its namesake bleach starting in its Fairfield, California plant.
The high-strength bleach is a water-based solution of concentrated sodium hypochlorite that can be diluted to a specific level for household and industrial use and is still made with chlorine, according to Clorox.
The company expects to complete the transition in Fairfield within six months, followed by a phased, multi-year transition for the rest of the plants.
*Subscription only.
My inbox was flooded this week with green news from Honeywell, which manufactures high-performance specialty materials.
First stop, the company announced that its Genetron® R-245fa refrigerant in an equipment called the 35Z Micro Power Plant, manufactured by Germany-based Turbolina GmbH & Co. KG. The equipment, which is sold to homeowners uses water heated by thermal solar panels to evaporate the refrigerant, which in turn drives a turbine to generate electricity.
The unit does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions and the remaining heat from the 35Z can be used to supply heating and hot water. (Cool! - I wonder how much this cost though?). Honeywell said the refrigerant is non-flammable, non-ozone-depleting and has low toxicity.
In Europe, Honeywell said it has partnered with Toyota Motors in a project to further improve the environmental leadership of the car manufacturer's operations across Europe. Toyota will implement Honeywell's HC900 Hybrid Controller platform and Profit® Controller in up to three of its European assembly plants by the end of 2010, reducing energy requirements and boosting environmental performance at each site.
Another European announcement was the use of Honeywell's Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS) by Valorly, a division of the French utility Suez Environnement, in its Rillieux-la-Pape production plant. The PKS system will be used to control Valorly's incineration system, which transforms waste into both thermal and electrical energy.
With the installation of Experion, Honeywell noted that Valorly can turn waste into a valuable commodity and use it to produce electricity, heat and transportation fuels.
Finally, Honeywell's automation system was also chosen by Flambeau River Biofuels (FRB) to supply and integrate all of FRB's automation equipment for the largest second-generation "green diesel" plant they're building in the US.
The plant - located in Park Falls, Wis., and expected to be operational by 2012 - will produce energy, transportation fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass resources. The plant will process 1,000 dry tons per day of woody biomass from bark, sawdust and residue typically burned after forest harvesting.
I wonder what chemical companies (who deal with Walmart directly and indirectly) think about this new tool called GreenWERCS, which Walmart said will help them analyze the products on the market and identify risks across a broad spectrum instead of looking at each chemical individually.
The chemical screening tool GreenWERCS reportedly analyzes the composition of individual products from ingredients entered by manufacturers. It also examines potential impact of those ingredients on human health and the environment.
According to a recent blog by the Environmental Defense Fund, GreenWERCS uses a pre-identified scoring and weighting algorithm to provide information on the chemical ingredients of the products and whether they include:
* persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances (PBTs);
* carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxicants (CMRs); and
* potential hazardous waste.
GreenWERCS is said to represent the second phase of Walmart's new approach to assessing chemicals. Walmart's goal is to eventually set standards and metrics on the sustainability of each of the billions of products that they sell, from how they're made, how they're distributed to how they're disposed.
To know more about GreenWERCS, you can also check out the website of the company who develops the tool, the WERCS (World Environmental Regulatory Compliance Solutions).
Thanks to the Green Underworld Reporter about this green tech company called Itaconix that I have not encountered before.
Based in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, Itaconix (and its partners Microbia Inc. and the University of Maine) recently received a $1.8m grant from the US Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy to produce green polymers from itaconic acid fermented with sugars extracted from hardwood biomass.
Itaconix just introduced this year its polyitaconic acid-based product line Itaconix Super Absorbent and Itaconix Dispersant, which is produced from fermented itaconic acid with corn glucose as feedstock. With the grant, the company hopes to use waste biomass and lignocellulosic instead of corn as feedstock.
"The research possible through this biomass initiative offers another major step toward sustainability and away from petroleum dependence by allowing us to use biomass wood and not divert corn away from food uses," said John R. Shaw, principal of Itaconix.Now the question remains: What is itaconic acid?
According to the USDA, polyitaconic acid (PIA) is a water soluble polymer with a wide range of applications including superabsorbents (SAP), anti-scaling agents in water treatments, co-builders in detergents, and dispersants for minerals in coatings.
Itaconic acid was identified as one of the top 12 value added chemicals from biomass in 2004 by the DOE but its polymerization was identified as a key barrier to commercial development. This technical barrier was said to have been overcome by the University of Hampshire researchers which licensed the technology to Itaconix.
PIA is said to be an attractive replacement to the well established petroleum-based polyacrylic acid. According to Itaconix, potential global market for PIA is 1.65m metric tons/year with SAP occupying 67% of the market; 3% adhesives, 9% dispersants; 6% water treatment; 11% detergents; and 4% for new SAP markets.
In order to displace polyacrylic acid, Itaconix said it must reach a production cost below $1.5/Kg using biomass feedstock. PIA has been produced by Itaconix using commercial itaconic acid obtained by the fermentation of dextrose typically derived from corn or rice. Under such non integrated structure, PIA can be produced at a cost of $3/Kg.
Major agribusiness company Cargill is really getting into the green industrial chemicals market aside from its BioFoam polyurethanes; bioplastic from its NatureWorks subsidiary; and the assorted vegetable oil/corn-based chems as well as its biofuels business of course.
This recent announcement is the joint production of vegetable-based coating formulations called TopScreen DS13, which was developed by Cargill's new partner Topchim, a paper and cardboard coating technology company.
TopScreen DS13 is said to be an alternative for polyethylene, paraffin and acrylic resin that are used as resistant water-proof barrier for paper and board applications. It is now being produced by Cargill in its Mairinque's plant in Brazil.
The companies plan to produce more sustainable line of products in Brazil to be used for paper and board applications.
[Photo: water drop by venkane]
