Green Chemicals Blog
MEG
UPM gears up for bio-MEG commercialization
UPM Biochemicals is gearing up for its incoming wood-based glycols production in Leuna, Germany, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2023 and ramping up to its full 220 ktpa biorefinery capacity by 2024. The main products that will be produced from the biorefinery are Bio-MEG (monoethylene glycol), bio-MPG (monopropylene glycol), renewable … Continue reading
Bio-based commodity chemicals in the spotlight
Will rising crude oil price again accelerate the investments for the commercialisation of bio-based chemicals especially for drop-in commodities? This month alone, sugarcane ethanol-based ethylene producer Braskem announced the establishment of a joint venture company with Japan-based Sojitz Corporation to produce biomass-derived monoethylene glycol (MEG) and monopropylene glycol (MPG). The companies plan to make a … Continue reading
lululemon invests in renewable materials
US athletic apparel company lululemon Athletica Inc. has been very busy these past two months partnering all the way up in the company’s raw material supply chain. The company released its first Impact Agenda in October last year with a goal to make 100% of its products from sustainable materials by 2030. By 2025, lululemon … Continue reading
Indorama Ventures to buy Brazil-based Oxiteno
Indorama announced on Monday that it will acquire Oxiteno, the chemical subsidiary of Brazilian fuel company Ultrapar Participacoes SA, for $1.3 billion, subject to adjustment and closing, with a deferred payment of $150 million in 2024. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022. Oxiteno is an interesting acquisition for Thailand-based Indorama Ventures not … Continue reading
Avantium’s bio-glycols in polyesters and deicers
Avantium announced this week that it has completed the application validation for its plant-based glycols plantMEG™ (monoethylene glycol) and plantMPG™ (monopropylene glycol) produced in Avantium’s Ray Technology™ demo plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Key applications include polymerisation to PEF and PET polyesters and functional fluids used for de-icing and heat transfer. In 2020, Avantium successfully … Continue reading
What future for Coal-to-MEG and Bio-MEG in a Low-Cost Brent World?
Since the start of 2020, we have seen Brent crude oil futures fall from just under $70/bbl to $23/bbl. MEG values followed, plummeting from $608/ton to $350/ton cfr in early April. And although there has been a rebound, relatively low Brent crude prices of around $40/bbl still prevail, along with very low MEG values in … Continue reading
Avantium opens bio-glycols demo plant
The bio-based glycols market is slowly coming back to life with the addition of new capacities from several companies I’ve been covering these past few years. Last week, Avantium inaugurated its plant-based MEG (monoethylene glycol) demonstration factory in Chemie Park Delfzijl, the Netherlands, using a chemo-catalytic technology the company named Ray Technology™. The demonstration plant, … Continue reading
Braskem, Topsoe to build a demo bio-MEG plant
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate here in the USA! I still have more ‘catching up’ posts and this one has already been announced back in July during the BIO World Congress but I guess the press statement (delivered by our friends from Sustainability Consult) just made it official. Braskem has signed a partnership with … Continue reading
Avantium acquires Liquid Light
Interesting news from Avantium but in short-to-medium term, this could complete the company’s (and its partners’) goal of sustainable polymers offering (e.g. CO2-based MEG + FDCA = PEF). Avantium announced today that it has acquired the assets of US-based Liquid Light Inc., which has developed proprietary process technology to make major chemicals from carbon dioxide … Continue reading
S2G Biochemicals starts bio-glycols campaign
I had a very interesting interview with S2G BioChemicals‘ CEO, Mark Kirby, on their road to commercialization of not only bio-based glycols, MEG and MPG, but also an undisclosed high value specialty chemical that the company is currently collaborating with a Fortune 100 partner. I will report all of this for Tecnon OrbiChem’s Biomaterials newsletter … Continue reading