Green Chemicals Blog
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Solazyme in cost reduction mode, lays off workers
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It’s a sad holiday for some Solazyme employees as the company announced today that it will reduce its workforce and implement other cost-cutting measures in order to reduce cash operating expenses of at least $18 million in 2015. The company anticipates recording a charge of approximately $3.0 million to $5.0 million in the fourth quarter…
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Port of Rotterdam looking to attract Bio investments
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The blog has reported in the past about the Malaysian Biotech hub, Bio-XCell, trying to attract several renewable chemical companies looking to invest capacities in the region such as the recent announcement from Verdezyne. However, there are other chemical hubs who are looking to expand into the bio-based sector and one of them is the…
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Gevo to license bio-isobutanol tech to Highlands EnviroFuel
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Highlands EnviroFuels, LLC (“Highlands”) has signed a letter of intent with Gevo to license its bio-isobutanol production technology. Highlands will build a commercial-scale “Brazilian-style” syrup mill in Highlands County, Florida, which would have a production capacity of approximately 200 ktpa of fermentable sugar. The facility will process locally grown sugar cane and sweet sorghum to…
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Rivertop starts construction of first commercial plant
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Montana, US-based specialty chemicals company, Rivertop Renewables has begun construction of its first commercial plant, located at DanChem Technologies, Inc.’s (DTI) facility in Danville, Virginia. DTI, a custom manufacturer of fine and specialty chemical products, is expected to begin production of Rivertop’s sugar-based glucaric acid-derived products beginning in the summer of 2015. At full capacity,…
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Stora Enso opens new biomaterials innovation centre
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Finnish pulp and paper packaging company, Stora Enso, has been pretty busy in the renewable chemicals world, recently acquiring US biotechnology company, Virdia, and building a cellulosic sugar demo plant in Louisiana. Stora Enso just announced that it will concentrate its biomaterials business development in a new Innovation Centre that will be located in the Stockholm…
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Bioplastics merger – Cardia Bioplastics, Stellar Films
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Australia-based Cardia Bioplastics has signed a proposed merger with Stellar Films Group, which manufactures film-based packaging catering to personal care, hygiene and medical product industries with facilities in Melbourne, Australia, and Port Klang, Malaysia. Under the proposed merger, Cardia Bioplastics will acquire all of the shares and units issued in Stellar Films, and issue ordinary…
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UPDATED: Iowa State University in glycerine-based adhesives R&D
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The world is again awash with glycerine this year because of growing biodiesel mandates from Southeast Asia and Argentina (not to mention biofuel tax incentives and mandates in the US). Throughout the years that the blog covered the oleochemical industry, there had been developments, albeit a bit slow, for new uses of glycerine and the…
