Press Release

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    Lipids-based chemicals news

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    Happy April 1 blog readers! I have finished and published Tecnon OrbiChem’s March edition of the Bio-Materials newsletter yesterday, celebrated my birthday on Wednesday, did my social media duties at the AFPM last week and all the while battling a bad cough for more than a week now. Not bad for a newly-minted 40 year…

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    DuPont Tate & Lyle, BioAmber Launch Sampling Program at UTECH

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    I am currently working on Tecnon OrbiChem’s March issue of Bio-Materials newsletter but I can’t pass up this opportunity to post this interesting announcement from DuPont Tate & Lyle and BioAmber on their efforts to jointly developed the market for bio-based polyols using DuPont’s bio-PDO (1,3 propanediol) and BioAmber’s bio-succinic acid. The two companies said they…

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    NatureWorks’ $1 Million R&D Lab for methane-based lactic acid

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    NatureWorks has opened its new $1 million 8,300 square-foot laboratory at its Minnesota headquarter to commercialize a fermentation process for transforming methane into lactic acid, the building block of Ingeo™ biopolymer. NatureWorks is hiring six scientists to staff the new facility.The methane to lactic acid research project began in 2013 as a joint effort between NatureWorks and Calysta…

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    BASF, Avantium plan FDCA JV

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    BASF and Avantium announced today their intention to establish a joint venture for the production and marketing of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), as well as marketing of polyethylenefuranoate (PEF), which is being touted as an alternative to PET but with better gas barrier properties and higher mechanical strength. For those who are not familiar with PET,…

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    Newlight, IKEA in PHA plastic supply deal

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    IKEA SUPPLY AG and Newlight Technologies recently announced a supply, collaboration, and technology license agreement that will supply IKEA with AirCarbon PHA resins from Newlight’s commercial-scale production facilities and enable IKEA to produce AirCarbon thermoplastic under a technology license. Under the agreement, IKEA will purchase 50% of the material from Newlight’s 23 ktpa plant in the…

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    Solazyme changes name, abandons commodity chems and biofuel

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    It should not come as a shock that Solazyme is now fully rebranding itself as a food and nutrition ingredients producer after recent announcements of production restructuring and layoffs. The company released a statement today that it has renamed itself as “TerraVia” and will now exclusively focus on food, nutrition and specialty ingredients using its…

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    Soybean news: A new biorefinery and new products

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    The Minnesota Soybean Processors (MnSP) has invested in Ontario, Canada-based Altranex Corporation and entered a license and marketing agreement for renewable lubricant base oils, waxes, diesel and other products using soybean oil as feedstock.  The biorefinery will use Altranex’s patented electrolysis process. Altranex is currently building a pilot biorefinery in Ontario that will produce 1…