Green Chemicals Blog
Feedstock
Pyrolysis Projects on a Hot Investment Streak
Sorry for the lack of posting as this month is cray-cray! To make a small amend, I am sharing my Bio-Materials special report this month about several pyrolysis projects particularly using woody biomass and waste plastics. I’ve also interviewed Agilyx for this report which you can download on this link: https://www.orbichem.com/blog/pyrolysis-projects-on-a-hot-investment-streak For a brief snapshot … Continue reading
Unilever expands to CO2-based surfactant raw material
My special report on Tecnon OrbiChem’s Bio-Materials newsletter this month was about fermentation-based surfactants particularly glycolipids given BASF’s recent investments in this market. Unilever was also mentioned in my report as one of the big consumer brands that are now also using glycolipids in some of its detergents portfolio. Unilever’s goal, as publicly announced by … Continue reading
NatureWorks to expand US PLA production
I’ve been hearing that demand for biodegradable/compostable plastics have been very good this year, and PLA (polylactic acid) resins have been benefiting from this growing demand. NatureWorks, the world’s largest PLA manufacturer, announced this week that it will increase its production of Ingeo™️ (PLA) biomaterials portfolio by 10% by installing additional monomer purification technology at … Continue reading
Dutch SER advises biomass use for chems production
The Dutch Social Economic Council (SER) published this month its report: “Biomass in Balance, a sustainability framework for the high value application of bio-feedstocks” (in Dutch) which advises the Dutch government about biomass sustainability and giving a recommendation that biomass should be use more as bio-feedstock (chemicals and materials production) instead of bioenergy and fuel … Continue reading
Adhesives remain a high-growth area for bio-based chemicals developments
Research, development and commercialisation of various bio-based adhesive technologies have steadily risen driven by factors such as low VOC and carbon emission requirements; the need to lower costs of transporting and storing hazardous substances; growing consumer preference for plant-based materials and the need to reduce fossil dependence; as well as potential regulations stimulating the market … Continue reading
Growing bio-based solvent market
While the bio-based solvent market might have a set-back with the closing of Green Biologics bio-based n-butanol facility in Little Falls, Minnesota (I wrote a more comprehensive report about this in Tecnon OrbiChem’s July Biomaterials issue), consumers for these specialty chemicals continue to look for safer and less carbon emitter alternatives. Braskem announced last month … Continue reading
Alternative protein market gets investment boosts
Calysta announced a $30 million investment from BP Ventures to support a worldwide rollout of Calysta’s FeedKind® protein, which is already being produced from the company’s Market Introduction Facility (MIF) in Teesside, England. The investment will help Calysta expand production of its sustainable single-cell protein, which is produced through a proprietary, commercially-validated gas fermentation process … Continue reading
Total starts up La Mède Biorefinery
Total announced last week that it has finally started up production of renewable diesel at its La Mède biorefinery in southeastern France, with the first batches of biofuel coming off the line. The biorefinery will produce 500,000 ton/year of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) both for biodiesel and biojet fuel. The La Mède site was formerly … Continue reading
Growing plastic waste problems lead to more chemical recycling tech commercialisation
Announcements of investment and partnerships from several plastic producers, energy companies, major consumer brand owners and recycling technology companies have accelerated just within the past six months as media coverage of growing global plastic waste problems intensify at the same time that regulatory proposals to ban single-use plastic products have increased worldwide. Chemical recycling, which … Continue reading
Webinar: US DOE BETO explores biomass feedstock
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and its National Laboratories are dedicating the month of June to the public exploration of renewable biomass feedstocks, many of which can be found right outside your window. These feedstocks are used for the production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower in support of the U.S. … Continue reading