Green Chemicals Blog
isobutanol
Global Bioenergies commercialization in momentum
France-based renewable chemicals company, Global Bioenergies, has speeded up its commercialization plans as it sets up its new industrial fermentation pilot unit in Pomacle, France, which is expected to be commissioned by the end of September, and be ready for a first fermentation run producing bio-based isobutene by the end of the year. The pilot … Continue reading
Lesaffre acquires Butalco
There were several bio-butanol news last month and these were all reported at Tecnon OrbiChem’s Bio-Materials newsletter. In the meantime, here was one from Lesaffre, a France-based manufacturer of yeast and other fermentation products. The company said it has acquired Butalco, a Swiss start-up bio-butanol technology developer, for an undisclosed amount. Lesaffre has recently established … Continue reading
Gevo ships bio-PX to Toray
Apologies for the sparse posts as I just finished this month’s Tecnon OrbiChem Bio-Materials newsletter, which was published yesterday. Here are the headlines for this month’s Bio-Materials newsletter: Ethylene/Polyethylene SABIC will produce renewable second generation PP and PE from waste fats and oils Glycols Acme Hardesty is now selling bio-based PEGs made from sugarcane bagasse Polyethylene … Continue reading
Gevo reports cash concern in 10-K
As the blog reported before, 2014 seems to be the year for industry restructuring with LS9 being acquired by Renewable Energy Group; Cereplast filing for bankruptcy and Codexis changing its business strategy and focus. Bio-isobutanol producer, Gevo, is currently in the cross-hair unless the company comes up with more cash this year. Gevo recently warned on … Continue reading
Porta licenses Gevo’s bio-isobutanol tech
Argentine ethanol producer, Porta Hnos S.A. (“Porta”), has signed a letter of intent to become the exclusive licensee of Gevo’s GIFT® in Argentina to produce renewable isobutanol. Porta is a 132 year old family owned company in Argentina that produces liquor, vinegars and has a 120 m3/day corn ethanol plant. In addition, Porta has designed and … Continue reading
Butamax, Gevo isobutanol patent fight intensifies
Butamax recently won a federal circuit appeal that nulls previous District Court rulings favoring Gevo over Butamax in a patent infringement lawsuit covering Butamax’s patents ‘188 and ‘889. The ‘188 patent covers a recombinant microbial host cell that uses a particular biosynthetic pathway to produce isobutanol. The ‘889 patent focuses on a method of producing … Continue reading
Bio-isobutanol approved by UL
Producers Gevo and Butamax have both announced the approval of bio-isobutanol for gasoline storage and dispensing equipment by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The independent product safety and testing company has approved the generic use of up to 16% isobutanol in UL 87A pumps by any manufacturer meeting ASTM specifications, providing all of the service stations across … Continue reading
Gevo hoping for a better 2014
The clock is ticking for bio-isobutanol producer Gevo, and it needs to prove as soon as possible that its 18m gal/year Luverne, Minnesota, facility can successfully fully operate. The company needed an influx of cash very quickly and has announced this week a public offering of 18.53 million common shares at $1.35 each. The stock … Continue reading
Butamax begins bio-butanol retrofit in Minnesota
Bio-butanol technology company Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels LLC and ethanol producer Highwater Ethanol LLC have begun to retrofit Highwater’s ethanol plant in Lamberton, Minnesota for the production of bio-butanol. Butamax’s technology package will include the installation of novel corn oil separation technology. Butamax and Highwater have entered into definitive agreements for license of Butamax’s patented corn oil separation technology, which … Continue reading
Gevo opens bio-PX demo facility
I am still working on my presentation for the ICIS World Chemical Purchasing Summit and the deadline is this Friday (yikes!). Goodluck to me! Meanwhile, the blog still has a lot of catching-up to do with several news from the past two weeks especially concerning biofuels. The blog will try to do a big biofuel … Continue reading