Author: Il Bioeconomista

Un governo che guarda al futuro. Puntando sulla bioeconomia

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palazzo chigiRiuscirà l’Italia ad avere un governo? La missione sembra impossibile. Prima delle elezioni, paventando quanto poi si è avverato, ovvero l’ingovernabilità del paese, abbiamo anche espresso il sogno di avere come ministro dello Sviluppo economico, Catia Bastioli, Ceo di Novamont. Subito dopo la stessa Bastioli è stata inserita da Michele Santoro (questo ovviamente ci fa piacere) in un suo ipotetico governo di alto profilo. Il ministero che Santoro ha assegnato a Bastioli è quello dell’Ambiente. Il che fa emergere bene come la nostra visione dell’ambiente e della bioeconomia sia di traino dello sviluppo economico ma anche sociale del paese. Nel giochino del nuovo possibile governo si stanno cimentando un po’ tutti gli organi d’informazione.

Proviamo così anche noi de Il Bioeconomista a proporre un governo di alto profilo per il paese, che abbia nella propria agenda politica tra le priorità lo sviluppo della bioeconomia e dell’occupazione.
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The thistle, a new resource for the bioeconomy

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thistleFrom thistle a new era for the agricultural and industrial value chains. An innovative business model, which combines the industrial needs of Matrica, a joint venture between Versalis-Eni and Novamont, with those of farmers located  in northern Sardinia. An agro industrial relationship model, aimed at creating a integrated value chain rooted in the territory in synergy with local biodiversity. These the key issues discussed last Monday in Porto Torres at the second technical meeting on thistle which was attended by numerous high level representatives of the Sardinian agricultural world and by representatives of research and local institutions, including the mayor of Porto Torres, Beniamino Scarpa, and the dean of the University of Sassari, Attilio Mastino.

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Il futuro della Vinyls di Porto Marghera è nella chimica verde

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vinyls margheraSi affaccia un futuro nella bioeconomia per la Vinyls di Porto Marghera. Il Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi – secondo fonti venete – è interessato all’acquisizione dello stabilimento veneziano della società specializzata nella produzione di Pvc, in amministrazione straordinaria dal 2009. Ieri il Tribunale di Venezia ha prorogato di altri due mesi l’amministrazione controllata, un periodo necessario ai due commissari Mauro Pizzigati e Giorgio Simeone per trovare un accordo con i potenziali acquirenti, che rappresenti non solo la soluzione migliore per l’impianto ma anche per i 132 lavoratori in cassa integrazione straordinaria a zero ore. Oltre al Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi interessato allo stabilimento veneto della Vinyls è l’Oleificio Medio Piave.

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KLM: first flight on biofuels to New York City

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klm-biofuel-flight.jpgAfter a series of flights between Schiphol and Paris, Dutch airlines KLM operated its first transatlantic flight on used cooking oil to New York City. The company announced late last week that Thursday’s Flight KL642 flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Schiphol was made using biofuel, and confirmed the weekly flight will now continue to use the biofuel. The flight between Amsterdam and New York is scheduled to fly every Thursday in the coming 25 weeks.

The Dutch company began to test flights using biofuels in 2009. KLM started with 200 flights between Amsterdam and Paris. Last year, KLM operated its first intercontinental flight on used cooking oil to Rio de Janeiro. On 23 November 2009, KLM operated the world’s first demonstration flight with passengers on board using biofuel. On this flight, one engine ran on a mix of 50% biofuel made from camelina (huttentut). On 29 June 2011, this was followed by the first commercial flight on biokerosene from Amsterdam to Paris with 171 passengers on board. The biokerosene used on this flight was made from recycled cooking oil supplied by SkyNRG. In September a series of flights were operated on this route. With these flights KLM is demonstrating more sustainable operations really are possible.

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Bioplastics: the Italian holistic approach to bioeconomy

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EU ParliamentBrussels spoke Italian last Wednesday. On the eve of the official presentation of the “Green paper on plastic waste” by the European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik, Kyoto Club presented on 6 March the European Parliament with “Bioplastics: A case study of Bioeconomy in Italy. A smart chemistry for a smarter life in a smarter planet”, a book – edited by Walter Ganapini – on the Italian experience of regulating the distribution of disposable plastic bags, in order to reduce environmental pollution.

The book presents the “Italian case” of bioeconomy, whose roots lie in the evolution of research and innovation in the biodegradable bioplastics sector on the one hand, and the virtuous development of the quality compost industry and separated municipal waste collection on the other. The connections between these two developments over the years have set in motion a whole series of virtuous modes of action and collaboration initiatives between various stakeholders (enterprises, institutions, research bodies, trade associations, consultancy companies and regional authorities) generating a connective tissue that is ideal to promote a change in the development model, putting the efficient use of resources at the centre.

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È il giorno della bioeconomia italiana a Bruxelles

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porto torres bioraffineria matrìcaÈ il giorno della bioeconomia italiana a Bruxelles. Nella sede del Parlamento europeo si terrà oggi il convegno “BioPlastics: A case study of Bioeconomy in Italy in the light of Horizon 2020”, promosso dal Kyoto club con il patrocinio del nostro ministero dell’Ambiente.

Obiettivo: illustrare come l’Italia stia delineando una strategia capace di dare un nuovo impulso al potenziale di innovazione del paese e di sviluppare il settore della bioeconomia.

L’adozione di misure ”market pull” che incentivano la produzione e l’utilizzo di prodotti biodegradabili da materie prime rinnovabili ha dato vita ad importanti investimenti in tecnologie innovative e bioraffinerie (come quella di Porto Torres gestita da Matrìca, la joint venture tra Versalis-Eni e Novamont attiva nel campo della chimica verde, nella foto) e sta generando ricadute positive per l’intera società in termini di riduzione dei rifiuti e di introduzione di criteri di sostenibilità nelle scelte di consumo dei cittadini. Attraverso la presentazione dell’esempio italiano, la conferenza intende dimostrare che l’efficienza delle risorse non rappresenta soltanto un’esigenza strategica per l’Europa, ma anche una vera e propria opportunità dal punto di vista economico, capace di rilanciare la crescita in aree affette da profonda crisi.

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New Zealand meat-based bioplastics in commercial use by 2016

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university of waikatoAduro Biopolymers, a natural resource materials and biopolymer company based in Hamilton, New Zealand, hopes to see its meat-based bioplastic, called Novatein, in commercial use by 2016 or 2017. The company, that is a spin-out of the University of Waikato, has announced it has secured investment from Wallace Corporation, by volume New Zealand’s largest service rendering business, processing a variety of co-products from the meat processing industry.

Aduro was formed to develop and market materials and biopolymers for use in the manufacturing sector and is currently developing a novel material based on an unconventional idea; turning bloodmeal into bioplastic.

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The Canadian government plans to end its subsidy for production of biofuels in 2017

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air canadaThe Canadian government plans to end its subsidy for production of biofuels when its current program ends in 2017, a newspaper reported last Saturday. “The Globe and Mail” quoted a letter from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver to the biofuels industry on Thursday explaining that Ottawa needed to cut spending to tame its deficit.

Oliver said that the ethanol industry now produces the necessary volume of renewable fuel for Canada to meet its target of 5 percent ethanol in the country’s gasoline supply, the newspaper reported.

But the minister also noted that the Canadian biodiesel industry had been unable to produce enough of that fuel, forcing some refiners to import to meet a 2 percent biodiesel target.

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Bioplastics made from algae: Cereplast incorporates Algaeplast

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cereplastNew transaction in the field of bioplastics. Cereplast, a leading US manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable bioplastics, that since 1996 has the exclusive North American distribution rights to Novamont’s Mater-Bi resins, has announced the incorporation of a new wholly owned subsidiary, Algaeplast, Inc.

Algaeplast’ s focus will be the development and manufacture of algae-based bioplastics. Cereplast has been a pioneer in algae-based plastics, helping to bring the first products made from Cereplast Algae Bioplastics grades to market in 2011, and with the recent commercialization of Biopropylene 109D in December of 2012.

Cereplast introduced the concept in late 2009, with a target of reaching a bioplastic made from 50% algae bio-content. Algaeplast’s ultimate goal is to bring to market new polymers made from 100% algae content. Recently, the Company commercialized small quantities of Biopropylene 109D, a compound with 20% post-industrial algae biomatter. The research and development team is currently developing a grade with a higher percentage of algae bio-content. Based on customer interest, the company has determined that the demand for bioplastics made from algae is significant, and therefore has created Algaeplast, which will focus on this new sector. Algaeplast has been created to develop a new monomer and polymers made from algae.

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Waiting for the elections, dreaming Bastioli as the next Minister of Economic Development

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Ministero dello Sviluppo economicoIt’s not just because she shows great vision and strategic economic sense (read the interview with our journal in this regard). It’s not just because she knows how to reconcile economic growth, creation of new skilled jobs and environmental sustainability. It’s certainly not just because she is a woman in a country, Italy, where women find thousand obstacles to occupy top positions in the economy, academia and politics. It’s not only for these reasons but for sure these are enough to dream Catia Bastioli, the current Ceo of Novamont and chairwoman of the Kyoto Club Italy, as the next Italian Minister of Economic Development.

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