Brazilian company Braskem joined the companies Martiplast, from the domestic utilities segment, and Leroy Merlin, one of the largest store chains in the construction market, to offer to consumers 100% recycled plastic organizer boxes.
Author: Il Bioeconomista
BP Verenium Biofuels plant in Louisiana is for sale
Aaron Equipment Company in conjunction with Reich Brothers and Phoenix Equipment Corporation recently acquired the BP Verenium Biofuels plant including over 40 acres of real estate and equipment located in Jennings, LA. The group plans to first offer the plant in its entirety and then piece meal to the buying public. Consisting of a full plant made up of hundreds of individual pieces of equipment and components, the liquidation marks Aaron Equipment’s expansion into the trendy biofuels equipment market after eight decades of providing new, used and reconditioned processing equipment to other industries. The sale offers a unique opportunity to save money while getting into or extending one’s reach in the sustainable fuels game.
Masdar signed a partnership agreement with Bee’ah to develop the UAE’s waste-to-energy sector
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Bee’ah to develop the UAE’s waste-to-energy (WtE) sector. This partnership will help contribute to the UAE Government’s Vision 2021 which targets, among other goals, diverting waste from landfills by 75 per cent by 2021. Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the primary treatment of waste.
Mariagiovanna Vetere, NatureWorks: “It’s time to give clear support to biomaterials! The EU Plastic Strategy is a missed opportunity”
“With the Plastic Strategy the Commission presented an ambitious plan but it focuses only on mechanical recycling of conventional plastics and falls short in considering and evaluating the big benefits for the environment and for the ‘green’ jobs in Europe that bioplastics can provide”. Mariagiovanna Vetere, NatureWorks Public Affairs manager for Europe, talks to Il Bioeconomista.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Ingenza aims to develop new industrial biotech-based routes to commodity chemicals
UK biotech company Ingenza has joined forces with leading universities and industrial partners to participate in the ConBioChem collaboration, a translational project focused on the development of novel platform technologies for the continuous bio-production of commodity chemicals.
Aquafil and Genomatica join forces to produce 100% sustainable nylon
Italy-based Aquafil and Californian biotech company Genomatica join forces to create sustainable caprolactam, a key ingredient to producing 100% sustainable nylon. The collaboration between the two companies aims to develop a commercially-advantageous bioprocess (Genomatica’s GENO CPL process) to make caprolactam using plant-based renewable ingredients, rather than the crude oil-derived materials traditionally used by the nylon industry.
Hera will guarantee clean electric energy for Bio-on’s new biopolymers plant
Bio-on, Italian eco-sustainable chemical company, and Gruppo Hera, one of Italy’s main multi-utility providers, have reached an agreement for the supply of clean energy thanks to the realisation and management of a new technological-energy hub that will house a newly designed trigeneration plant. The deal was signed by Bio-on S.p.A. with Hera Servizi Energia, a subsidiary of Gruppo Hera, and will guarantee clean electric energy for the new plant producing innovative biopolymers that Bio-on is currently constructing in Castel San Pietro Terme, outside Bologna (Emilia Romagna Region).
World Bio Markets brings together in Amsterdam the bioeconomy global value chain
With governments committed to reducing emissions and consumers becoming more educated about where their products come from, there are opportunities for the bio-based sector to become a true contender to fossil oil. Yet long development times, lack of investment, and challenges in attaining a secure and sustainable supply chain have made it difficult for the bio-economy to achieve commercial success.
Synvina takes a step forward for commercial-scale production of FDCA
Synvina, the joint venture between Avantium and BASF, plans to extend the pilot phase in order to optimize future commercial-scale production. The company headquartered in Amsterdam has now completed a broad feasibility assessment for commercial-scale production of FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) in its Reference Plant intended to be built in Antwerp. FDCA is the main building block for the new polymer PEF (polyethylenefuranoate). The assessment looked at product performance, market appetite and technical process.
New York City announced first-in-the-nation goal to divest from fossil fuels
New York City announced first-in-the-nation goal to divest from fossil fuels. Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and other trustees of the City’s $189 Billion pension funds announced a goal to divest City funds from fossil fuel reserve owners within five years, which would make New York City the first major US pension plan to do so. In a first-in-the-nation step towards the goal of divestment, the Mayor and Comptroller will submit a joint resolution to pension fund trustees to begin analyzing ways to divest from fossil fuel owners in a responsible way that is fully consistent with fiduciary obligations. In total, the City’s five pension funds hold roughly $5 billion in the securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies. The City’s move is among the most significant divestment efforts in the world to date.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 