Business

Canada invests 12 million $ to support BioAmber Sarnia new bio-based succinic acid plant

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Jean-François Huc, Ceo of BioAmber
Jean-François Huc, Ceo of BioAmber

BioAmber Sarnia’s new bio-based succinic acid plant, the first and only commercial scale production plant of its kind in the world, will receive a $12 million investment from the Harper Government to support its construction in Sarnia.

The announcement was made by Patricia Davidson, Member of Parliament for Sarnia–Lambton, alongside the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The plant is expected to create 150 construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs once the plant is operational at the end of 2014.

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Cereplast advances algae bioplastics development

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Cereplast's plant in California
Cereplast’s plant in California
Cereplast, a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable bioplastics, is advancing in the research and development stage in preparation to bring to the market a more sustainable and cost efficient process for the development of algae bioplastic resins.
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Ecofys report: Biofuels play minor role in local food prices

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Sugarcane
Sugarcane

There is persistent concern that biofuels compete with food production, drive up food prices and price volatility and so cause hunger.
Many people, including very dignified authorities, accept this simple causality chain. The reality is far more complex.

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Brussels center of gravity of the world bioeconomy. EFIB 2013 returns to Europe’s capital

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Square Cube in Brussels
Square Cube in Brussels

EFIB returns to Brussels. From 30th September to 2nd October the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Biobased Economy (EFIB)  returns to Europe’s capital, where it was first launched 5 years ago. Since then, the event has grown tenfold in size but remains true to its goal of providing the premier meeting place for business and policy throughout the biobased value chain.

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The Brazilians will drink milk and orange juice from bio-based cartons

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Tetra Pak Headquarter in Lund (Sweden)
Tetra Pak Headquarter in Lund (Sweden)

The bio-based revolution extends to the carton packaging industry. In a first for this field, Tetra Pak, the Swedish multinational giant with net sales in 2012 of 11.15 billion euros, plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resins producer in the Americas, for the supply of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil.

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Global Renewable Fuels Alliance: 62 countries now have biofuels friendly policies

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World map
World map

According to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, a global biofuels federation representing over 65% of the world’s renewable fuels production from 44 different countries, 62 countries now have biofuels friendly policies in place whose ethanol production alone has replaced the need for over 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

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University of Michigan: fungus and bacteria convert tough plant materials to biofuel

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University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)

A fungus and E. coli bacteria have joined forces to turn tough, waste plant material into isobutanol, a biofuel that matches gasoline’s properties better than ethanol. University of Michigan research team members said the principle also could be used to produce other valuable chemicals such as plastics.

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Praj launches in India a new concept of biorefinery for 2G bioethanol and biochemicals

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PRAJ-Matrix - The Innovation Center (a division of Praj Industries), was inaugurated on April 21, 2008
PRAJ-Matrix – The Innovation Center (a division of Praj Industries)

Praj Industries – the Indian global process solutions company for bioethanol, alcohol and brewery, water and wastewater – has emerged as the first Company in South Asia to set up an integrated 2nd Generation (2G) Cellulosic ethanol plant. Praj’s Executive Chairman, Pramod Chaudhari, did the groundbreaking at Shirala in Sangli District in Maharashtra (India) along with Chairman of Viraj Alcohols & Allied Industries Limited (VAAIL), Mansinghrao Naik.

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Twelve U.S. universities sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

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The University of California Berkeley
The University of California Berkeley

The University of California-Berkeley, University of Minnesota, Northeastern University and 10 other colleges and universities that have signed the Green Chemistry Commitment, intended to increase the number of green chemists and scientists in the US and the business opportunities available to them.

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In Singapore the world’s first water treatment techniques using apple and tomato peels

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NUS, Kent Ridge Campus
NUS, Kent Ridge Campus

One of the most crucial problems affecting the world today is the scarcity of potable water. In a bid to make clean water available at low cost, Ramakrishna Mallampati, a PhD candidate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), experimented with water treatment techniques using materials that are easily available, and came up with novel ways to purify water using the peels of apples and tomatoes. This is the first time that the peels of the two fruits have been used to remove different types of pollutants in water.

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