Chinese gutter oil as fuel for vehicles in Shanghai

PizzaHutChina.jpgThe municipality of Shanghai in China plans to turn recycled cooking oil, some of it seized by authorities, into an environmental asset by converting it into fuel for vehicles.

The country has been rocked by a series of food safety scandals including the re-use of waste oil recycled from restaurants and called “gutter oil”, a term used in China to describe illicit cooking oil which has been recycled from waste oil collected from sources such as restaurant fryers, drains, grease traps and slaughterhouse waste. Processed gutter oil is expected to be used as bus fuel within two years , as part of efforts to advance a circular economy and prevent recycled cooking oil from returning to the kitchen.

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The viability of aviation biofuels: new results from Australia

Qantas AirlinesGround-breaking Australian research on the viability of aviation biofuels was released last Friday, at the culmination of almost three years of work by The University of Queensland, James Cook University, The Boeing Company, Virgin Australia, Mackay Sugar and IOR Energy.

The results of the unique study as part of the Queensland Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative have been published in the international journal Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining and were presented at the Boeing-hosted Aero Environment Summit in Sydney.

Researchers at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, based at The University of Queensland, looked at the engineering and associated financial viability of biofuel production.

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BASF announced new investments in Asia Pacific

BASF-Innovation-Campus-Asia-Pacific-and-Greater-China-headquarters_-inaugurated.jpgToday BASF’s Crop Protection division (with sales of around €4.7 billion in 2012) presented its solutions for the future of food availability and quality of life in Asia Pacific. BASF aims to address these challenges by introducing new technologies, broadening farmer education and co-creation initiatives, increasing investments in production capacity and R&D as well as collaborating with food value chain partners. These initiatives will enable BASF to support growers in Asia Pacific more efficiently and broadly.

From 2008 to 2012, the Crop Protection division’s R&D expenditures have grown annually by 7% on average, from €325 million to €430 million. The company will continue to invest heavily in R&D projects in the future. Over the next few years, BASF also plans to spend on average €300 million annually on additional production capacities globally for its portfolio of agricultural solutions. “These investments mean that BASF can continue to support food availability in Asia Pacific and around the world more broadly,” said Markus Heldt, President of BASF’s Crop Protection division. “We are specifically investing in research, development and production in Asia Pacific as part of BASF’s globalization efforts, which will enhance our collaboration with growers in the region.”

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Interview with Simão Soares, Ceo of SilicoLife. The bioeconomy is the key to overcome the economic crisis in Portugal

parliament in lisbonIn Portugal, the unemployment rate has reached a record level of 17.7 percent, the highest in the European Union after Greece (26.4%) and Spain (26.3%), compared to an EU average of 10.9%. 952,000 people are unemployed, out of a total population of 10,5 million inhabitants.

For 2013, the center-right government led by Pedro Passos Coelho provides additional anti-crisis measures to comply with the financial assistance program of the Troika (EU, ECB, IMF), whose inspectors have already been twice in Lisbon to control the progress of the accounts. Among the measures there is the reduction of approximately 5 percent of public employees (30,000 of 700,000).

The bioeconomy could also be for Portugal an important way out of the crisis. We speak with Simão Soares, Ceo of the young company SilicoLife, one of several companies involved in the fields of bioeconomy created in Portugal in recent years, specialized in bioinformatics.

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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Bioeconomia: il rilancio italiano passa da Massa Marittima

platea.jpgIn Italia si comincia a parlare seriamente di bioeconomia. L’ultima occasione è stata offerta da un seminario che si è tenuto lo scorso 9 maggio a Massa Marittima, organizzato dalla Fondazione Arare dell’ex presidente di Confagricoltura, Federico Vecchioni, con la partecipazione di esperti, accademici, imprenditori e politici. Tra questi Paolo Bortolozzi, relatore al Parlamento europeo della Comunicazione sulla bioeconomia.

Proprio Bortolozzi nel suo intervento ha sottolineato come il settore della bioeconomia sia stimato oggi in Europa in 2000 miliardi di euro e dia lavoro a 22 milioni di persone. Si tratta perciò di un’area su cui investire con forza per generare lavoro e nuovi posti di lavoro. La Commissione europea stima inoltre che per ogni euro investito nei settori della bioeconomia oggi si possa generare un valore aggiunto di 10 euro entro il 2025.

A Massa Marittima si è discusso di come l’Italia possa agganciare questo sviluppo grazie all’uso intelligente delle risorse biologiche e rinnovabili, provenienti dalla terra e dal mare, finalizzato ad uno sviluppo industriale ed energetico ecologicamente e socialmente sostenibile. La Commissione europea sta sostenendo infatti un processo decisionale volto a tradurre in atti normativi coordinati una strategia indirizzata all’innovazione per una crescita sostenibile dell’economia continentale, rendendola più efficiente e competitiva, con un positivo e significativo impatto sui livelli occupazionali.

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Now is the time in Europe to bring advanced second-generation biofuels to the market

mazda_bp_biobutanol.jpgThe Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels (LSB), a group composed by the Chief Executive Officers of seven Leading European biofuel producers and European airlines, met the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels last week. The meeting was hosted by the ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) Committee, chaired by Mrs Amalia Sartori, to discuss the positions of the EP ITRE Committee on the European Commission revision of the Renewable Energy Directive – RED. The positions expressed by Mr Alejo Vidal Quadras, the Rapporteur of the ITRE Committee, and reported in his draft ITRE Draft Opinion, were supported by the Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels.

The Leaders, whose chairman is Guido Ghisolfi, President of Mossi & Ghisolfi Group, headquartered in Tortona (Piedmont, Italy), sent a clear message to the Parliament members: “Second Generation Advanced Biofuel technologies are ready to compete with conventional biofuels, with companies keen to invest in commercial projects given appropriate conditions”.

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Solazyme and AkzoNobel enter into an agreement targeting the development of advanced tailored oils

AkzoNobel.jpgSolazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company headquartered in South San Francisco (California, USA), and AkzoNobel, a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), announced that they have entered into an agreement targeting the development of advanced tailored oils and commercial sales for near-term product supply.

“Tailored oils – is written in a press release of both companies – can enhance or replace petroleum-derived chemicals, and improve upon the performance of plant oils and animal fats”. The Solazyme and AkzoNobel agreement is rooted in a shared commitment to sustainability and high-performance products derived from triglyceride oils.

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The Bioeconomy Leadership Award to DuPont

dupont-industrial-bioscience.jpgThe Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (SBFC) has awarded DuPont with its 2013 Bioeconomy Leadership Award. 2013 marks the first year of this award, aimed at honoring an organization for demonstrated and sustained leadership excellence in advancing the development of the biobased economy. DuPont was recognized for its pioneering work in two strategic areas: renewably sourced materials and fuels.

The annual SBFC conference brought together from 29 April to 2 May in Portland (Oregon, Usa) industrial, academic and government experts to discuss the latest progress and breakthroughs in the research, development and deployment of biobased fuels and materials.

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EFIB 2013: Brussels world capital of the bioeconomy from 30 September to 2 October

square-brussels-cube-by-dayEuropaBio, The European Association for bio-industries, and Smithers Rapra unveil highly-anticipated agenda for the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB) from 1-2 October 2013 taking place in the heart of Brussels at SQUARE. Officially launched by Elio di Rupo, Prime Minister of Belgium, EFIB’s opening plenary brings together a host of keynote speakers including Rudolf Strohmeier, Deputy Director General R&I at the European Commission; Maria da Graça Carvalho, Rapporteur on Horizon 2020 in the European Parliament and CEOs of Ecover and Galactic. Followed by exciting partnership perspectives from the Plant PET Technology Collaborative and a session lead by Ian Hudson, President of DuPont EMEA, examining the triggers for big business to make the shift towards the biobased economy. All speakers set the scene for another outstanding year, and transform the event from conference to congress.

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Cereplast announces new bioplastic resin grade with 51% algae biomass

Seymour-plant-CereplastCereplast, Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable bioplastics, has announced a new bioplastic resin grade Biopropylene(R) A150D, an injection molding grade manufactured with 51% post-industrial algae biomass.

The post-industrial algae grade is the first offering with 51% algae content and will be commercially available this quarter. Additionally, the biomass content dramatically reduces the carbon footprint of the final product while reducing the petroleum-based plastic content. Biopropylene A150D has low to no odor due to the discovery of a post-industrial process that significantly reduces the distinctive smell that is inherent to algae biomass.

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