Working to drive the circular economy in packaging as well, one of its main business segments, Braskem signed a partnership to leverage the development of sustainable solutions. All 1-liter and 5-liter packaging of the Brazilian company Biowash , a pioneer in the development of 100%-biodegradable natural homecare products, now will be made from a mixture of renewable plastic, made from sugarcane , and post-consumer resin (PCR).
Technology
DMC Biotech completed successful pilot of L-alanine at BPF in Delft
DMC Biotechnologies, the US BioBased specialty chemical company, has successfully produced its lead product, L-alanine at pilot scale. Commercial key performance metrics were achieved and performance from the bench scale was also demonstrated at 3m3scale fermentation and for each of the downstream purification unit operations. The robustness of DMC’s Dynamic Metabolic Control technology to the process environment was also validated.
Neste and Outotec joined forces for a fully bio-based diluent
Neste and Outotec have jointly verified the viability of applying Neste MY Renewable Isoalkane™ as a fully bio-based diluent for extracting metals in hydrometallurgical processes. The diluent is based on Neste’s NEXBTL technology and produced entirely from bio-based waste and residue raw materials.
UPM enters the biochemicals business by investing in a biorefinery at Leuna, Germany
Finnish company UPM takes the next transformative growth step and enters the biochemicals business by investing in a biorefinery at Leuna, Germany. The biorefinery will produce a range of 100% wood-based biochemicals which enable a switch from fossil raw materials to sustainable alternatives in various consumer-driven end-uses. The investment opens totally new markets for UPM with large growth potential for the future.
Genomatica Hits Industry-First Milestone in Nylon Sustainability
Eighty years after nylon’s first commercial production, clean manufacturing technology leader Genomatica achieved a new milestone for the material — its production of the world’s first renewably-sourced ton of the key ingredient for nylon-6, made from plants instead of crude oil.
Nylon, the first totally synthetic fiber to be made into consumer products including apparel and carpet, is responsible for an estimated 60 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through traditional production which begins with crude oil. Continue reading
German Biotech company BRAIN AG expands production capacities in Germany and Wales
The BRAIN Group announced an expansion of its production capacities. The installation of new production facilities in both Büttelborn, near Darmstadt, Germany, by WeissBioTech GmbH (WBT) and in Cardiff, Wales, by Biocatalysts Ltd. lays the foundation for future growth.
The companies of the BRAIN Group form a closely knit network in the fields of R&D and production or as suppliers in specific markets. Drawing on the particular competencies of its subsidiaries, BRAIN brings its own innovative research results to market launch and commercializes existing products. By expanding its production capacities, BRAIN reinforces the strategic focus on its product business.
Phillips 66 and REG Withdraw Renewable Diesel Project in Washington State
Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company, and Renewable Energy Group Inc said on Tuesday they plan to stop the joint construction of a renewable diesel plant in Washington and have canceled the project following permitting delays and other uncertainties.
Originally announced in fall 2018, this 250 million gallon per year project would have resulted in the largest renewable diesel refinery on the West Coast of the United States.
The biobased self-mattin resin developed by Royal DSM takes a step forward
Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, announces that its new, bio-based self-matting resin, Decovery® SP-2022 XP, has been successfully integrated by coating formulators Ciranova and Arboritec AB into products launched at Domotex 2020. As such, the resin is now successfully enabling easier application and higher aesthetic and functional performance in the flooring market, as well as outperforming conventional market alternatives on sustainability.
Clariant, Anhui Guozhen and Chemtex joined forces to produce advanced bioethanol in China
Clariant, a focused and innovative specialty chemical company, and Anhui Guozhen Group, a Chinese green energy company, and Chemtex Chemical Engineering, a multinational engineering company, signed a license agreement on sunliquid® cellulosic ethanol technology.
2020: Happy New Year!
Dear Readers,
thank you so much. 2019 was a great year for Il Bioeconomista. The blog confirms itself as one of the world’s leading bioeconomy blog. And the number of readers increased by 29%.
2019 was also an important year for the bioeconomy but many things still need to be done to fully achieve a more sustainable society and economy, starting with the implementation of effective policies against climate change. From this point of view, the COP25 in Madrid cannot leave us optimistic. 2020 will be a turning point. We start from the positive assumptions that exist in the European Green New Deal.
However, such a huge vision and ambition cannot be achieved without looking at the essence of the economic model we have created, that is without fundamentally rethinking the way in which we produce and consume. A system change is needed to dematerialize our economic model and update the logic of resource efficiency to that of resource sufficiency, based on the decoupling of economic growth, or better well-being, from the use of resources and environmental impacts. The quantity-oriented and profit-oriented economy should be replaced by an economy focused on satisfying people’s needs in a sustainable way. This is not an easy task and it certainly is a process that challenges the current balance and distribution of power and interests. But it is necessary, if we take the set ambitions seriously. The bioeconomy, a circular economy based on renewable biological resources and sustainable biological solutions, can contribute to the realization of the Green Deal. It can be a catalyst for systemic change to holistically address those social, economic and environmental aspects that are not yet managed consistently today.
In the new year we will certainly always be active to support the sustainable and circular bioeconomy. Thanks for joining us.
We wish all of you a wonderful, healthy,
Happy new year!
Some pictures from 2019:
Paper Bottle with PEF prototype (Source: Avantium)
John Bell in Helsinki
