There is a new Brazilian-Danish partnership in the world bioeconomy. Braskem, the Americas’ leading producer of thermoplastic resins, and Danish-based Haldor Topsoe, a world leader in catalysts and surface science, have signed a technological cooperation agreement to develop a pioneering route to produce monoethylene glycol (MEG) from sugar. The agreement calls for the construction of a demonstration plant in Denmark, with operation slated to begin in 2019.
The output of China’s biological industry will reach 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022
The output of China’s biological industry is expected to reach 10 trillion yuan (1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022. The compound annual growth rate of the bio-industry in China has been over 15 percent since 2011, according to a white paper on the industry jointly released by Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology and Chengdu Library and Information Center, both affiliated with Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Finnish bioeconomy: sensible industrial wood usage benefits our planet
We receive and publish with pleasure this contribution sent by professor Olli Dahl (Aalto University, Finland), who presents a list of all the main investments and their products in Finnish bioeconomy, and considers whether the country’s forest resources can cope with so much new potential capacity in the forest industry sector.
ExxonMobil and REG to convert sugars from non-edible biomass sources into biodiesel
ExxonMobil and Renewable Energy Group (REG) have demonstrated the ability to convert sugars from a variety of non-edible biomass sources into biodiesel by utilizing REG’s patented fermentation technology
Clariant is ready to invest in a new full-scale commercial plant in Romania
Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, will invest in a new full-scale commercial plant for the production of cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues using its sunliquid® technology. The new plant, with an annual production capacity of 50.000 tons, will be built in the southwestern part of Romania. The facility will be a flagship site, confirming competitiveness and sustainability of the sunliquid® technology at commercial scale thus supporting Clariant’s sunliquid® licensing business strategy.
Eni denies the Ipo of Versalis and invests €500 million for the next 4 years in green chemistry
“The Ipo (Initial public offering, editor’s note) of Versalis is not yet in Eni’s plans”, Massimo Mondazzi, CFO of the Italian oil giant, said last Friday during a conference call with analysts answering the question about the chemical quotation hypothesis. “We want to maintain and strengthen Versalis, there are no Ipo projects. The option is not in the plans,” he said.
Bioeconomy leaders met in São Paolo for the Biofuture Summit
“We simply have no choice. We have to massively scale up bioenergy, and do it fast”, said Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA). “Sustainable bioenergy is an indispensable component of the necessary portfolio of low-carbon technologies in ALL climate-change mitigation scenarios”, said Frankl, based on the findings of a key upcoming report on the matter. “And there is a major, major gap between what we need and what is happening today in terms of the speed of deployment and the scale of investments in bioenergy”. The declarations were made as part of the Biofuture Summit, the first major conference of the Biofuture Platform, a coalition of twenty country governments, industry and the research community launched in November 2016 during UNFCCC COP23 in Marrakesh, aimed at the development of a modern, sustainable, low-carbon bioeconomy.
UPM moves forward with the development of biochemicals business in Germany
Finnish pulp and paper giant UPM moves forward with the development of biochemicals business by evaluating the potential of building a biorefinery in the Chemical Park Frankfurt-Höchst in Germany. The new-to-the-world biorefinery would combine novel technologies and utilize sustainable wood raw material in an innovative way. This opportunity is the outcome of more than five years of extensive technology development and piloting.
Leaf Resources enters biodegradable packaging market leveraging Glycell strategy
Australia-based Leaf Resources has secured a license for an innovative biodegradable coating product for the packaging market. The product is based on lignin and also utilizes glycerol, two of the products that Leaf’s Glycell process will produce. According to the company, “Leaf’s Glycell process break down plant biomass at lower temperature and pressure and generate a higher yield of cellulose than conventional approaches”.
Irish Ethanol Europe Renewables works with UN to accelerate shift to low carbon
Ahead of the UN Climate Conference in Bonn, COP 23, 6-17 November, the Irish company Europe Renewables Ltd and UN Climate Change have partnered to boost the deployment of biofuels in the transport sector.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 