VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the biggest multitechnological applied research organisation in Northern Europe, at the request of the South Australian State Government, studied the condition of the forest sector industries in the Green Triangle region and examined the added value that may be achievable through high technology production.
M&G Chemicals, among the three largest producers of PET resin for packaging applications in the world, announced last Monday its decision to construct a second-generation biorefinery in the region of Fuyang, Anhui Province of China, for the conversion of one million metric tons of biomass into bio-ethanol and bio-glycols.
The project is expected to be realized through a joint-venture with Chinese company Guozhen which will make available one million metric tons of straw biomass and use the lignin resulting as a by-product from the bio-refinery to feed a 45 MW cogeneration plant which will be constructed at the same time as the bio-refinery in the same site. M&G Chemicals will be majority partner of the biorefinery and minority partner of the power plant.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of 181 million US dollars to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. Vilsack’s announcement is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy.
UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels.
Today starts the European biotech week, seven days entirely dedicated to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA.
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.
The £350 million Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull (England) was officially opened this week by Vince Cable, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. The new plant is the UK’s biggest bioethanol producer and largest single-source supplier of animal feed providing valuable commodities that the UK would usually import.
Oil major BP is directing investment in advanced biofuels to the United States and South America due to uncertainty about the European Union’s future regulatory environment.
“At the moment we are not contemplating investing in second-generation cellulosic (ethanol) in Europe simply for the reason that there is not enough certainty on what the market conditions will be like,” Phil New, head of BP Biofuels, said in an interview with Reuters UK.
Novamont, the Italian leading company in the development and production of materials and biochemicals, with a turnover of 135 million euros in 2012, has unveiled the first product made from 4th generation Mater-Bi®, the family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics designed to go beyond the product itself and become an opportunity to develop circular bioeconomies. It also aims to stimulate reindustrialisation through the development of integrated Biorefineries. It’s what was announced by the company in a statement.
The 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.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 