The future of Clariant is bio-based

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Clariant new R&D center in Planegg, near Munich

Clariant’s cellulosic ethanol using sunliquid® technology can achieve price competitiveness with sugarcane ethanol pricing in Brazil. To say it is the Swiss chemical company in a note.

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Novozymes launches an enzyme that cuts chemical use at ethanol plants

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Novozymes today announced the launch of Avantec® Amp, an advanced enzyme product that improves yield and throughput in corn ethanol production, while increasing corn oil extraction and significantly reducing the need for several harsh chemicals used in ethanol production. By switching from standard enzyme technology to Avantec Amp, a typical ethanol plant with a capacity of 110 million gallons can make up to $2.5 million a year in additional net profits.

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DuPont and Quad County Corn Processors Sign Enzyme Supply Contract for Cellulosic Biofuel

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DuPont Industrial Biosciences and Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) announced a new multi-year contract to supply the enzymes that enable QCCP’s Cellerate™ process in the production of cellulosic biofuel from corn kernel fiber.

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Novozymes will stick to its plans to develop transportation fuel made from agricultural waste

Novozymes Headquarter
Novozymes Headquarter

Denmark’s Novozymes , the world’s largest enzymes producer, will stick to its plans to develop transportation fuel made from agricultural waste, despite an oil price rout that has left oil-based products cheaper for consumers. Some analysts have expressed concern that a lower crude oil price might dampen investor interest in alternatives, but Novozymes said on Thursday that it aims to provide enzymes to 15 advanced bioethanol plants by 2017, up from five, generating 1 billion Danish crowns ($165.7 million) in revenue.

 

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Dyadic launched a new enzyme to enhance paper and textile quality

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South Australian Forest

Dyadic International, a global biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzymes and other proteins for the bioenergy, bio-based chemicals, biopharmaceutical, food and feed industries, announced that it has launched Fibrezyme® G4, a high performance cellulase enzyme product designed to enhance paper and textile quality, while improving the economics of our customers’ manufacturing processes.

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Novozymes launches LpHera, an enzyme to make starch conversion more efficient

Novozymes Headquarter
Novozymes Headquarter

Novozymes – the Danish biotech company which is world leader in industrial enzymes  – announced yesterday the launch of a new enzyme solution (LpHera) that helps make starch conversion more efficient.  The starch industry is one of the longest-standing markets for enzymes, and within the food industry helps to produce a wide range of sweeteners and ingredients used in products ranging from soft drinks to sauces.

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Exclusive interview with Daniel Gibbs (General Biomass Company)

20th European Biomass Conference
20th European Biomass Conference

“The central question for the development of any new field, such as the bioeconomy, is: ‘Who’s going to do it?’ Which countries and which companies are going to make the investments and do the hard development work to achieve the technology and the infrastructure which are necessary to move forward?  Technologies are important, feedstocks are important, but at the end of the day it is all about who has the will and motivation to fund and develop these systems”. To say it in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista is Daniel Gibbs, Founder and Ceo of the General Biomass Company, which is currently developing advanced industrial enzymes and other technology to convert nonfood cellulosic feedstocks to sugars for bioplastics, sustainable packaging, renewable chemicals and biofuels. With Gibbs we talk about the bioeconomy in US,  the different roles played by America, Europe and Asia, considering the strategic role of cheap nonfood biomass to the further development of the bioeconomy. “We need to realize- says Gibbs –  that production of biobased chemicals and plastics from biomass may be a very significant driver of technology development, since the monomers for bioplastics have a higher oxygen content and thus a higher yield than the alkanes needed, e.g., for biojetfuel or biodiesel. Both chemically and financially, this becomes attractive for consumer brands and sustainable packaging

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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In Belgium field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy

Ghent, Belgium
Ghent, Belgium

The results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, led by VIB – a life sciences research institute in Flanders funded by the Flemish government – shows that the wood of lignin modified poplar trees can be converted into sugars in a more efficient way. These sugars can serve as the starting material for producing bio-based products like bio-plastics and bio-ethanol.

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Exclusive interview with Anton Glieder (Ceo of ACIB): We translate academic knowledge into new industrial applications

In the middle: Anton Glieder, Ceo of ACIB GmbH
In the middle: Anton Glieder, Ceo of ACIB GmbH

“Sustainable production and use of bioresources from agriculture and forestry have a long tradition in Austria and besides the use of wood for construction, composite materials and energy production, the use of renewables and organic waste for the production of fibres, paper, chemicals, biodiesel, food&feed and pharmaceuticals are crucial to internationally leading Austrian industries active in production and engineering”. To say it in this exclusive interview with us is Anton Glieder, associate professor at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of Graz University of Technology and Scientific Director, Ceo and Cso of the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB GmbH). With Glieder we talk about industrial biotechnology and the role of Austria in the European bioeconomy.

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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Australian Bioeconomy: Leaf Energy to fund first trial program on Actinogen’s bioethanol project

Perth, the capital of Western Australia
Perth, the capital of Western Australia

Actinogen Limited, heaquartered in Western Australia, has entered into a collaborative and royalty agreement with Leaf Energy Ltd in the company’s Bioethanol project. Under the terms of the agreement Leaf Energy, an Australian company focused on turning waste into biofuels, bioplastics and green chemicals, will fund further studies in Actinogen’s Bioethanol project; in which the company previously identified strains of actinomycetes capable of producing cellulases. Cellulase are enzymes used to breakdown cellulose from plant material, papers and industrial waste glycerols (biomass), and are an important step in the production of second generation bioethanols.

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