Page 173 - CW E-Magazine (19-11-2024)

News from Abroad News from Abroad

CLOSING THE LOOP FERMENTATION TECHNOLOGY
Clariant expands storage capacity for recycled MPG BASF and Acies Bio to jointly work on renewable

in Sweden to support aircraft deicing methanol-to-fatty alcohols conversion

Swiss fi rm, Clariant, has expand- fossil-based materials,” explained BASF and Slovenian biotechno- commented, “We are very pleased to
ing its storage capacity in Scandinavia Mr. Sven Dammann, Head of Aviation logy fi rm, Acies Bio, have entered into a have found the right partner in Acies
for the use of recycled mono propy- EMEA at Clariant. partnership to further develop a platform Bio to further develop this innovation at
lene glycol (MPG), used in its air- for fermentation technology from metha- an early stage. With a collaborative and
craft deicing fl uids. Two new storage To initiate the recycling process, the nol for the production of fatty alcohols. interdisciplinary approach, our research
tanks and a truck unloading station run-off material of deicing operations scope of the partnership covers the en-
have been installed at the company’s at airports is collected and can then be Fatty alcohols are essential building tire chain from production strain deve-
Uddevalla facility in Sweden to cleaned and pre-concentrated to appro- blocks for several ingredients in the home the fermentation process to produce fatty lopment to large scale manufacturing.
increase capacity and optimise hand- material than at present will also help ximately 50-60% at Clariant’s facility and personal care markets, in particular acids and derivatives. BASF will contri- This will be of benefi t to our customers
ling of the product. Clariant to reduce Scope 3 emissions. located at Oslo airport, for example. surfactants. bute its expertise in developing processes, in personal care, home care and I&I and
providing integrated value chain solu- industrial formulators worldwide.”
In 2023, the Clariant facility began The Uddevalla plant supplies air- The concentrate is transported to Acies Bio has developed the “One- tions and accessing global markets.
using signifi cant amounts of recycled ports, airlines and service providers in a partner for fi nal processing into in- CarbonBio”, a fully fl exible synthetic Dr. Gregor Kosec, Director of R&D
MPG for ‘Type I’ deicing products, the Nordic and Baltic countries. “The dustrial grade glycol. Uddevalla takes biology platform designed to effi ciently For BASF, the expected benefi ts of at Acies Bio, said, “By combining our
offering around 25% lower product expanded storage and handling capacity this type of recycled glycol for the convert renewable methanol, derived the project include increased scale and advanced microbial production strains
carbon footprint compared to those in Uddevalla allows us to capture and proportionate use in the production of from captured CO emissions, into a fl exibility, leading to a diversifi cation of and the OneCarbonBio platform with
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made from virgin fossil-based MPG. reuse more recycled propylene glycol, Safewing Type I, helping to close the variety of chemical raw materials. Under the renewable feedstock portfolio. BASF’s proven process development
The intended use of even more recycled reducing waste and the need for virgin recycling loop. the terms of the partnership, BASF’s Care and supply chain expertise, we are
Chemicals division and Acies Bio will Dr. Matthias Maase, Global Director poised to bring our technologies to a
PROJECT UPDATE use the specialised microbes and scale up Sustainability, Care Chemicals BASF, global scale.”
Citroniq Chemicals to locate $7.5-bn bio-based EPOXY RESIN MOLDING COMPOUNDS

polypropylene project in Nebraska Sumitomo Bakelite readies China facility for
semiconductor encapsulation materials
US-based biochemicals fi rm, Citroniq form the plastics industry in a material
Chemicals, has selected Falls City’s way, reducing the carbon footprint of Japan’s Sumitomo Bakelite has
Mid-America Rail Campus to be one the entire US polypropylene production announced that its China arm, Sumitomo
of its bio-based production mega-sites. base by 20%,” stated Mr. Kelly Knopp, Bakelite (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. (SSB),
CEO of Citroniq Chemicals. “Our recently completed the construction of
The landmark project is part of vision is to create bio-plastics manufac- a new plant for epoxy resin moulding
the Nebraska BioEconomy Initiative, turing hubs in the US Midwest that compounds for encapsulation of
which aims to advance Nebraska’s eco- upgrade Nebraska corn into a wide semiconductor devices.
nomic strength, fortify rural communi- range of durable plastics goods, while
ties, and create sustainable, high-pay- creating high paying manufacturing The new plant is scheduled to begin
ing careers. “Citroniq is building the world’s careers in rural communities. full-scale mass production in 2025. The The company has been expanding its phones, personal computers, and home
largest decarbonisation platform, cap- company has invested about. 6.6-bn yen production capacity in the growing appliances, the plant will increase its
Citroniq will transform ethanol turing over 7-mn tons of CO per year, Nebraska is an ideal location for ($43-mn) in the project including land, China market, starting production in share in the China market for power
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produced from Nebraska corn into while producing byproduct bio-poly- these hubs due to the availability of buildings, production lines, ancillary 1997 and expanding production lines at devices, mobility applications, and
bio-based polypropylene, reducing the propylene pellets OrganicPP that are a local ethanol feedstock, advantaged facilities, etc. the current plant in July 2021. advanced AI applications.
reliance on petroleum-based produc- critical component in the decarbonisa- logistics to industrial plastics consu-
tion while driving additional revenue tion efforts of the automotive industry mers and high-quality rail infrastruc- Sumitomo Bakelite lays claim to The plant will expand SSB’s total The company operates four plants of
to Nebraska’s farms and rural commu- and other US manufactured goods. By ture to support the entire value chain,” being a leading player in semiconductor production capacity by 1.3 times. In epoxy moulding compounds for encap-
nities. The plant is expected to be building multiple plants at full commer- added Mr. Mel Badheka, President of encapsulation materials with an estima- addition to the traditional semiconduc- sulation of semiconductor devices in the
operational in 2029. cial scale, Citroniq can quickly trans- Citroniq Chemicals. ted market share of approximately 40%. tor-related applications such as smart- Asian region, including China and Japan.

172 Chemical Weekly November 19, 2024 Chemical Weekly November 19, 2024 173

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