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Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH is commercializing its BluCon™ — platform for complete, one-step conversion of non-food feedstocks to carbohydrates used in the production of fuels and chemicals. In the recent years Direvo has undertaken a huge research program identifying a portfolio of proprietary microorganisms, which enable the lowest cost production of valuable chemicals from non-food biomass. The BluCon™ platform is extremely flexible both for the type of feedstock and the resultant high value fuels and chemicals produced. BluCon™ converts various non-food biomass ranging from grasses and straw to agricultural and wood residues and can therefore be applied around the globe. From an end product perspective, BluCon™ delivers transportation fuels like ethanol or chemical building blocks like lactic acid. "After two years of extremely hard work, we are very excited to use our BluCon™ platform in solving global raw material supply and environmental concerns. Our technolo

The Bayflex® Lightweight polyurethane system from  Bayer  MaterialScience was honored with the "10th MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2012" at the MATERIALICA trade fair in Munich, Germany. A top-rank jury presented the "Best of" Award in the category "Material" for the high-performance and tough-elastic polyurethane construction material, which even floats on water due to its low density. "We are delighted with this recognition of our commitment to sustainable material solutions," said Dr. Birgit Meyer zu Berstenhorst, project manager for this development. "Our new material weighs up to 30 percent less than the standard material and is thus a perfect fit for future drive concepts such as electric mobility." This solution's light weight is attributable to the high-performance polyurethane system Bayflex® Lightweight together with a sophisticated combination of fillers instead of the mineral fibers used previously. "

Jindal Poly Films Ltd (JPFL), a leading flexible packaging films producer, has entered into an agreement with ExxonMobil Chemical (ExxonMobil) to purchase  ExxonMobil's Biaxially Oriented  Polypropylene  ( BOPP ) Global Films  business. The agreement was signed on 26th October, 2012. The transaction remains subject to necessary approvals from regulatory authorities. Mr. Hemant Sharma, CEO, JPFL said "We are excited to buy this business due to its excellent portfolio of premium products along with industry leading technology and R&D. We are equally excited to be acquiring an experienced and capable workforce. We are confident that, in combination with our existing Indian operations, we will be able to deliver effective long-term solutions to our customers globally." The agreement covers five  BOPP  production locations in the U.S. and Europe. The manufacturing sites are in Georgia and Oklahoma in the U.S. and in Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium in Europe. The

Compared with steel sheet or die cast aluminum,  polyamides  provide tremendous opportunities for reducing weight in the production of automotive engine oil pans. This is demonstrated by the 1.8 and 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engines used in the Audi A3, A4 and A6 as well as in the Volkswagen Passat for example. Their engine oil pans are made of Durethan AKV 35 H2.0, a  polyamide 66  from LANXESS, and weigh roughly one kilogram less than a steel component solution. They are around 50 percent lighter than an oil  pan  made of aluminum. "Not only do weight savings of this magnitude appreciably reduce the vehicles' fuel consumption and CO 2  emissions, they also improve the handling because this weight is saved in the area of the front axle," said Frank Krause, an expert for oil-bearing  polyamide  engine parts at LANXESS. The oil pans are manufactured by POLYTEC PLASTICS Germany GmbH & Co KG based in Lohne, Germany. Great design freedom There is a general tr

Applied CleanTech transforms human fecal matter into a variety of end products. Applied CleanTech's Sewage Recycling System turns the solids in sewage streams into a fertile source of energy and other consumer end products such as paper, envelopes and plastics. Because ACT extracts — rather than digests — the bio-solids in raw sewage, its process reduces total sludge formation by up to 50%. Other advantages of ACT's Sewage Recycling System include a 30% reduction in wastewater treatment plant costs(and such costs, in turn, represent 30% of sewage processors' operating costs) and a 15% increase in plant capacity. ACT's automatic recycling process also enables a reduction of accompanying odor problems during the treatment process, improves general plant maintenance and results in cleaner water. The company monetizes the 30% reduction in energy costs borne by the sewage operator by selling carbon credits. The immediate product that comes out of ACT's recycli

An above-average positive development in  bioplastics  production capacity has made past projections obsolete. The market of around 1.2 million tons in 2011 will see a fivefold increase in production volumes by 2016 — to an anticipated almost 6 million tons. This is the result of the current market forecast, which the industry association European  Bioplastics  publishes annually in cooperation with the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites from the University of Hannover. The worldwide production capacity for bioplastics will increase from around 1.2 million tons in 2011 to approximately 5.8 million tons by 2016. By far the strongest growth will be in the biobased, non-biodegradable bioplastics group. Especially the so-called 'drop-in' solutions, i.e. biobased versions of bulk plastics like  PE  and  PET  that merely differ from their conventional counterparts in terms of their renewable raw material base are building up large capacities. Leading the field is part

One of the European leaders in pultruded composite material profiles is going to provide 20 kilometers of the Thailand capital with third rail covers. ICCO COMPOSITES produces top contact third rails up to 4 and 6 meters long which comply with safety and resistance requirements. Delivery is planned for early 2013 and should be open to the public on 2015. Maximum underground safety ICCO COMPOSITES pultruded profiles (especially designed for the top contact third rail) comply with all local security requirements and provide fire-resistant solutions for an even better safety. Totally insulating, these profiles show many fire-resistant features and benefits: fire-resistant, low smoke emission, UV resistant, etc. "The fact that one quarter of our activity is dedicated to the railway industry enables us to have a perfect knowledge of the market and business demand as regards safety issues. We can comply with our customers' most important safety requirements and have been