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The European Commission will establish an observatory to map progress and measure the impact of the development of the European Union's bioeconomy, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced today. The observatory will gather data to follow the evolution of markets, to map EU, national and regional bioeconomy policies, research and innovation capacities, and the scale of related public and private investments. The observatory will be coordinated by the Joint Research Centre, the Commission's in-house science service. Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said: "It's now one year since we launched our bioeconomy strategy. We are now seeing Member States seize the opportunity offered by the transition to a post-petroleum economy based on smart use of resources from land and sea. It's essential that they do because it will be good for our environment, our food and energy security, and for Europe's competitiveness in the ...

The Lubrizol Corporation announced recently its plans to increase its chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin capacity through a joint investment in a manufacturing facility with Sekisui Chemical Company, Ltd. The new facility, which is part of the company's Phase I capacity expansion, will be located in Thailand and will enable Lubrizol to meet its global customer demands, particularly in Asia Pacific. Initial resin capacity during this first phase will be 30,000 metric tons with a total investment of approximately $50 million over a two-year period and with full operation planned by the end of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals. Phase I will be designed to allow for a future expansion as part of Phase II that will double the size of the plant to 60,000 metric tons with an additional investment of $50 million. The Phase II expansion is expected be operational by the end of 2016. Lubrizol recognizes the global growth potential for CPVC products and is committed to ensurin...

Genomatica and DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products Company, LLC (DT&L) recently announced the first successful commercial-scale production of 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) using a bio-based manufacturing process. BDO is an intermediate chemical used in a wide variety of applications including athletic apparel, electronics and automotive applications. This campaign, which spanned five weeks in late 2012, produced more than five million pounds (over 2,000 metric tons) of BDO by direct fermentation using conventional sugars as feedstock. This marks the first time that BDO- with an existing worldwide market of billions of pounds per year — has been produced biologically on this scale and at this rate. This campaign was completed less than five years from when Genomatica first demonstrated the ability for a microorganism to produce BDO in 2008. "This was a sizable commercial-scale production campaign," said Christophe Schilling, Genomatica's Chief Executive Officer. "Partn...

The Netherlands -- According to a 2011 report by the World Health Organization, in 2002 in the United States alone approximately 99,000 deaths were linked to healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). At MD&M West 2013 [12-14 February], SABIC's Innovative Plastics business introduced powerful new tools to help medical device manufacturers reduce HCAIs among patients and clinicians. SABIC's nine new antimicrobial resin grades featuring silver technology have been tested for log reduction values — the level of microbes eliminated from a surface — according to the ISO 22196-2007 protocol. They comprise one of the broadest antimicrobial portfolios in the industry and offer distinct advantages over off-the-shelf antimicrobial concentrates combined with third-party resins. Because SABIC scientists possess compounding expertise and a deep understanding of base resin and antimicrobial additive chemistries, they can optimize properties and performance to meet specific requirem...

It's powerful, highly accurate, economical and compact — and the all-electric ENGEL e-mac injection molding machine is poised to set new benchmarks in the production of technical parts and electronic components. Starting on 12th February and extending into the summer, the ENGEL e-mac will be touring Europe, spreading the word through innovative applications, specialist lectures and windows for personal expert dialogue. Once again, ENGEL will truly live up to its motto by getting 'close to the customer' with a roadshow. From north to south and east to west, the tour will traverse the continent. The event gets under way in the French town of Wissous on 12th and 13th February; from there it will move on to Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany as a start. Using two applications as examples, the full potential of the machine series will be demonstrated live at ENGEL subsidiaries. Most impressively, connector housings will be produced from fiberglass-filled PBT/A...

Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. announced recently that they have entered into a $20 million multi-year agreement to jointly develop a suite of triglyceride oils for use primarily in the oleochemical industry. The agreement includes further development of Solazyme's breakthrough high myristic algal oil, a valuable raw material in the oleochemical industry, as well as additional oils that Solazyme is developing for the oleochemical and industrial sectors. Product development is expected to span a multi-year period, with periodic product introductions throughout the term of the joint development alliance. End use applications may include renewable, high-performance polymer additives for plastic applications, aviation lubricants, and toiletry and household products. "Mitsui's extensive knowledge of the end use markets for the jointly-developed triglyceride products, including both the oleochemical industry and applicat...

K7 LLC's K7C™ Cervical Spacer, a spinal implant device using Evonik's VESTAKEEP®  PEEK  ( polyetheretherketone ), has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 510(k) approval for use as an Intervertebral Body Fusion (IBF) device. This marks the first time a VESTAKEEP®  PEEK- based spinal fusion medical device has gained 510(k) approval from the FDA. The K7C™ Cervical Spacer is one of several PEEK-based spinal implant devices being developed by K7 LLC. Michael Smith, founder and CEO of K7 LLC attributed VESTAKEEP® PEEK's durability as a key component in gaining FDA 510(k) clearance. "We could not be more pleased with the test results and material durability of VESTAKEEP® PEEK", said Smith. "The inherent strength and added ductility have created new possibilities for our PEEK implant designs." Evonik's customers can reference the VESTAKEEP® PEEK product line Masterfiles (MAF), documents containing comprehensive test data on...

Technical plastics recycling and compounding company Luxus and plastics additive manufacturer  Milliken  have been sponsored by the Renault-Nissan alliance to speak at the next international VDI conference, 'Plastics in Automotive Engineering', 13-14th March 2013, Mannheim, Germany. Sharing the stage at VDI will be Terry Burton, Technical Manager, Luxus, Adam Watson, Business Development Manager,  Milliken  and Mark Ellis, Manager Engineer Materials Design, Renault-Nissan. They will be discussing product trials of Luxus' next evolution in polymer development — a new highly sustainable material for auto car interiors known as Hycolene™. This new lightweight  Polypropylene  compound will enable OEMs to significantly lower the weight of the average car, reduce CO 2 , deliver improved fuel economy and help meet EU emissions targets. Developed to replace standard talc filled grades for car interior components, it offers a reduced filler content of just ...

The  Bioplastics  Council, a special interest group of SPI: the Plastics Industry Trade Association, recently announced the release of a position paper addressing the issue of degradable additives. The new paper, an update to the Council's original 2010 paper, questions the scientific validity of biodegradability claims made by producers of degradable additives products. In addition, the Council has also made a presentation on this paper on Wednesday, January 30 at the U.S. Composting Council's annual conference in Orlando, Florida. Since its inception in 2008, the SPI  Bioplastics  Council has placed consumer and industry education at the core of its mission. A key Council objective is emphasis on clarifying "bioplastics-related" marketing claims. In the position paper released, the Council outlines the issues and questions concerning degradable additives in order to support consumers, retailers and the plastics industry in identifying unsubstantiated and misl...