Direvo Commercializes BluCon™ Platform for Production of Chemicals from Non-food Biomass

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 technology will capture a significant share of the developing bio-based economy", CEO Jorg Riesmeier explains. BluCon™ technology platform is a so-called second generation biomass conversion technology. Contrary to first generation technology there is no need to use food feedstocks. The switch from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy is driven by global warming and by the finite nature of fossil fuels and sustainability. The gradual switch requires many new technologies at various levels. On a global basis, the demand for transportation fuels and chemical building blocks will continue to increase for foreseeable future. By 2050 the World Energy Council (WEC) forecasts that global fuel demand could increase as much as 82% compared to 2010 levels. In combination with dwindling public acceptance of fossil-based raw materials, this will lead to a high need for biofuels and bioplastics.

Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH is the only German company and one of very few in Europe developing such a technology. With decades of experience in "directed evolution" Direvo is perfectly positioned for the final steps of process development along with a network of commercialization partners. These are being carried out partly in house and partly in collaboration with global partners from industry and academia.

About Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH

Direvo is a biotechnology company with focus on the biomass conversion industry. Direvo identifies bottlenecks and weaknesses in current industrial processes in this sector and develops and implements biology-based solutions together with large and small industrial partners. Direvo's products are newly designed enzymes and microorganisms of the highest quality that provide easy-to-implement, cost-effective solutions. Direvo's contribution assures that partners stay competitive and profitable while supporting them to make the future cleaner, greener and safer.

Source: Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH

Bayer's Bayflex® Lightweight PU System for Construction Earns MATERIALICA Award 2012

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. "The excellent mechanical properties of the system are thus retained," added Meyer zu Berstenhorst. The compact material also offers great design freedom in vehicle construction.

The potential for innovation offered by this lightweight design concept can also be applied to other areas of application in mobility, such as trucks and buses. Bayer experts believe it is also suitable for use in the leisure and furniture sector, the construction industry and the IT segment.

Indian Company Jindal Poly Films to Acquire ExxonMobil's BOPP Global Films Business in US & EU

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 transaction also includes a technology center and sales office in Rochester, New York, and an office in Luxembourg. Approximately 1500 people work in those operations.

Source: Jindal Poly Films Ltd.

LANXESS' GF-filled PA 66 Durethan AKV 35 H2.0 Replaces Metal in Audi's Engine Oil Pans

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 CO₂ 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 trend toward compact engines with increasingly smaller and more complex installation spaces. This results in oil pans with geometries that could only be produced with great effort in steel sheet. With deep parts, in particular, steel bumps up against its limits due to the unfavorable draw ratios. Polyamide can shine in these cases with great design freedom. In addition to the potential weight savings, its primary advantage over aluminum is that it can be used to produce ready-to-assemble injection-molded parts. Oil pans made of die cast aluminum, on the other hand, must undergo post-molding treatment, such as deburring or machining of the flanges to make them plane. This work quickly adds up to a large portion of the production costs.

Audi's engine oil pan made of LANXESS's PA 66

Integrated functionality reduces component costs

Other advantages of polyamide over metal are the opportunities that injection molding offers for reducing costs by the integration of functions. In the case of the engine oil pan for turbocharged engines, for example, the sockets for the oil level sensor and the oil drain plug are molded directly into the component. "It is precisely when many functions can be integrated that significant costs savings over aluminum construction can be achieved because separate welding and mechanical work steps and the associated logistical workflows can be eliminated," explained Krause. Possible candidates for integrated functionality in engine oil pans include sockets for oil cooling and filtration, cheeks for expanding the volume of oil, oil return lines or reinforcing elements in the area of the transmission support.

Tailored high-tech plastic

Durethan AKV 35 H2.0 is filled with 35 percent glass fibers. Despite this reinforcement, it can be used to produce low-warpage oil pans whose flanges remain tight. The plastic's high toughness, stiffness and strength contribute to the ability of the oil pans to safely withstand stone impacts and bottoming out on a high curb. The thermal stabilization of the polyamide ensures the high dimensional stability of the components under typical sustained thermal loads.

Source:LANXESS

Applied CleanTech's Sewage Recycling System Transforms Human Waste into Consumer Plastics

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 recycling efforts is Recyllose™, which is a feedstock that has high cellulose content and low moisture. Recyllose is low in lignin, a tough substance that binds the cell walls in plants and is a hurdle in the race to create an efficient cellulosic ethanol because it's so difficult to degrade. These properties make it economical for sewage facilities that serve populations as small as 10,000 people to produce Recyllose.

ACT's sewage recycling system is already in commercial use as it serves some 100,000 people with facilities in Israel and the United States. Just since the beginning of 2012, ACT has received contracts worth roughly $3.5 million. This is just scratching the surface as we calculate the addressable market to be at least $10 billion annually.

Competitors will have to tread carefully in emulating ACT's recycling process. Management has protected the intellectual property that arose throughout nine years of research by filing some 35 patents which are categorized in seven patent families.

Source:Applied Clean Tech

Bioplastic Production Capacity to Reach 5.6 Mn Tons by 2016, Expects European Bioplastics

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 partially biobased PET, which is already accounting for approximately 40 percent of the global bioplastics production capacity. Partially biobased PET will continue to extend this lead to more than 4.6 million tons by 2016. That would correspond to 80 percent of the total bioplastics production capacity. Following PET is biobased PE with 250,000 tons, constituting more than 4 percent of the total production capacity.

"But also biodegradable plastics are demonstrating impressive growth rates. Their production capacity will increase by two-thirds by 2016,"states Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics. Leading contributors to this growth will be PLA and PHA, each of them accounting for 298,000 tons (+60 percent) and 142,000 tons (+700 percent) respectively.

"The enormous growth makes allowance for the constantly increasing demand for sustainable solutions in the plastics market. Eventually, bioplastics have achieved an established position in numerous application areas, from the packaging market to the electronics sector and the automotive industry", says von Pogrell.

A disturbing trend to be observed is the geographic distribution of production capacities. Europe and North America remain interesting as locations for research and development and also important as sales markets. However, establishment of new production capacities is favored in South America and Asia. "European Bioplastics invites European policy makers to convert their declared interest into concrete measures. "We are seeing many general supportive statements at EU level and in the Member States", says Andy Sweetman, Chairman of European Bioplastics. "There is, however, a lack of concrete measures. If Europe wants to profit from growth at all levels of the value chain in our industry, it is high time the corresponding decisions are made."

For a more in-depth impression of the world of bioplastics, visit the 7th European Bioplastics Conference on 6 and 7 November in Berlin. With over 400 experts on hand, the European Bioplastics Conference is the leading industry event in Europe.

Bangkok Metro to Use ICCO's Fire-resistant Pultruded Profiles as Third Rail Covers

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 able to develop the main of our activity to answer to our customer needs. To date, one customer out of three is using the whole range of our methods of production (pultrusion, machining and finishing, molding), from design to finishing" says ICCO COMPOSITES Sales Manager Bertrand VIEILLE.

Up to 200kms of third rail for ICCO COMPOSITES

ICCO COMPOSITES has already worked on Alger, Athens, Taipei, Almaty and Milan projects and will soon cross the 200 km border line with this third rail order. Bertrand Vieille says "ICCO COMPOSITES establishes a partnership rather than a customer/supplier relationship with its customers. Our work experience in the railway industry together with our wide and global know-how (pultrusion, machining and finishing, molding) enable our customers to have one single partner who is experienced with their range of activity. We perfectly know the railway industry requirements and can comply with them to deliver a competitive finished product".