Algal biofuels create excitement but more research still needed

ammonia in a $1.6 bn industrialgasification unit, which is due to comeonline in 2011.

Chemistry and Industry (London), 28 Sep 2009, (18),16-17 (Website: http://www.chemind.org)

Algal biofuels create excitement butmore research still needed

Algal biofuels have sparked a hugeinterest, with over 150 companiesworldwide, including major companiessuch as ExxonMobil Corp and BPAmoco plc, launching their respectiveresearch projects. ExxonMobil Corphas allocated $600 M over the next 5-6 years for its partnership withSynthetic Genomics; BP Amoco plchas earmarked $10 M for a projectwith Martek Biosciences Corp; andDow Chemical Co and AlgenolBiofuels Inc have announced a jointpilot project aimed at making ethanolfrom an algae-based biorefinery. Tohelp guide research in the area, theUS Department of Energy publishedthe draft document ‘National AlgalBiofuels Technology Roadmap’ insummer 2009 and plans to releasethe final version of the document byend-2009. The document, in someparts, is bullish about the future of thetechnology. However, some sayrealizing the technology’s hugepotential – in one scenario, algalbiofuels would be able to supply allthe renewable fuels under the 36 bn-gallon renewable fuel standard –would require a correspondingly hugeamount of concerted effort that couldtake a decade to complete. Oneobserver says a critical intermediatestep for the commercialization of algalbiofuels is the development of high-value co-products, such as renewablepolymers or pigments.

Biodiesel Magazine, Oct 2009 (Website:http://www.biodieselmagazine.com)

ADEME supports French green fuelsector

The French Agence del’Environnement et de la maitrise del’Energy (ADEME) is supporting thedevelopment of second generationbiofuels. ADEME has a budget of€400 M over 4 years. It will allocate€40 M to two biofuel projects: Gayaand BioTFuel. Gaya will assess a

thermochemical process for the pre-industrial scale production of biofuel,considering the economic,environmental and social issues. Aseries of pilot units will be built over 7 years. BioTFuel will develop abiomass gasification process. Theconsortium includes Sofiproteol, CEA,IFP, Axens, and Total. Two pilot unitswill be built. The first at Compiègne,France, will compact and prepare theraw material. A second unit at one ofTotal’s sites will carry out thegasification stage and transform theproduct into liquid fuel. The totalinvestment required will be over €100M over a period of 5 years. The pilotunits should develop the requiredtechnology within 7 years, leading tolicences for biofuel plants producing200,00-300,000 litre/y.

Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 12 Oct 2009, (482), 4 (inFrench)

Biotech industry growth encouraging

Malaysian Biotechnology Corp(BiotechCorp) is aiming for 21 newBioNexus-status companies by theend of 2009. This will increase thetotal number of biotech companieswith the BioNexus-status to 147. Thecompanies with BioNexus-status willqualify for government incentivessuch as grants and tax breaks.Malaysia’s biotech companies servevarious segments of the industrysuch as healthcare and industrialbiotechnology, to name only two.The country has a total approvedinvestment of Ringgit 1.4 bn in thebiotech field. Until now, BioNexuscompanies have succeeded ingenerating a revenue of Ringgit 546.5 M and the total R&D expensesof BioNexus companies stood atRinggit 33.2 M. Malaysia plans toaddress various bottlenecks facedby the biotechnology companies inthe country by accelerating thescientific discoveries right from theR&D stage to the commercialisationstage. The country looks forward toproducing various commercial andenvironmental friendly industrialbiotechnology products byenhancing the use of bio-basedchemicals such as enzymes andmicro-organisms.

The Star, 16 Oct 2009 (Website:http://www.thestar.com.my)

COMPANYNEWS

Albemarle reports 3Q 2009 results

Albemarle Corp reported 3Q endedSep 2009 earnings of $52.1 M, or 57cts/share (earnings of $56.2 M, or 61cts/share in 3Q ended Sep 2008). Thecompany reported net sales in 3Q2009 totalling $515.3 M ($660.5 M in3Q 2008). Earnings for nine monthsended Sep 2009 were $116 M, or$1.26/share (earnings of $181.1 M, or$1.95/share, for nine months endedSep 2008). Net sales for nine monthsof 2009 were $1.45 bn ($1.95 bn fornine months of 2008). PolymerAdditives recorded net sales for 3Q2009 of $196.7 M, a 25% decreaseversus record net sales in 3Q 2008.Catalysts net sales for 3Q 2009 were$188.9 M, a decrease of 18% versus3Q 2008. Fine Chemicals net salesfor 3Q 2009 were $129.6 M, down22% from 3Q 2008. R&D expenseswere $14.983 M for 3Q 2009 ($17.392M in 3Q 2008) and were $46.081 Mfor nine months of 2009 ($51.785 M innine months of 2008).

Albemarle Corp results 3Q and nine months of 2009,26 Oct 2009 (Albemarle Corporation, USA. Website:http://www.albemarle.com)

Albemarle’s new Ketjenfine 868nickel-molybdenum catalyst enhanceshydrocracking

Albemarle Corp introduces anothernew product, Ketjenfine 868, designedto significantly improve theperformance of vacuum gas oil (VGO)hydrocracking pretreatmentperformance. Also known as ‘KF 868,’the new product is built on Albemarle’spatented STARS technology and offersbest-in-class hydroprocessing activityfor VGO units where both higharomatics saturation and hydrodenitro-genation activity are required. Morespecifically, KF 868 is designed toimprove VGO hydrocracking operationby: optimizing catalyst cycle length;increasing throughput; applying moreselective hydrocracking catalysts andenabling refiners to process cheaper,lower-quality feedstocks withoutadditional capital expenditure. The newKF 868 technology was developed byAlbemarle and Nippon Ketjen and will

2 DECEMBER 2009

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