JGC Catalysts boosting capacity fordenitrification catalysts

JGC Catalysts and Chemicals plansto continue building up itsdenitrification catalysts business. Thecompany’s initiative is supported byits contract producer’s productioncapacity expansion in Kyushu, Japan,via debottlenecking. JGC Catalystsand Chemical’s contract manufacturerwill complete its capacity expansionby 15% to 2300 cu m/y in Mar 2009,with the goal to further raise the figureto 2700 cu m/y in late 2009.

Japan Chemical Week, 26 Mar 2009, 50 (2508), 2

Evonik starts up operations at USbiodiesel catalyst plant

Evonik has brought online its 60,000tonne/y sodium methoxide plant atMobile, AL, USA. Sodium methoxide isa catalyst employed in makingbiodiesel based on rapeseed orsoybean oil and other sources.Biodiesel output in the USA increasedalmost 40% to 683 M gallons in 2008as US rising exports, chiefly to Europe,more than compensated for the declinein domestic demand, according to theEnergy Information Administration(EIA). Due to the US Renewable FuelStandard (RFS), stronger fuel prices inthe last few years, and a $1/gallonbiodiesel tax credit, the country hasseen a surge in biodiesel capacity andoutput. The RFS initiative calls forblending 500 M gallon/y of biodieselinto domestically consumed diesel fuelin 2009. However, the US biodieselmarket is projected to face an uncertainfuture in 2009. This is aggravated bythe recent imposition of tariffs on USbiodiesel imports by the EuropeanUnion that could restrict US exports.

Chemical Week, 4 May 2009 (Website:http://www.chemweek.com) & ICIS ChemicalBusiness, 4 May 2009 (Website:http://icischemicalbusiness.com) & Chimie PharmaHebdo, 5 May 2009, (464), 5 (in French) & Pressrelease from: Evonik Industries AG, RellinghauserStrasse 1-11 45128, Essen, Germany. Website:http://www.evonik.com (28 Apr 2009)

Novozymes invests in Nebraska

Novozymes will increase twofold itsinvestment in an enzyme plant, whichis currently being built in Blair, NE,USA, to $160-200 M. The plant isexpected to come online in 2011.

Chemical Week, 6 Apr 2009 (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

Alfa Laval wins Novozymes order forethanol plant equipment

Alfa Laval has received a SKR 50 Morder from Novozymes formembranes and heat exchangerswhich will be used as equipment at anew production plant in Nebraska.The plant will manufacture enzymesfor the production of ethanol. AlfaLaval won an equivalent order fromNovozymes in 2008.

Dagbladet Borsen, 16 Apr 2009 (Website:http://www.borsen.dk) (in Danish)

Coskata considers Oz ethanol plant

Coskata, a biofuel group, is on thelookout for a collaborator to establish amulti-million dollar ethanol conversionplant, having an output of 200 M l/y.The plant is envisaged to be put up inVictoria, Australia. Waste materialssuch as food and garden scrapsgathered from household wastecollections, wheat and barley straw,plastics, worn-out tyres, building scrapsand bark, and offcuts from managedforest plantations will be feedstocks forthe process. The production cost of theethanol is alleged to be less than A$0.40/lt, making it a low-priced fuelcompared to petrol. This initiative willhelp car manufacturers sell more flex-fuel cars, which will pave the way forreducing the country’s consumption ofoil from 2010.

Biofuels International, 31 Jan 2009, 2 (6), 10

Pilot plant for succinic acid

DSM, in collaboration with Frenchstarch and starch-derivativescompany Roquette, will launch a bio-based succinic acid pilot plant by endof 2009. The plant, to be built inLestrem, France, is slated to reach fullcommercial production in 2011/2012.A unique, enzyme-based fermentationmethod will be employed to generatesuccinic acid. This technology maylead to as much as a 40% cut inenergy requirements. This whitetechnology-based route may alsoreduce CO2 emissions.

Plastics and Rubber Asia, Apr 2009, 24 (165), 7

Hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxideplant completes start-up phase

BASF has brought online at its site inAntwerp, Belgium, a commercial-

scale propylene oxide (PO) that isbased on the hydrogen peroxide topropylene oxide (HPPO) technologyjointly developed by BASF and TheDow Chemical Co. The HPPOcomplex, which has the capacity toproduce 300,000 tonnes/y of PO,gives BASF the advantage ofeconomies of scale, helps lowerwastewater production by 70-80%,and reduces energy consumption by35% compared with existing POtechnologies. PO is a key ingredientin the PU industry.

High Performance Plastics, May 2009, 12

Praj Industries to set up a cellulosicethanol plant

Praj Ind, equipment manufacturer forfermentation processing, intends toset up an ethanol unit in Maharasthra.The facility is a commercial demoplant from cellulosic bagasse, whoseinvestment particulars are yet to befinalized. The unit is likely to bestarted by 2011.

Chemical Engineering World, Mar 2009, 44 (3), 85

NEWTECHNOLOGY

Arkema finds glycerol-to-acrylic acidcatalysts; demo-scale plant possible

Partners Arkema and German firmHTE have successfully createdcatalysts for making acrolein andacrylic acid from glycerol. Arkema isconsidering setting up a demonstration-scale facility within 2-4 years. HTE’sparallel testing technologies were usedto evaluate a few hundred catalysts.

Chemical Week, 13 Apr 2009, 171 (10), 36

Cellulosic bioethanol: better performingenzymes from Caltech and DNA2.0

Caltech and DNA2.0 (a companyspecializing in gene synthesis) havegenetically engineered 15 newcellulases (enzymes which act ascatalysts to turn cellulose into simplesugars). Of fungal origin, thesecatalysts are stable at hightemperatures. Until now, only 10enzymes of this type were known andtheir use was very limited because of

JUNE 2009 5

F O C U S O N C A T A L Y S T S