VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (VERBIO) has just opened the world’s first industrial straw processing plant for the production of biomethane in Zörbig, Saxony-Anhalt. Marketed as verbiogas, the fuel is produced from agricultural residue, with VERBIO consciously refusing to use raw materials which could otherwise be used for food production. “I’m very proud that we’ve managed [...]

Glycerin to Epiclorohydrin: Epicerol Enters the Asian Market
Solvay announced that its Thai affiliate Vinythai has successfully commissioned its world-class bio-sourced Epichlorohydrin plant based on Solvay’s innovative Epicerol® technology in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The Epicerol® technology is based on the transformation of glycerin obtained as by-product from refining vegetable oils into biofuel. This technology is protected by 1000 patent titles, some of [...]

World’s first continuous algae-breeding facility starts operation on a commercial scale
Recently, Vattenfall, the largest thermal energy suppliers in Europe, celebrated the opening of a commercial algae-breeding facility at their premises in Senftenberg (Brandenburg), Germany. The facility, supplied by the Austrian company ecoduna, will use CO2 from the nearby power station, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Vattenfall has been running tests on the reduction of CO2 through [...]

The 100 Billion Dollar Business of Green Chemistry
A recently published study about Green Chemistry anticipates dramatic growth rates for green chemicals during the coming decade. According to this report from Pike Research, Green Chemistry represents a market opportunity that will grow from 2.8 billion US$ in 2011 to approximately 100 billion US$ by 2020. “Green chemistry markets are currently nascent, with many [...]

Bio – Isobutanol on the Large Scale
It’s been a while since I posted an article. I’ve been busy with my own CleanChem Startup. But here is some news that you should know about. Do you remember? The InnovativeIndustry.net blog previously published an article about biobutanol. Now, one of the companies mentioned therein – in particular Gevo – announced to enter a [...]

Bioplastic Made From Whey Protein
In the research for sustainable materials derived by new and green resources, waste and industrial byproducts earn increasing attention. Global industry now turns to large scale implementation of alternative technologies. Whey, a side product of cheese production, is currently in focus of a group of companies. They intent to produce a whey protein derived bioplastic [...]

The Lactic Acid Big Business
As mentioned several times in previous articles, polylactic acid (PLA) is the most promising bioplastic. So I felt it was time to contribute an article to the current market situation of PLA and its monomer lactic acid. Lactic acid has a variety of applications in the food and beverage sector as a preservative. It is [...]

Biobutanol Enters the Biofuel Stage
According to estimation from DuPont the biofuel industry worldwide will grow from a $50 billion opportunity today to a $75 billion opportunity by 2015. Besides the already well known biodiesel and bioethanol a further promising biofuel is on the rise. Biobutanol! While being currently used as an industrial solvent and mostly produced via petrochemical processing, [...]

InnovativeIndustry.net is part of the 50 Best Blogs for Green Business Students
I proudly announce that the InnovativeIndustry blog has been included to the list of “50 Best Blogs for Green Business Students”. Surrounded by a prominent collection of Green Blogs, InnovativeIndustry is mentioned as “perfect place to learn more about sustainable industry, from bioplastic to green chemicals”. This list gives a valuable compilation of News and [...]

PLA Recycling Infrastructure
Polylactic acid (PLA) is only biodegradable in industrial settings. Recovery of bioplastics like PLA in recycling facilities is not easy due to low volumes and often optical similarity with traditional polymers. California based BioCor LLC created an optical sorting machine able to detect and sort PLA from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or HDPE (high density polyethylene) [...]