DuPont acquires Verdezyne's xylose isomerase technology for biochemicals production

Beijing. The plant capacity is4,000,000 Nm3/day and it is one ofthree plants Datang is building atKeshiketeng, giving an overall sitecapacity of 12,000,000 Nm3/day. Thesecond plant is in the detailedengineering phase and the third plantis in the final stages of approval. Theplant is one of six SNG plants thatDavy and JM have licensed to China,and the first to start-up and producegas. Another Davy/JM SNG plant isexpected to start-up in 2012 with twofurther plants coming on stream in2013. The plant is now being heldready for commercial operation in thewinter to meet the high demand forenergy supply to the major Chinesecities and especially to Beijing.

Original Source: Johnson Matthey Catalysts, website:http://www.jmcatalysts.com (3 Sep 2012) © JohnsonMatthey plc 2012

Deinove strives to develop cellulosicethanol process using unusual bacteria

French start-up Deinove is aiming todevelop a cellulosic ethanol processusing the hard-to-manipulateDeinococcus bacterium. Deinove is justone of few organizations working withDeinococcus, forcing the company tocome up with its own tools for collectingand manipulating the bacteria. Thecompany believes in the microorganismbecause it is very stable as it has fivechromosomes, four more than mostother bacteria. Another advantage ofDeinococcus is its ability to transformcellulosic biomass directly into a targetmolecule with just a limited pre-treatment stage. The company’s ethanolprocess is in a fairly early stage. Thefirst process being developed by thecompany is based on the use of wheatstarch and wheat bran. Since 2010, thewheat-based method has managed togenerate a titre of 0.001% of ethanolbefore distillation to a titre of 4%. Thecommercial target is 8-10%. Deinove istargeting to finish 300-L-scale trials of itsethanol technology in its labs in mid-2013.

Original Source: Chemical and Engineering News, 19Nov 2012, 90 (47), 24-25 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org) © American Chemical Society 2012

Dow proactively replaces mercury PUcatalysts

As part of Dow’s commitment toproviding more sustainable solutionsfor customers and consumers, Dow

has voluntarily completed a programto replace mercury-based catalystsused in a product portfolio acquiredfrom another company.

Original Source: The Dow Chemical Co 2015Sustainability Goals, Update 3Q 2012, Nov 2012, 9(Dow Chemical Co, 2030, Dow Centre, Midland, MI48642, USA, tel: +1 989 636 1000, fax: +1 989 6363518, website: http://www.dow.com) © The DowChemical Company 2012

DSM completes acquisition of Cargill’scultures and enzymes business

On 6 Dec 2012, Royal DSM announcedthat it had successfully completed theacquisition of Cargill’s cultures andenzymes business. The acquisition,announced on 26 Oct 2012, will enableDSM to become a global tier one dairyingredients supplier.

Original Source: DSM, PO Box 6500, 6401 JH Heerlen,The Netherlands, tel: +31 45 578 2422, fax: +31 45574 0680, website: http://www.dsm.com (6 Dec 2012)© Koninklijke DSM NV 2012

DuPont acquires Verdezyne’s xyloseisomerase technology forbiochemicals production

Verdezyne Inc, an industrialbiotechnology company focused onproducing renewable chemicals,announced the sale of its proprietaryxylose isomerase technology thatenables the metabolism of 5-carbonsugars, to DuPont IndustrialBiosciences. Under the terms of thesale, DuPont has purchased rights toVerdezyne’s patented xyloseisomerase technology, covered by USPatents 8,114,974 and 8,093,037, foruse in the biofuels and biochemicalfields. This technology allows the fastand complete utilisation of biomass-sourced C5 sugars in production ofvarious products of choice.

Original Source: Verdezyne, 2012. Found onSpecialChem Coatings and Inks Formulation, 18 Dec2012, (Website: http://www.specialchem4coatings.com)

Evonik and BioAmber in catalystcollaboration

Germany-based Evonik’s catalystbusiness and USA-based BioAmberare teaming up to develop andproduce catalysts for the production of1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, andgamma-butyrolactone from bio-basedsuccinic acid.

Original Source: Chemistry and Industry (London),Nov 2012, 76 (11), 12 (Website: http://www.soci.org/)© Society of Chemical Industry 2012

Greyrock Energy debuts distributedfuel production system, convertingnatural gas to diesel fuel

Greyrock Energy (Greyrock), acompany committed to changing theway the world produces liquidtransportation fuels, announced theavailability of the GS1000 diesel fuelproduction system. The GS1000system enables distributed productionof fuels from a variety of abundant gassources, including natural gas, naturalgas liquids, stranded gas resources,and biogas. Based on proprietarytechnologies developed since 2006,Greyrock’s GS1000 plant designutilises simplified process designs;Greyrock’s proprietary catalysts andcatalytic reactors; and innovative,integrated plant control systems. EachGS1000 plant is designed to produce1000 bbl/day of premium diesel fuel,or about 15 M gallon/y.

Original Source: Greyrock Energy, 2012. Found on PRNewswire, 6 Dec 2012, (Website:http://www.prnewswire.com)

Topsoe signs investment agreementwith TEDA

Haldor Topsoe and TianjinTechnological EconomicallyDevelopment Area (TEDA) have signedan investment agreement including thepurchase of 67,000 m2 of land in China.The agreement is an extension of theMOA between Topsoe and TEDAsigned in Jun 2012. The investmentagreement is part of a process that inphases will lead to the construction ofTopsoil’s third catalyst plant, with thetwo others placed in Denmark and inHouston, TX. The plant will producecatalysts that, either when used aloneor combined with exhausts aftertreatment systems, will contribute to thereduction of emissions.

Original Source: Haldor Topsoe, website:http://www.topsoe.com/ (14 Sep 2012) © HaldorTopsoe A/S 2012

Haaldor Topsoe to cooperate withHigher Alcohols project in China

Haldor Topsoe China will supply itsalcohols technology and catalyst toYankuang Group and IGP EnergyCooperation for their Higher AlcoholsProject in Shandong Province, China.Both IGP and Yankuang expressedthat the cooperation among the threeparties would mark a new era for

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