NEWS
Multiple moves in biosurfactants
Oregon-based AGAE Technologies has officially opened a 1,000 tonnes / year manufacturing plant for rhamnolipid biosurfactants, which it said is the largest retrofitted plant complex in Asia. There is space to add further production lines if demand rises.
AGAE said that this was made possible by extensive interdisciplinary work at the custom modular fermentation pilot plant it opened in the US 2020 to solve some of the longstanding challenges in rhamnolipid production: foam control, low yields and the high cost of downstream processing. Since then, it had been looking for partners to scale up domestically and internationally.
“ Completing this plant complex was only possible because of the cuttingedge foam control technologies and the data we gathered from years of trial and error at our benchtop bioreactor and fermentation pilot plant,” said Garrett Holzwarth, a fermentation scientist at AGAE.“ With our proprietary technologies, we have the competence and confidence needed to build a full-scale manufacturing plant complex in the US.”
The scale-up challenges included managing the flow of thousands of m 3 of compressed air, recycling dozens of m 3 of foam and safely controlling the corresponding pressure. In addition, the filters, valves, sealings, tubes, pipes and pumps had to engineered to withstand these issues.
Meanwhile, Canadian cleantech start-up Dispersa has closed on C $ 5.8 million in seed funding led by Nàdarra Ventures. The company said that this will accelerate the commercial scaleup of its flagship product, PuraSurf M, which is claimed to be the world ' s first fully waste-derived biosurfactant.
Dispersa developed PuraSurf M using its proprietary technology, BioEterna. This combines synthetic biology and precision fermentation from waste oils and sugars in a way that is said to“ unlock significant cost reduction” as well as boosting surfactant sustainability. The product is being used by some of the largest companies in the North American household, industrial and institutional( HI & I) sector.
In addition, personal care ingredient manufacturer Hallstar has invested an unspecified amount to acquire a minority stake in BioReNuva, a biotechnology developer based in Austin, Texas. The company said that this will“ enable it to explore novel approaches in the biosynthesis space, leveraging BioReNuva ' s expertise and manufacturing capabilities”.
BioReNuva has a full range of glycolipids including sophorolipids, rhamnolipids and a ready-made surfactant blend.“ We see a future where biotech excipients – biosurfactants, for example, where BioReNuva already excels – will be a large portion of total growth in the beauty and personal care market,” said Hallstar CEO John Paro.
IN BRIEF
Heubach buy completed Following approvals from regulators and shareholders, India’ s Sudarshan Chemical Industries has completed its acquisition of Germany-based Heubach Group, the world’ s second largest pigment player. The combined firm will have 19 sites across the world, making performance colorants, organic, inorganic and pearlescent pigments and dispersions, as well as azo and effect pigments.
Kuraray buys Nelumbo Kuraray is to acquire Nelumbo, a technology start-up out of University of California Berkeley. Nelumbo offers advanced material technology for surface modification and has worked with Kuraray for the past two years to apply this to fibres and other polymer products, including PFAS-free water repellency. Terms were not disclosed.
DC triples its space DC Fine Chemicals has opened a € 7 million facility at Terrassa, Spain. This triples the space of the previous facility in Cornellà, with a 3,050 m 2 building in a total area of 7,300 m 2. The expansion enables the company to increase storage capacity from 900 to 2,000 pallets. The facility also includes 108 photovoltaic panels, generating 50 kW of power.
Biobased plant closer Zeon and Visolis have completed of a joint feasibility study on the latter’ s platform for producing high-purity isoprene and sustainable aviation fuel at commercial scale. The two firms, who have already collaborated on next-generation biobased materials, are now taking the preparatory steps toward building a production facility at a site at a site as yet unconfirmed.
MAY / JUN 2025 SPECCHEMONLINE. COM
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