NEWS
IN BRIEF
Insect oil surfactant Sasol International Chemical has launched Livnex IO 7, a nonionic surfactant based on oils obtained from black soldier fly larvae. These are a by-product of animal feed production and are rich in the fatty acids used to produce detergent-grade alcohols. Applications are seen in the fabric, home care, and industrial and institutional cleaning markets.
Fermentation boost Lubrizol is investing $ 10 million to expand fermentation production capacity at its Centre of Skin Care Excellence in Gavà, Spain, five-fold. The company has been active in biotechnology since 2001, including the use of GMO-free, non-pathogenic microorganisms, sourcing strains without harvesting from nature and relying on renewable carbon sources.
BASF partners on insecticide BASF has announced a strategic partnership with Nissan Chemical to develop and commercialise its new insecticide active ingredient, Prexio Active. Each will develop tailored formulations and mixtures for sale to rice growers in Japan. Prexio Active is said to deliver exceptional, long-lasting control of key rice pests and chewing insect pests.
White biotech centre opens Givaudan has opened its new White Biotechnology Innovation Centre in Toulouse. This features laboratories that consolidate its expertise in the field, including a dedicated fermentation lab and biocatalysis development area. It will work with the other centres in Orsay and in Pomacle to develop advanced beauty ingredients.
Landmark in biobased acrylic acid
Industrial Microbes( iMicrobes) has succeeded in scaling up the production of biobased, highpurity acrylic acid from gramscale to 20-kilogram production batches, while expanding fermenter volume from 2L to 1,500L reactors. This was done in collaboration with the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab.
“ By engineering our process with cost as an uncompromising design constraint, we ' ve built a solution that can compete on economics and produce net-zero materials,” said Noah Helman, CEO and co-founder of iMicrobes. The company claims to have secured multiple Letters of Intent“ from commercial partners across the value chain”. iMicrobes described the latest advance as“ a significant step toward decarbonising one of the chemical industry ' s most ubiquitous materials”. Acrylic acid is used in hundreds of applications, paint, superabsorbent polymers for diapers, adhesives for electronics and military optics. The market
is projected to reach $ 18 billion by 2030.
The company’ s approach is based on ethanol as a renewable feedstock and its proprietary engineered microorganisms, combining multiple chemical reactions in a single reactor at mild temperatures. The purification method eliminates toxic solvents and complex extraction steps. It is also said to be applicable to acrylonitrile.
Arkema has completed a € 40 million modernisation and decarbonisation project for its Lacq / Mourenx site. This is part of the company’ s TREFLe Project and is partly state-financed as part of the France 2030 plan. The site specialises in speciality sulfur derivatives, particularly for use in agrochemicals, refining, petrochemicals and renewable fuels. The investment includes a treatment plant for sulfurbased effluents that operates a more efficient process and helps cut down SO 2 emissions by 40 % and greenhouse gas( GHG) emissions by over 10 %. It follows a first investment that started up in 2022 and yielded a 28 % reduction in the site’ s GHG emissions.
10 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981