IN BRIEF
Arizona CMC expansion In response to booming demand, Fujifilm is to invest $ 18 million to enhance production facilities for copper interconnect chemical mechanical planarisation( CMP) slurries at its site in Mesa, Arizona. This will include lines capable of producing CMP slurries for a broad spectrum of processes, including advanced packaging. The expansion is due to come onstream in 2027.
Acrylic acid advance Arkema has inaugurated a € 150 million acrylic acid purification unit at its Carling site in France, which makes acrylic monomers for performance coatings, adhesives, water treatment and other advanced materials. This features a process that improves the energy-efficiency of the purification process by 25 % and the carbon-intensity of the site’ s operations by 20 %.
Croda opens biotech R & D lab Croda International has officially opened its new biotechnology R & D laboratories at Sci-Tech Daresbury in Liverpool, which is one of the UK ' s largest science and innovation campuses. They will support the development of ingredients and technologies for consumer and life sciences brands, from the laboratory through to commercialisation.
Two open biobased chemical plants
Verbio has commissioned the world’ s first large-scale ethenolysis plant to use biobased feedstock at its site in Bitterfeld, Germany( pictured). The company has invested just under € 100 million in the new technology and plans to manufacture up to 60,000 tonnes / year of biobased chemicals. Market rampup will take place in line with customer applications.
The facility uses rapeseed methyl ester( RME) sourced from existing biodiesel production at the site. This is converted into functionalised carbon molecules via ethenolysis, a specific form of olefin metathesis, using highly selective Schrock catalysts from Verbio’ s XiMo subsidiary at mild temperatures and moderate pressure, without solvents.
The facility has nominal capacities of 17,000 and 32,000 tonnes / year respectively of 1-decene, a drop-in building block for polyalphaolefins used in high-performance synthetic lubricants and starting materials for, among other things, vicinal diols, amines, epoxides and synthetic fatty acids; and 9-decenoate( 9-DAME), a platform molecule for monomers replacing imported castor oil, as well as potential new applications for detergents and cleaning products that do not rely on fossil raw materials or tropical vegetable oils.
Meanwhile, UPM has inaugurated its biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, which will make up to 220,000 tonnes / year of renewable biochemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. The facility represents a total investment of € 1,370 million. All processes have reached stable operation and UPM is ramping up sales.
The refinery uses beechwood from thinnings and sawmill residues, sourced within about 200 km and unsuitable for higher-value uses like timber or furniture. It uses enzymatic hydrolysis to breaks the biomass down into industrial sugars and lignin for use in products ranging from cosmetics to clothing, packaging, construction materials and tyres.
MicroBioGen deal done Novonesis has completed the acquisition of the remaining 77 % of MicroBioGen, an Australian specialist in yeast strains for industrial applications. The company said that MicroBioGen’ s advanced yeast-breeding capabilities complement its expertise in microbiology and industrial fermentation for uses in multiple industries.
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981