World’s First Pilot Plant for Bio-Based Aniline

Use of biotechnology: New process for petroleum-free raw material on its way to industrial maturity

15-Feb-2024 - Covestro is moving forward with the implementation of a unique process for producing the important chemical aniline entirely based on plant biomass instead of petroleum for the first time. At its Leverkusen site, the plastics manufacturer has now put a special pilot plant into operation for this ...

BluCon Biotech and LG Chem enter into unique investment agreement

BluCon Biotech's technology has the potential to be a disruptive game changer in the world's plastics market

16-Mar-2023 - BluCon Biotech, a German biotech company, and LG Chem,a Korean chemical company, have entered into an investment agreement to scale up and commercialize BluCon Biotech’s proprietary technology to supplement LG Chem´s bio-economy portfolio BluCon Biotech’s technology has the potential to be a ...

Green gold: Torrefied biomass to replace coal and oil

Start-up enables green chemicals from wood and hay

14-Mar-2023 - In February, the Estonian-based startup New Standard Oil successfully commissioned their first industrial-scale prototype for drying and torrefaction of biogenic feedstock operating with superheated steam at atmospheric pressure. The energy-efficient process was developed at the Fraunhofer ...

Sasol Chemicals achieves sustainability milestone at three largest European sites

Manufacturing facilities in Germany, Italy earn ISCC-PLUS certification

01-Aug-2022 - Sasol Chemicals, a business unit of Sasol Ltd., has earned certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for its three largest manufacturing facilities in Europe. The company’s facilities in Marl and Brunsbüttel, Germany, and Augusta, Italy, have ...

Will ships run more environmentally friendly in the future?

Environmentally friendly fuels for shipping: biogenic additives

06-Jul-2020 - There is movement in the fuel market for ocean-going vessels. Targets to reduce ex-haust emissions require new sustainable ways of producing diesel and heavy fuel oil. What could these paths look like? What are the new raw materials? Researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT succeeded in mapping the ...

Stora Enso to boost green energy generation at Maxau Mill

Investment volume of 25 million EUR

23-Jul-2018 - Stora Enso has decided to install a new steam turbine with a closed-loop cooling system and additional biomass storage at its mill in Maxau, Germany. The investment cost is approximately EUR 25 million and implementation of the project is scheduled to start during the third quarter of 2018 with ...

Acrylonitrile from renewable raw materials

EnzymicalS and Dralon to develop biocatalytic synthesis route

20-Jul-2017 - Biocatalytic produced acrylonitrile is of great industrial interest to the "CO2 footprint" of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber production. To address this, the main component for the production of PAN fibers, acrylonitrile, will be completely synthesized from renewable resources. The objective of ...

LXP Group closes Series A financing

20-Apr-2017 - Biomass will replace crude oil. LXP Group, which has pioneered a proprietary process for conversion of 2G biomass, has come a step closer to realizing this vision with the announcement of new equity funding of €2.6m. The round was led by Munich-based venture investor MIG with its Fund 15. The ...

Smart grid test as part of the energy transition

03-Jan-2014 - At a special lab in Erlangen, Siemens' global research unit Corporate Technology (CT) is testing how smart grids will work in the future. As reported in the research magazine Pictures of the Future, researchers in the 170 square meter lab can simulate almost any smart grid because the facility is ...

New roadmap explores technologies that improve chemical industry energy use, emissions intensity

18-Jun-2013 - The IEA, ICCA and DECHEMA jointly released today their new roadmap that explores how the chemical industry can further amplify catalysis and other related technology advances to boost energy efficiency in its production processes. Entitled Technology Roadmap: Energy and GHG Reductions in the ...