An estimated production capacity of almost 800.000 tons per year of polylactic acid (PLA) polymer in 2020. That is the outcome of a study by nova-Institute, based in Hurth, Germany. At present the total capacity of 25 companies amounts to … Read more
There is a big opportunity for the Dutch chemical industry beyond bulk products. A small country, with a strong agro-food sector and specialized technology, should aim to develop knowledge and higher-value products in the biobased economy. One of the first … Read more
Until recently sustainability debates had a strong focus on the environmental effects of our actions. Books like Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent spring’, the Club of Rome report ‘Limits to growth’, and the Rio 1992 agreements were related to the damage mankind … Read more
Women play a much larger part in the European economy than twenty years ago. The development is both almost unnoticeable and swift. In the Netherlands, women now have the majority in the judiciary, and not merely in traditional sectors like … Read more
Sustainability is a difficult subject. Many conversation partners are willing to accept that mankind pursues activities which endanger the planet, ecosystems, future generations, plants, animals. But they have a hard time accepting that human activities, worse: human thought, will have … Read more
Disappointment and resolve. Those were the general feelings in the Rio+20 debrief meeting, July 19 in The Hague. Disappointment because results had been meagre: merely the affirmation of previous agreements, without emphasis on their importance. As Kitty van der Heijden, … Read more
Having been the owner of a little house in the French campagne, visited each year, I had not been in the mountains for some twenty years. But finally we went there. Somewhere in the French Alps, near Morzine, we were … Read more
We all know that ‘Big Oil’ is not fond of green chemistry and the green economy. But biobased chemists trust that crude oil prices will keep rising, dragging along natural gas prices on their way. This would advance the production … Read more
It seems to be an article like many thousands that are published each year; a scientific and technological article of the sort that scientists have got to publish for their careers. And yet, this article by Jean-Paul Lange (a Belgian … Read more
Biobased PEF (polyethylene furanoate), the new feedstock for soft drink bottles (Coca Cola and Danone) is not only green, but also cheaper to produce than both fossil and drop-in green PET (polyethylene terephthalate). It also has better properties. Tom van … Read more
As researchers have discovered commercial pathways to separate cellulose and hemicellulose on a commercial scale, lignin treatment is the next step. And quite more complex. Utrecht University seems well underway to tackle this problem. Chemistry is on its way to … Read more
Government should invest more in innovation in businesses, and less in fundamental scientific research. That is the shorthand notation for the new Dutch innovation policy, ‘top sector policy’. But this policy meets with difficulties, while financing research is increasingly unclear. … Read more
They were not overly optimistic, the industrialists gathered at the conference on Biobased Performance Materials, last week in Wageningen, on the future prospects of the bioplastics industry in Europe. There were quite a few of them. And they were very … Read more
That is Nathalie Moll’s opinion, secretary-general to Europabio, the Brussels lobby branch of Europe’s biotechnological industry. Industrial biotechnology is growing fast, and is selected as one of six Key Enabling Technologies for a greener and more sustainable Europe. The European … Read more
It goes without saying that the biobased economy will produce major changes in society. Yet, many people do not realise to what an extent – eventually, the biobased economy will produce another society, a biobased society. Logistics is a fine … Read more
Ruud Lubbers, long standing prime minister of the Netherlands, now is one of the main advisors of the Rotterdam Climate Initiative. Energy efficiency, sustainable energy, carbon capture and storage, and biomass all have to contribute to a 50% reduction in … Read more
‘We had quite some response, and congratulations from peer companies too, as we announced our next step in the implementation of bioalcohol production from corn waste end January 2012, a joint venture of POET and DSM.’ Says Marcel Wubbolts, DSM’s … Read more
Synbra Technology, an Etten-Leur (the Netherlands) based company which produces sustainable bioplastics, is small (90 employees); but as a part of Synbra Holding (26 branches throughout Europe) it is a big player. Synbra Holding in all its European branches produces … Read more
For Cosun, the beet is exceptionally suited as a starting point in the bio-based economy. ‘The sugar beet has by far the highest yield in the Netherlands (and elsewhere), and carries the highest income to the farmer. Even algae do … Read more
Just two years ago Tom van Aken, Avantium’s CEO, called its 2,5-furanic dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) a sleeping giant. But since Coca-Cola and other big players are putting bags of development money into the product, this giant is coming to life … Read more
Annita Westenbroek, director of the Dutch Biorefinery Cluster, a partnership of agricultural and biobased industrial companies, holds the opinion that the Netherlands can easily produce enough biomass to feed the entire chemical sector. But not to feed the entire energy … Read more
‘Last year we worked on a road map for AkzoNobel’s green chemistry,’ says Jos Keurentjes, Director of Technology in AkzoNobel and a Technical University Eindhoven professor. ‘We have already reached a level of 9% renewables in our feedstock. That is … Read more
Biotechnology and Microbial Physiology is one of several chairs held by Lubbert Dijkhuizen at the University of Groningen. Enzymatic modification of starch is one of his many research projects, in cooperation with AVEBE, a cooperation of potato farmers in the … Read more
Johan Sanders is a professor in valorisation of biomass chains at Wageningen UR. According to Johan, the key to successful deployment of biomass is its efficient use: efficiency in use of the resource itself, and in that of its inputs … Read more
RWE-daughter Essent is the main importer of biomass for energy purposes in the Netherlands. It has gone to great lengths to improve the sustainability of its imports, and in doing so has set the standards for biomass imports in the … Read more
The Carbohydrate Competence Centre performs in-depth scientific research on carbohydrate synthesis, modification and degradation. CCC thus aims to generate and develop high-quality knowledge in the field of carbohydrates, to stimulate innovation and contribute to a healthier and more sustainable society. … Read more
Wageningen UR is the focal point of the strong Dutch knowledge base in agribusiness. Traditionally, there has been a strong connection between Dutch agriculture and knowledge development; Dutch farmers and horticulturists continually review their practices using state-of-the-art technology, and this … Read more
In the landscape, differences between Niedersachsen and the Northern Netherlands are almost unnoticeable. On both sides of the border, biobased economy is in full development. A lot of research and talks take place in the Eems-Dollard regional association. Some important … Read more
‘In the ‘80s we at DSM felt that antibiotics should be synthesised differently. Although at that time, we did not produce those medicines ourselves.’ Says Alle Bruggink, former Nijmegen professor, former head of DSM Chemfern Research, and member of the … Read more
We should take another view of grass, according to Grassa. Cows in meadows are beautiful, but grass contains too much proteins for the cow. Why not extract that excess first? Besides, grass contains many valuable substances like fibres and sugars, … Read more
‘Cows in the meadow in a real Frisian landscape will always be the subject of romanticism’, says Gjalt de Haan, ‘but the dairy farmer as the producer of milk as a sole product might change. In the Northern part of … Read more
‘Enzymatic polymerisation is a totally new branch of science and technology’, says associate professor Dr. Katja Loos of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), the top research school of Groningen University. ‘Most of the enzymes we need for this, … Read more
‘The Netherlands lag behind in biomass use. Germany, for instance, has more than 3.000 maize fermentation units, the Netherlands just a few. On the other hand, now we have the opportunity to develop new technology.’ Says Jan van den Broek, … Read more
Methanol, commonly produced from natural gas, is an interesting transport fuel, and a feedstock for products like plastics and paints. Natural gas feedstock contributes to almost three quarters of methanol’s production costs. This implies a major advantage for countries which … Read more
Groningen based Bioclear bacterially purifies soil and water pollution. ‘Most bacteria we find ourselves, in nature’, says Sytse Keuning, founder and manager of the company, started in 1988 as a spin-off of Groningen University. ‘The cleanup of most polluted soils … Read more
API Institute (Applied Polymer Innovations) and Cumapol (CUstom MAde POLyesters) are neighbouring companies at Emmtec Industry & Business Park in Emmen (the Netherlands). Both have their own way to anticipate the strongly increasing demand for biobased polymers. ‘Our main activity … Read more
Dutch Northern provinces could become the centre of algae production and technology. Algae contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For their growth they just need heat, carbon dioxide, and minerals from waste streams. Optimists claim that up to 20% of Dutch … Read more
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In the biobased economy, green chemistry will play an important role. But many aspects of it need further research and development. Almost all petrochemical technology will have to be adapted of even reinvented: separation and process technologies, catalysis, and analytical … Read more
In 2009, Dutch IMI institute interviewed eleven NGOs on their stand on the biobased economy, on behalf of the ministry’s Interdepartmental Program for the Biobased Economy. All NGOs are prepared to enter into a dialogue and welcome new policy developments. … Read more
Ancient regulation might stand in the way of biobased economy development in many forms. These bottlenecks differ among countries; here we offer an overview with some examples. Waste regulation Waste regulation is intended to serve public health. Manure and offal … Read more
High yields generally require sufficient fertilizer, e.g. phosphate. Phosphorus is an element essential to plant growth. But whereas nitrogen fertilizer is synthesized, the only way to produce fertilizer containing phosphorus, is to mine it as phosphate. World phosphate resources are … Read more
Northern France’s agricultural areas host many biobased initiatives. Both in Picardy and in Champagne-Ardennes, French government invests in joint chemistry/agriculture projects. There are pilot and demo plants for ethanol production, and the French produce second generation biofuels, and biochemicals like … Read more
Green chemistry development will take place in three overlapping phases, up to 2050. The first has been developing for some time now, the second started recently, and the third is in the research phase. 1. Biofuels in the petrochemical infrastructure … Read more
In the biofuel debate, it important to distinguish first and second generation technologies. First generation technologies produce biofuel from edible feedstock like starch (from maize), sugar (from sugar cane) or rape seed oil. Second generation technologies produce biofuel from wood … Read more