Towards a sustainable medicines production

A decade ago, in an authoritative scientific magazine, we published a prediction (1) on the synthesis of complicated molecules, primarily medicines. We foresaw the integration of chemo and bio catalysis in a reactor that would also be the catalyst. A … Read more

Green chemistry: it is about the oxygen

Willem Sederel

This site recently ran fine stories about more sugar, soon on the market in North-western Europe; industry will process that to bioethanol and further to bioethylene, with ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol in its trail. That is the basis for … Read more

Bio aromatics

Pure lignin

Just a few years ago, bio aromatics seemed far away. Aromatic compounds could be so easily extracted from (fossil-based) naphtha, that bio aromatics seemed to be a dream for the future. Primarily because the most probable resource, lignin, is hard … Read more

Bionylon

The Italian blog Il Bioeconomista recently announced that the American biotech company Genomatica (San Diego) intends to develop enzymatic industrial pathways for the production of the chemical building blocks hexamethylenediamine, adipic acid and caprolactam. These compounds are drop-ins in the … Read more

Opportunities for biobased butadiene

Spare tyre

Butadiene is an important petrochemical with a market size of more than $40 billion, and around 60% of butadiene goes into synthetic rubber production. The relatively recent exploitation of shale gas has resulted in butadiene scarcity, since natural gas chemical … Read more

Trend: green cosmetics

dermo cosmetics

Cosmetic industry takes a renewed interest in biobased resources. Plant-based materials are ‘in’. Not merely because they are in public demand – also because biorefinery delivers a growing supply of plant-based substances. Says Philippe Catroux, of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, at … Read more

Why Europe undermines its own policies on second-generation biofuels, whereas the US moves fast forward

Europe’s biofuel policy has been reformulated earlier this year, in order to promote the development of second-generation biofuels. But this seems to have little effect: whereas second-generation biofuels from food wastes are indeed being produced in Europe, there is just … Read more

Correct decision, wrong arguments

The European Parliament has decided. The share of biofuels in the fuel mix will be reduced from 10 to 6% in 2020. Is that disastrous or beneficial, on the contrary? And why? According to European figures, biofuels would contribute a … Read more

Everyone a hobby farmer

Energy throughput in the biosphere is very small, actually. Biomass production from incident light is relatively inefficient, also in Russian wood or Sargasso seaweed. The earth receives an amount of solar irradiation equal to 160.000 TW; less than 100 TW … Read more

Selective usage

A recent report by the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (discussed here on the 10th of august by Diederik van der Hoeven) argues in favour of selective energetic usage of biomass. That is good advice. Photosynthesis is beautiful but its … Read more