—Evonik Starts Up Biodiesel Catalysts “” Evonik Industries has completed a sodium methylate plant at its Mobile, Ala., complex. Sodium methylate is a catalyst that helps make biodiesel and glycerin from triglycerides and methanol. The plant, Evonik's first of its kind in the U.S., has a capacity of 60,000 metric tons per year. "In view of the intensive debate on climate protection, we anticipate clear, double-digit growth for the biodiesel market over the medium term," says Klaus Engel, chairman of the executive board at Evonik. /articles/87/i18/Evonik-Starts-Biodiesel-Catalysts.html 20090504 Concentrates 87 18 /magazine/87/8718.html Evonik Starts Up Biodiesel Catalysts con bus Alexander H. Tullo business Evonik Starts Up Biodiesel Catalysts Chemical & Engineering News Evonik Starts Up Biodiesel Catalysts Evonik Starts Up Biodiesel Catalysts
by Alexander H. Tullo | May 04, 2009
—Lubrizol site goes biodiesel “” Lubrizol has agreed to sell its additives and monomers facility in Bromborough on Merseyside, England, to British biodiesel producer D1 Oils for about $5.7 million. Lubrizol was planning to close the site this year and take a $15 million charge. Now the company says it can save as much as $5 million in restructuring costs. D1 plans to invest about $15 million at the site to convert it to biodiesel production. In a similar move, Eastman Chemical agreed in July to sell its Batesville, Ark., specialty chemicals and biodiesel plant to biofuels start-up Viceroy Acquisition. /articles/84/i39/Lubrizol-site-goes-biodiesel.html 20060925 Concentrates 84 39 /magazine/84/8439.html Lubrizol site goes biodiesel con bus business Lubrizol site goes biodiesel Chemical & Engineering News Lubrizol site goes biodiesel Lubrizol site goes biodiesel
September 25, 2006
—Microbes Quickly Degrade A Popular Biofuel “Biodiesel Stability: New findings show that biodiesel corrodes the carbon steel used in fuel infrastructure” Readily made from vegetable oil, biodiesel has become a popular fuel, with worldwide production now exceeding 10 million tons per year. Yet like all energy sources, biodiesel has its share of drawbacks.
by Charlie Schmidt | May 24, 2010
—One-Pot Biodiesel “Synthetic Biology: Bacteria make biodiesel directly from glucose and hemicellulose” A bioengineering development could lead to a cheaper route to products derived from plant biomass. Researchers have redirected fatty acid metabolic pathways in the bacterium Escherichia coli to produce biodiesel and other chemicals such as fatty alcohols, aldehydes, and wax esters directly from glucose (Nature 2010, 463, 559).
by Celia Henry Arnaud | February 01, 2010
—Catalyzing Biodiesel “Chemical firms see a strong business selling sodium methylate to the biodiesel industry” SEVERAL CHEMICAL MAKERS have found an indirect way to cash in on the biodiesel boom: supplying biodiesel makers with catalysts. BASF, Evonik Industries, and DuPont are enjoying a bustling market for sodium methoxide, also known as sodium methylate, and these firms have been ramping up their investments in the chemical to keep pace with growth.
by Alexander H. Tullo | August 25, 2008
—Biodiesel expansion is called off “” FutureFuel, a start-up firm that purchased Eastman Chemical's Batesville, Ark., plant last October, has shelved a planned expansion of biodiesel capacity there. In October, the company unveiled plans to increase the site's capacity from its current 24 million gal per year to 40 million gal by May and 160 million gal by November. But since then, FutureFuel says, rising prices for raw material soybean oil and declining prices for diesel have squeezed biodiesel profit margins. "As a result of these decreased margins, the company has determined that it is not in its shareholders' best interest at this time to proceed on an accelerated basis to increase capacity," the company says. /articles/85/i5/Biodiesel-expansion-called-off.html 20070129 Concentrates 85 5 /magazine/85/8505.html Biodiesel expansion is called off con bus business Biodiesel expansion is called off Chemical & Engineering News Biodiesel expansion is called off Biodiesel expansion is called off
January 29, 2007
—BASF Sets Plant For Biodiesel Catalyst “” BASF plans to build a 60,000-metric-ton-per-year sodium methylate plant in Guaratinguetá, Brazil, the company's largest site in South America. Sodium methylate is a catalyst used to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel fuel. "We expect annual global demand for biodiesel to increase to about 18 billion tons in coming years.
June 02, 2008
—Two New Biodiesel Projects Scale Up “” Biodiesel technology firm Benefuel has attracted two industry partners to scale up its catalytic process for refining inedible waste fats into renewable fuels. Flint Hills Resources Renewables, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, will use Benefuel’s process at a retrofitted 50 million-gal-per-year facility in Beatrice, Neb.
by Melody M. Bomgardner | June 03, 2013
—Degussa Plans Plant For Biodiesel Catalysts “” Degussa is planning a 60,000-metric-ton-per-year facility in Mobile, Ala., that will produce sodium and potassium methoxide, which are used as catalysts in biodiesel production. A final decision on the facility is expected in mid-2007, the company says, with the goal of supplying North American customers in the second half of 2008.
March 26, 2007
—Singapore Gets Biodiesel Plant “” Australia's Natural Fuel has broken ground on a $130 million biodiesel plant in Singapore that it says will be the world's largest. The facility, with an annual capacity of 600,000 metric tons, is scheduled to open at the end of 2007. It will also produce up to 60,000 tons of pharmaceutical-grade glycerin as a by-product.
November 20, 2006