OPX Biotechnologies (Boulder, CO) says it expects to bring a commer- cial-scale biobased acrylic acid plant online in 2013. It recently reached 85% of targeted cost reduction after six months of pilot-scale operations. OPX set a commercial goal of reducing the cost of its acrylic acid to 50 cts/lb−cheaper than conventional hydrocarbon-based acrylic acid, says chief scientific officer Michael Lynch. The biobased acrylic acid is produced via optimized microbial production pathways, with sugars including dextrose as feedstock. Proof-of-concept work has also been done using hydrogen and carbon dioxide from chemical streams and gasified biomass.
The company expects to complete pilot-
scale work later this year, and has retained
Merrick & Company (Denver) to design a
demonstration plant, due online in 2011, and
the commercial-scale plant. The company
says its commercial-scale facility will have
the capacity to produce 100 million-300
million lbs/year of acrylic acid. The com-
pany, backed by venture capitalists, expects
to enter into strategic partnerships and
possible joint ventures to proceed to com-
mercialization, OPX president and CEO
Chas Eggert says.
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: OPX says it reduced production costs 85% in only six months.
Lawmakers in the Oregon state sen- ate have voted down a bill that would have barred certain products containing bisphenol A (BPA) from state commerce. The proposal would have restricted sale of beverage containers intended for small children that contain BPA. The 16-14 vote appeared to hinge on some lawmakers’ concerns that a BPA ban would be extended to canned products, a prospect that would not win favor from constituents linked to the state’s food canning industry, according to local reports.
The Oregon vote followed two recent setbacks for industry. Wisconsin’s assembly recently approved a measure that would ban BPA in products intended for use by children younger than three years of age. Wisconsin’s proposal would take effect 90 days after it is signed into law. The measure passed the state Senate last month, and Governor Jim Doyle (D.) is expected to sign it into law.
In California, the state EPA (CalEPA; Sacramento) is seeking health and safety data on BPA and potential reproductive toxicity, a request that could be the first step toward listing BPA as a reproductive toxicant under the state’s Proposition
65 labeling law. CalEPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) cites a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC; Washington) which argues that the listing is warranted due to findings by the National Toxicology Program, a division of National Institutes of Health. OEHHA says regulators are still required by Prop 65 law to consider the listing.
OEHHA says it is requesting public input on whether BPA “meets the criteria set forth in the Proposition 65 regulations for authoritative bodies listings.” Comments are due April 13.
In July, OEHHA’s external panel of experts unanimously voted that BPA does meet the criteria for listing under Prop 65. ACC says it questions the “ incremental benefit of OEHHA’s request for public comment given that this process would essentially be a re-review of data already considered by California’s designated, independent scientific experts.” The state’s “own expert committee considered extensive data on BPA, including the same ‘authoritative body report’ now relied on to support OEHHA’s call for yet another review,” ACC says. —KARA SISSELL work on their downstream processing before the renewable-based acrylic acid can be produced at large scale.
Nippon Shokubai (Tokyo) announced last November that it is at an advanced stage developing an acrylic acid manufacturing process based on glycerine. The company’s technology uses a high-performance catalyst to manufacture acrolein, an intermediate in the production of acrylic acid, through gas-phase dehydration of glycerine. The acrolein is subsequently oxidized to acrylic acid via gas-phase oxidation technology.
—REBECCA COONS
● FERRO SHIFTING OPERATIONS Ferro announced further restructuring plans for its European manufacturing operations, includingthediscontinuationoffritproduction at Castanheira, Portugal and consolidation of plastics manufacturing from Portugal to its Almazora, Spain facility. Approximately 125 positions will be eliminated. The restructuring, to be completed by August, is expected to save $5 million/year. The company says it expects to incur charges of approximately $14 million.
● SI GROUP BRAZIL DEAL SI Group-Crios Resinas (Rio Claro, Brazil), an affiliate of SI Group (Schenectady, NY), has acquired Resinas Indústria e Comércio (Jundaí, Brazil), an affiliate of Georgia-Pacific Chemicals (Atlanta). Resinas Industria makes formaldehyde, industrial resins, and wood resins. The deal includes a manufacturing plant, technology, and customer data. Terms were not disclosed.
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