ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Biobased chemicals firm Genomatica says it has successfully scaled up its fermentation process for making 1,4-butanediol (BDO) from sugar. The company produced more than 5 million lb of BDO in a five-week campaign at a Loudon, Tenn., plant operated by partner DuPont Tate & Lyle. The partners have operated a BDO pilot plant in Decatur, Ill., since 2011. DuPont Tate & Lyle has significant experience making biobased intermediates via fermentation; since 2006 it has produced commercial quantities of 1,3-propanediol in Loudon for polymer and personal care markets. Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling tells C&EN that the BDO campaign was intended to validate large-scale production with its microbe. However, the firm does not have a specific plan or partner for a purpose-built commercial facility in the U.S. In Italy, it has formed a joint venture to produce BDO with Novamont, a bioplastics firm. Schilling points out that biobased BDO is a drop-in replacement for petroleum-based BDO, a polyurethane and spandex intermediate with a market of 3 billion lb per year.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter