The birth of a new biobased industry 

BEYOND ENZYMES

 
New biotechnology could help to keep babies dry using renewable resources.
The face of the chemical industry is changing with help from Novozymes. One of the new business areas within BioBusiness is the conversion of renewable resources into chemicals. Though Novozymes will not produce chemicals itself, it will use its biotechnology to help other companies produce chemicals.

Cargill is a good example, being a leading player in the conversion of renewables to chemicals. In January 2008, Cargill and Novozymes announced a joint agreement to develop technology enabling the production of acrylic acid via 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA) from renewable raw materials. The project is supported by a USD 1.5 million matching cooperative agreement from the US Department of Energy.

Novozymes and Cargill will develop a pro­cess to convert glucose or another carbohydrate source into 3-HPA by fermentation. This conversion is a multi-step enzymatic reaction within the cells of a microorganism. Using Novozymes’ unique technology platform in protein and pathway engineering, the natural biosynthetic pathways of the microorganism will be changed so that it begins to produce the desired molecules in high amounts. 3-HPA produced from the fermentation can then be recovered and transformed into chemical derivatives such as acrylic acid.

At present, most acrylic acid results from the oxidation of propylene, a petrochemical industry product from the refining of crude oil. Almost half of the 3.1 million tons of crude acrylic acid produced annually (2005) is used to make glacial acrylic acid for superabsorbents. Their major use is in personal care items such as diapers (more than 1 million tons annually). The remainder is used to produce acrylates that are components of acrylic fibers, coatings, paints, and inks.

“Due to increasing oil prices, the conversion of renewable raw materials into chemicals is becoming economically viable and holds significant commercial potential,” says Executive Vice President Thomas Videbæk. “This strongly positions Novozymes to put its bioinnovation capabilities to work towards our vision of a ‘biobased economy’ where bio­materials will supplement many of the petroleum-based products we know today. The collaboration with Cargill is a good example of how we leverage and build upon our technology base to expand the business into new areas. We are building on existing technology and on our existing relationships.”

Article sorter

Related articles

Business areas:

Industry areas:

Topics:

 PDF of article
  • Novozymes A/S
  • •
  • Krogshoejvej 36
  • •
  • 2880 Bagsvaerd
  • •
  • Denmark
  • •
  • Tel. +45 44 46 00 00
  • •
  • Fax +45 44 46 99 99
  • •
  • Copyright © 2009 Novozymes