Verdezyne Announces Issuance of US Patent on Method for Producing Bio-Based Adipic Acid
Verdezyne, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company focused on producing renewable chemicals from non-petroleum sources, has been granted a United States Patent for a bio-based adipic acid production process. U.S. Patent No. 8,241,879, titled “Biological Methods for Preparing Adipic Acid,” covers one of the company’s proprietary processes for selectively converting non-petroleum oils into adipic acid – a key component used to manufacture sustainable nylon 6,6, thermoplastic polyurethane resins and coatings from renewable sources.
“Building on the patent we secured earlier this year on engineered microorganisms, this intellectual property protection for our adipic acid production process is another strong milestone in our technology development program,” said E. William Radany, Ph.D., president and CEO of Verdezyne. “Our feedstock-flexible approach is just one of many factors that sets Verdezyne apart from other players in the renewable chemicals landscape.”
Verdezyne has designed its proprietary adipic acid process specifically for the production of nylon 6,6. The company believes its renewably sourced adipic acid will be cost-advantaged compared with standard adipic acid, as well as being more environmentally-friendly.
“Verdezyne’s proprietary process allows us to produce adipic acid at high yields and selectively from any plant-based oil, regardless of its fatty acid composition – making the entire process more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly,” said Stephen Picataggio, Ph.D., chief scientific officer. “Since our feedstock position is not carbohydrate-based, we are also not competing for sugar in the food or energy value chain.”
About Adipic Acid
Found in everyday products such as nylon, furniture, coatings, carpeting, bedding and automobile parts, adipic acid is a valuable chemical intermediate for established downstream markets such as the automotive, apparel and textile industries. The estimated worldwide market for adipic acid is over $6 billion. For more information on Verdezyne’s adipic acid, please visit http://verdezyne.com/verdezyne/Products/adipic.cfm.
About Verdezyne
Verdezyne is an industrial biotechnology company using proven and proprietary metabolic pathway engineering tools to develop unique yeast strains for cost-effective production of bio-based chemicals. Current investors in Verdezyne include BP Alternative Energy Ventures, DSM Venturing B.V., OVP Venture Partners and Monitor Ventures.
Source: www.verdezyne.com.
COST-EFFECTIVE PROCESS FOR BIOBASED NYLON PRECURSOR SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED BY RENNOVIA
Rennovia, Inc., a California-based startup founded in 2009, is developing advanced
chemo-catalytic processes for the conversion of renewable feedstocks to major market drop-in biobased chemicals. According to Rennovia’s CEO, Dr. Robert Wedinger, the company has successfully developed a process for its first target, adipic acid, using a proprietary chemo-catalytic conversion platform. Adipic acid is a monomer widely used in the production of nylon resins and fibers as well as an
important component of polyurethane resins and foams.
Especially noteworthy, the projected cost of production of Rennovia’s biobased adipic acid is said to be below the cash-cost of conventional petro-derived adipic acid down to $50/bbl crude oil.
Even greater economies are potentially realizable because of the ability of Rennovia to diversify from their current carbohydrate feedstock source to lower cost nonfood-based raw materials.
In a presentation to be given at the upcoming BioPlastek 2011 Forum on Bioplastics Today and Tomorrow, Dr. Wedinger will outline Rennovia’s general approach to the cost-advantaged production of renewable chemicals, and describe plans for the scale-up and commercial production of renewable adipic acid. The BioPlastek 2011 Forum will take place on June 27-29, 2011 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Rennovia’s adipic acid process technology is currently running in kg-scale pilot production, moving to commercial-demonstration scale in 2012. Dr. Wedinger attributes the rapid progress being made to the company’s high-throughput catalyst R&D platform. He maintains that because of its higher efficiency and scalability, chemo-catalysis is preferable to fermentation for many large-volume chemical manufacturing processes.
The BioPlastek 2011 Forum is being organized by Schotland Business Research, Inc. Sponsoring organizations include the Chemical Development & Marketing Association, the Product Development & Management Association, the Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Division, and the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA).
Further program, hotel, exhibit and registration details on the BioPlastek 2011 Forum are found by visiting, the organizer’s website, http://bioplastek.com
Source: www.rennovia.com
