Bio-on lista para licenciar su tecnología de producción de PHAs a partir de glicerol

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El glicerol es un importante coproducto del proceso de producción del biodiesel. De hecho, se estima que por cada 90 m3 de biodiesel producido por transesterificación se generan, aproximadamente, 10 m3 de glicerol. El incremento de la producción de biodiesel en las últimas décadas ha provocado la saturación del mercado de glicerol y este producto está presente en grandes cantidades por todo el mundo. Su uso como glicerol crudo es problemático y la sobreproducción ha causado una fuerte caída de su valor. Este hecho ha animado a los fabricantes de productos químicos a buscar nuevas tecnologías para poder valorizarlo. El glicerol tiene potencial para generar productos de alto valor añadido a través de rutas químicas, bioquímicas o termoquímicas.  

Fijando nuestra atención en la ruta bioquímica, la empresa italiana Bio-on lleva investigando procesos para usar glicerol crudo en la producción de polihidroxialcanoatos (PHAs) durante los últimos años. Los PHAs, una familia de biopoliésteres con diversas estructuras, son sintetizados por el 30% de las bacterias que habitan los suelos a partir de sustratos ricos en carbono como azúcares, ácidos grasos libres, alcanos y triglicéridos. Recientemente, la empresa ha asegurado que está lista para otorgar licencias para las primeras plantas de producción de PHAs usando co-productos de la producción del biodiesel. La tecnología de Bio-on permitiría producir de 2.000 a 10.000 toneladas al año de PHAs.

El proceso basado en el glicerol se une al conjunto de tecnologías desarrolladas por Bio-on que ya incluye procesos basados en la remolacha azucarera, la caña de azúcar y las patatas. De acuerdo con la nota de prensa emitida por la empresa, Marco Astorri (presidente de Bio-on S.p.A) afirmaba sobre la tecnología: “Se trata de un gran logro científico e ingenieril en el mundo de los bioplásticos. Muestra que es posible transformar un nuevo residuo como el gricerol en una materia prima ampliando conceptos como la biodegradababilidad y la sostenibilidad con plásticos avanzados innovadores.”

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