Neol Bio in the spotlight – Advanced bioprocesses for the oleochemical industry

By -


One of the New Year resolutions of the BR Blog is introducing and disseminating the work of Spanish companies and initiatives related to the biorefineries sector. Whenever possible, I will try to visit the facilities to gain first-hand knowledge about their activities and resources. The first post of this series will be dedicated to Neol Bio that is one of the most prominent companies of the biotechnology industry in Spain and it has the aim of becoming a European reference in the field of the development of bioprocesses for the oleochemical industry.

Figure 1. Scaling stage - Bioreactor in the Neol Bio lab (courtesy of Neol Bio)

I would firstly like to thank Javier Velasco (General Manager of Neol Bio) for kindly taking the time to show me the facilities at the Parque Tecnológico de la Salud in Granada. During the visit, I could confirm the great expectations raised after tracking its news and announcements in the last few months. It is quite clear to me that the management team is well aware of the biorefinery concept. In fact, I was surprised to hear that the tool used for developing its bioprocesses was created in the frame of a R&D project that it was called “Microbiotools: development and integration of biotechnology processes for biorefineries” in the year 2007, when this term was rarely used in Spain. Their bioprocesses pretend to be an interface between the producers of agriculture feedstocks or waste and the interested in the manufacture of bioproducts.

Below, I will describe its activities focusing the attention on two points: the facilities visited and the technological platforms that the company is exploiting. And finally, I will draw a few brief conclusions.

Facilities

The visit started with the zone where the staff of the Microbial Biotechnology Area carry out the tasks related to the selection of the strains. A screening to obtain the first candidate strains from an exclusive collection of over 9,000 microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts and microalgae) is performed by means of robotized technologies. These techniques, which are well stablished in the pharmaceutical sector, have been successfully transferred to the white biotechnology field by the team of Neol Bio. The candidates are deeply studied with manual methods to determine which of them will enter in the scaling stage from the lab environment to the industrial one.

Such scaling stage involves two phases. The next stop along the way took place in the lab where the first phase is carried out. This zone is equipped with totally automated bioreactors of 7 and 30 liters, centrifuges, microfiltration equipment, gas extraction cabins, rotary evaporators, Soxhelts and vacuum concentrators, among others. Here, bioconversion and fermentation processes (upstream) are tested and recuperation and purification processes (downstream) are studied for the first time.

Before visiting the second phase of the scaling, we went to the analysis lab where the components of the feedstocks and the final bioproducts are identified and quantified, through liquid chromatography equipment coupled with different detectors, gas chromatography equipment and other basic equipment for chemical analysis.

Finally, I can look at the pilot plant where the work of scaling carries on in a pre-industrial environment. It is equipped with a fermentation unit that is composed of a train of bioreactors of 5, 50 and 400 liters. Also, it has auxiliary tanks of 400 liters, a microfiltration pilot unit, a drying oven, a hydrolysis reactor and extraction-distillation unit with 75 liters of working volume. External facilities are rented when it is necessary to carry out a higher level scaling.

Figure 2. Scaling stage - Extraction-distillation unit in the Neol Bio pilot plant (courtesy of Neol Bio)

Platforms

Currently, the strategy of Neol Bio is based on the use of three technological platforms:

1. Microbioil® (focused on bioenergy and oleochemical sectors)
Microbioil-1: Production of oils for biofuels (biodiesel and HVO) from glycerin and sugars.
Microbioil-2: Production of oils for biofuels (biodiesel and HVO) from lignocellulosic biomass.
Microbioil-3: Production of oils for oleochemical sector (fatty alcohols, oils with high content of oleic acid and oils with high content of very long chain fatty acids) from lignocellulosic biomass.
This platform will be exploited by means of sales of licenses or the use of the technology in future joint ventures with industrial companies. In the current situation of low petroleum prices and relative weakness of biofuels market, Neol Bio can focused on the process of production of high value oils for the oleochemical sector with applications, for instance, in detergents, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, and lubricants. The generation of this microbial oils from waste (wheat straw or cane bagasse), it seems to be a very attractive alternative to the conventional chemical technologies from vegetable oils. It would not be surprising if companies show their interest in obtaining these licenses soon.

2. Tribioplast® (focused on bioplastic sector)
This platform can generate biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastics from industrial subproducts. The technology includes microorganisms producing polyhydroxyalcanoates (PHAs), a wide family of biopolyesters with diverse structures. The use of these biopolymers for biomedical applications and as enhanced additives of other polymers. The strategy of exploitation is the same as in the previous case.

3. Omega 3 (focused on food industry)
Neol Bio has decided to start during this year, the production on an Omega-3 oil rich in docosahexanoic acid (DHA) by cultivation of microalgae selected in ecosystems from the Iberian Peninsula. In this case, the strategy is the direct commercialization of products manufactured with its own technology. DHA is a fatty acid essential for the growth and functional development of the nervous system. Its production and commercialization will be carried out in collaboration with Antibióticos de León. Both companies signed an agreement for these purposes in October 2015.

Conclusions

Neol Bio owns the staff, technological platforms and facilities in order to be the European reference in the development of bioprocesses for oleochemical industry in five years from now, the vision already highlighted at the beginning of the post. It can also reach a good position in the fields of the bioenergy, the biopolymers and the food industry. Besides, the versatility of Microbiotools® provides to Neol Bio with the possibility of developing new business lines. The blog will follow with interest its evolutions and the biorefinery projects that can derive from future licenses and joint ventures.

Popular Posts

Mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose starts up successfully

By -
Image
Recent news about one of the DOE’s 12 Top Biobased Molecules. Rennovia Inc. and Johnson Matthey Process Technologies announced on July 16 that they have successfully started-up a mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose using jointly developed technology. In March 2014, these companies embarked on a collaboration to develop, demonstrate and commercialize catalytic process technologies for the production of bio-based glucaric acid and adipic acid. Under the collaboration, Rennovia and JM Process Technologies work together in processes based on Rennovia’s technology for the catalytic aerobic oxidation of glucose to glucaric acid and the catalytic hydrogenation of glucaric acid to adipic acid. The final goal of the collaboration is to license a package enabling commercial production of these chemical products. The successful operation of this mini-plant is a major milestone in the journey to achieve this goal. The facility is located at the Johnson Matthey Process ...
Read more

Biorefinery models - Lignocellulosic biorefinery

By -
Image
Publication date: 25/04/2016 Last update: 25/04/2016 ABOUT THE SERIES OF POSTS “BIOREFINERY MODELS” This post belongs to a series called “ Biorefinery Models ”. This series is devoted to briefly describe the models or concepts of advanced biorefineries which have emerged in the last few years and that are rising currently. These models are simplified representations which enable us to understand in a simple way the structure and characteristics of a general biorefinery type. Some of these models refer to the type of feedstock while other focus on the technologies involved. A biorefinery may resemble these models or be the result of variations and combinations of them. It should be noted that although these paradigms are very useful and instructive, they show limitations in describing and classifying complex systems with high level of integration. In order to define and describe a specific complex case, the blog recommends use the classification proposed by IEA Bioenerg...
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propieda...
Read more

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof...
Read more

Biobased acrylic acid

By -
Image
Versión en Español Type of post: Fact sheet. Series: Biobased chemicals – Organic acids. Publication date: 05/05/2021. Last update: 05/05/2021. Description - Organic acid with 3 carbon atoms. - It is a clear, colourless, corrosive liquid with a characteristic acrid or tart smell. - Other names: prop-2-enoic acid. Applications - Formation of homopolymers or copolymers which are used in the manufacture of various adhesives, coatings, diapers, detergents, paints, plastics and textiles. The main use of crude acrylic acid is the generation of acrylate esters, followed by the production of polyacrylic acid, used mostly in superabsorbent polymers. - Chemical intermediate in multiple industrial processes. Conventional petrochemical route - Cracking of fossil naphtha to produce propylene / Oxidation of propylene. Main biobased routes - [3-HPA via] Fermentation of sugars to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA) / Dehydration of 3-HPA. - [Biobased naphtha via] Cracking of biobased naphth...
Read more