World’s first biobased DDDA plant construction begins in Malaysia

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The construction of VerdePalm plant, the first commercial-scale renewable chemicals manufacturing facility of Verdezyne, has officially started. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 30th (see press release). The new facility is designed to produce biobased long chain diacids. The first product manufactured at VerdePalm will be dodecanedioic acid (DDDA), a 12-carbon diacid that is a component of many consumer products currently made from petroleum.

Project datasheet:
Location
Bio-XCell Malaysia Park in Nusajaya (Iskandar, southern Malaysia).
It is a 160 acres (65 ha) biotechnology park dedicated to biobased industry located within the Southern Industrial Logistics Cluster (SiLC). It is developed by Malaysian Bio-XCell Sdn Bhd, a joint venture company formed between Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation and UEM Sunrise Bhd in 2009.
Technology
Fermentation with Verdezyne’s proprietary yeast.
The starting yeast will be made from the spent biomass that results from palm oil processing.
Feedstock
Crude palm oil and palm byproducts as well as other plant-based raw materials.
Products and production capacity
6,000 metric tons of industrial grade DDDA each year.
Timeline
It is expected to be completed in 12-18 months.

Figure 1. Bio-XCell Malaysia Park (extracted from its web page). It will host VerdePalm facility. 

DDDA is traditionally produced from butadiene via a multi-step chemical process. It is used in the manufacturing of high-performance nylon 6,12 molding resins, adhesives and powder coatings. Also, it is a main building block of FerroShieldTM, Verdezyne’s nitrate-free dibasic acid mixture used in a variety of corrosion inhibitor applications (metalworking fluids, engine coolants, metal cleaners, die cast release agents and aqueous hydraulic fluids). Marketing of FerroShield was launched in February of this year. E. William Radany, President and CEO of Verdezyne, said on this topic: “The rust inhibition industry is in need of a high-performing dibasic acid mixture that can be easily incorporated into existing customer formulas. We foresee strong demand for FerroShield in a number of countries in Asia and Europe as well as in the U.S. and Canada.”

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