Solvay opens a second plant in Brazil for its line of biobased solvents Augeo

By -

Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. 

Solvay has inaugurated the second plant dedicated exclusively to the manufacturing of its sustainable solvent Augeo®, bringing its production capacity from 6,000 up to 20,000 tons a year. 

Figure 1. Solvay opens a second plant in Brazil for its line of biobased solvents Augeo 

Installed in the company's industrial complex in Paulinia in the Province of São Paulo (Brazil), the new plant already operates at full capacity, serving customers on different continents. The USA is the primary market for the product manufactured in Paulinia, accounting for more than 30% of exports, followed by Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

Augeo derives from glycerine and is used in fragrances, personal care, household and institutional cleaning items, paints and varnishes. It is also widely used in the agribusiness and oil and gas segments. 

The product line has been created by Solvay’s Brazilian researchers and responds to the company’s global objective from its Solvay One Planet roadmap, to generate 15% of its revenue from either biobased or recycled-based materials by 2030. The company is continuously developing new applications for its sustainable solvents and has been certified by the Vegan Society. This has introduced Solvay sustainable solvents to new niche markets, such as vegan personal care or home care products, a growing international trend.

Popular Posts

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 adipic acid

By -
Image
Versión en Español Type of post: Fact sheet. Series: Biobased chemicals – Organic acids. Publication date: 25/05/2021. Last update: 25/05/2021. Description - C6 aliphatic dicarboxylic acid. - White crystalline powder. - Other names: hexanedioic acid; 1,4-butanedicarbocylic acid. Applications - Monomer for the production of nylon 6,6. - Monomer for the production of polyurethane. - Manufacture of plasticizers and lubricants. - Gelling and acidulant agent (food grade). Conventional petrochemical route - Oxidation of cyclohexane to produce KA oil (cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol) / Nitric acid oxidation of KA oil. During the final reaction, the highly potent GHG nitrous oxide (N2O, 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide) is formed. It has been estimated that replacing the current petrochemical-based process with one employing renewable precursors will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95%, depending on the process used (1). Main biobased routes - [Muconic acid via] Fermentatio
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 propiedades de flujo en frío de los productos finales. Por tanto, los HVO son
Read more

Succinic acid biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 16/10/2015. Last update: 20/12/2016. Introduction The blog will open soon a new section focused on summarizing the information available about the commercial and pilot plants of the most promising Biobased Chemical Building Blocks (BCBB). The section will contain links to monographic posts updated in a regular basis. I have chosen bio-succinic acid to start the series because some companies have achieved important milestones related to its large-scale commercialization. Clearly, it is one of the DoE´s top 12 BCBB that it is fulfilling the previous generated expectations. Description 1,2,3 Succinic acid (butanedioic acid), is a diprotic, dicarboxylic acid with chemical formula C 4 H 6 O 4 . It is a water-soluble, colorless crystal with an acid taste. The name derives from Latin “succinum”, meaning amber, from which the acid was originally obtained by pulverising and distilling it using a sand bath. It is produced naturally as a product of cellul
Read more

Etanol celulósico – Lo básico: Ruta de conversión – Termoquímica

By -
Image
English version Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: Cellulosic ethanol - The basics: Concept and feedstocks - The basics: Conversion pathway – Biochemical - The basics: Conversion pathway – Thermochemical - Cellulosic ethanol biorefineries at commercial scale Posts: CELLULOSIC ETHANOL 1. Introducción Actualmente, la vía de conversión termoquímica para transformar recursos biomásicos en etanol ocupa una posición secundaria. Los apoyos dados en el pasado a este enfoque han sido modestos. Sin embargo, vale la pena revisar el concepto en el marco de esta serie sobre el etanol celulósico. La ruta implica dos pasos principales: (1) Gasificación de la biomasa lignocelulósica para generar gas de síntesis. (2) Transformación del gas de síntesis en etanol. Este segundo paso puede llevarse a cabo mediante catalizadores químicos o fermentación (vía híbrida). A diferencia de la conversión por catálisis química, la conversión por fermentación puede producir etanol p
Read more