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(plast-world) -- Genomatica, a San Diego based producer
of green chemicals has entered into a joint venture with leading bioplastics
producer Novamont for the first industrial plant in Europe producing butanediol
(BDO) directly from renewable feedstocks.
Novamont plans to use the biobased BDO for the synthesis of its biodegradable
polyester Origo-Bi instead of the BDO currently in use that is derived from
fossil fuels. In the future, the technology platform based on BDO may also be
used for the formulation of new bioplastics. Novamont will have a majority of
the equity in the newly formed joint venture, and Genomatica a minority
interest.
Under the agreement, Novamont is converting the existing
Bioitalia amino acids plant in Adria, Italy into a facility to produce biobased
BDO using the process developed by Genomatica.
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