Raw Materials from Corn and Rapeseed

Looking for alternatives to petrochemicals

Gasoline produced from rapeseed and soy, plastics made from corn and beet, ethanol obtained from sugarcane and straw - renewable raw materials are in vogue. At fi rst sight, the enormous interest in such resources could be attributed to high energy prices. After all, they demonstrate industrial and consumer dependence on fi nite fossil fuels such as oil and gas. This trend affects the chemical industry at two levels. Firstly, it requires energy in the form of electricity and steam for many of its processes. Secondly, oil is the basis for many chemical products. However, renewable raw materials have other benefi ts as well as cost: They help reduce the greenhouse effect in which also carbon dioxide plays a role.

Dr. Stefan Nordhoff, coordinator for renewable raw materials at Degussa, aims to reduce pressure on raw materials

Since renewable raw materials are plants, they bind the carbon dioxide released in the generation of energy through combustion during their own “production” process. The result is an almost perfect carbon dioxide cycle. Besides, production processes based on renewable raw materials generally take place under milder conditions, for example, at lower temperatures or lower pressure. That reduces energy consumption.

Renewable raw materials already account for up to 8 percent of raw materials used in the chemical industry, and in the USA there is talk of transferring all oil-based chemical production to renewable resources. The consequences would be similar to the switch from coal to oil in the middle of the last century. One indicator of the trend towards biological raw materials is the rising price of corn and sugar and the sharp increase in research funding. For example, in the USA US$ 360 million p.a. is invested in research into renewable raw materials.

Science-to Business-Center Bio
In view of this, it is understandable that Degussa feels that renewable raw materials could play a signifi cant role in a sustainable product portfolio. It therefore has a range of activities concentrated on this area: “We systematically examine whether we can use renewable resources in all projects. They are an option wherever they bring specifi c benefi ts, for example, by cutting costs or generating products that would be diffi cult or impossible to manufacture from other raw materials,” explains Dr. Stefan Nordhoff, Degussa’s renewable raw materials coordinator. Nordhoff also works at the Bio Science-to- Business Center, a new platform for white biotech - nology that opened at the Marl site in Germany in early 2006. Degussa will be expending †50 million on this center over a fi ve-year period.

White (industrial) biotechnology focuses on sustainable production processes, generally based on natural, biological resources, otherwise known as renewable raw materials. It includes fermentative and enzymatic processes that are regarded as potential alternatives to physical and chemical processes because of their economic and ecological profi le. In fermentation processes, mircroorganisms convert biogenic material such as sugar and starch into the desired products. In biocatalysis microorganisms or parts of microorganisms are used as enzymes to control and speed up reactions. New findings, especially in genome research and systems biology, are driving this research approach. The ProFerm Project House, a center of expertise for fermentation processes that brings together the know-how of several of Degussa’s business units, and the Biocatalysis Service Center are both working on these technologies. Nordhoff explains: “At the Bio Science-to- Business Center we are also looking for new ways of using renewable raw materials as a basis for conventional chemical manufacturing processes.” One possibility he sees is combining biotechno logical and conventional processes using biological raw materials.

Products and Applications
Alongside its research and development work focused on future use of renewable raw materials, Degussa already markets a number of products made from such materials. These include the fuel additive ETBE produced by the C4-Chemistry Business Unit at its site in Marl, Germany, since fall 2005. ETBE is obtained from isobutene and bioethanol. Annual production capacity totals 250,000 metric tons. Degussa is also focusing on using renewable raw materials such as sugar and coconut oil to manufacture additives for skin and hair-care products, cleaning agents and laundry specialties.

Another area in which Degussa uses renewable resources as raw materials is the production of amino acids by fermentation. Most of the ultra-pure amino acids produced by Degussa subsidiary Rexim in the Exclusive Synthesis & Catalysts Business Unit are used in the pharmaceuticals industry. Other customers for amino acids and their derivatives are the cosmetics and food sectors. The highest-volume products are L-lysine and L-threonine, which are produced by the Feed Additives Business Unit using fermentation. They are used as additives in animal feeds to ensure that pigs and poultry metabolize their food more effi ciently. Degussa has an annual production capacity totaling 90,000 metric tons for L-lysine (Biolys^®) alone. In addition, its joint venture with Degussa Cathay Biotechnology Co. Ltd. is currently building a new facility with annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons in Jining, China. Degussa has the capability to produce 30,000 metric tons p.a. L-threonine at the facilities operated by its wholly owned subsidiary Fermas in the Slovakia, and at Kaba, Hungary. There are plans to raise capacity in Kaba by 20,000 metric tons p.a. In all, Degussa is wellrepresented in the use of renewable raw materials through established products and new projects and processes.