22 August 2011
Butadiene to be Genomatica's second commercial process
Overview
Genomatica announces successful production of
pound quantities of butadiene made from
renewable feedstocks
This achivement confirms the technical viability of
Genomatica's bio-based manufacturing process for the
dedicated, on-purpose production of butadiene
Why Butadiene ???
Butadiene is one of the seven basic chemicals
at the core of the chemical industry and is
an important ingredient used to make products such as
* tires
* engineering polymers
* latex products
Global market data for butadines in 2011
Global demand over 20 billion pounds
Global market value approximately $ 40 billion
based on June 2011 prices
Potential answer to worldwide butadiene shortage
Genomatica's accomplishment comes at a time of
increasing scarcity and rising costs of "C3" and "C4"
chemical products worldwide
Major chemicals with three or four carbon atoms,respectively,
such as propylene and butadiene
Current source of butadiene
Butadiene is primarily produced today as a
by-product of ethylene cracking.
Increased availability of natural gas, especially in North America,
has contributed to a growing spead between the price of crude oil and
natural gas
This dynamic has made lighter feedstocks derived from
natural gas a more attractive input for ethylene craking operations,
compared to heavier feedstocks derived from crude oil.
The shift toward greater use of these lighter feedstocks has resulted in
the production of significantly less C3 and C4 chemicals.
Decreasing supplies and the lack of current options for on-purpose
butadiene production have resulted in a many-fold increase in the price of
butadiene, which affects consumers downstream with rising prices of
butadiene-based products
Butadiene production from renewable feedstocks
Genomatica's processes enable the production of
the exact same chemicals, like butadiene,
but made using renewable feedstocks and with the potential
for better economics and a smaller environment footprint.
In the case of butadiene, this new technology and process design offers
a renewable option for the dedicated on-purpose production of this
important supply-constrained chemical with what we expect should be
significantly reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
relative to petroleum-based processes
Genomatica's process for commercial production
first process
1,4-butanediol (BDO)
currently producing BDO at demonstration scale
first commercial-scale BDO plant using Genomatica's process
to begin production by the end of 2012 with Novamont
second planned commercial process
Butadiene
from renewable feedstocks
Genomatica plans to use its proprietary technology platform
to continue to improve process performance and economics
Genomatica's platform's capabilities and company's progress
were recognized by winning a U.S. EPA Presidential
Green Chemistry Challenge Award
