2 September 2014
รายละเอียด Details
Helsinki, Finland,
Following its recent acquisition of
the US-based biotechnology company Virdia,
is investing EUR 32 million (USD 43 million)
in a demonstration and market development plant
to be built at Raceland, Louisiana, USA.
The plant will be used for industrial validation of
the newly acquired extraction and separation technology
developed by Virdia that enables
cellulosic biomass, such as wood or agricultural waste,
to be converted into highly refined sugars.
The investment serves the feasibility of the technology
on industrial scale in the future, possibly also
in some of Stora Enso’s existing pulp mills.
The Raceland demonstration plant is scheduled to
start production early 2017.
The demonstration plant will be located in
the vicinity of existing sugar cane plantations and
will use bagasse waste as feedstock.
Sugar cane bagasse is a
sustainable, non-genetically-modified feedstock that
does not compete with food.
It will be used to produce high purity five-carbon sugars
and in particular xylose.
These sugars will be converted and upgraded
for applications in, for example,
food and personal care.
Juan Carlos Bueno,
EVP, Stora Enso Biomaterials
“This investment marks the next step in our strategy
for new markets and applications.
It will enable validation of the technology developed by
Virdia and its applicability to different types of biomass.
Our goal is to develop and commercialise
cost-effective renewable solutions
to address well-identified market-driven needs and
add value to our current cellulosic streams,”
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
