17 September 2015
DETAILS
Roquette,
the 5th largest starch manufacturer in the world,
emphasises the industrial and commercial successes
resulting from the BioHub® programme,
supported by Bpifrance since 2006,
and announces its closure
A programme at the service of innovation
Launched in 2006 and essentially focused on
breakthrough projects,
the BioHub® programme has initiated
several industrial developments:
isosorbide and biosuccinic acid
for the manufacture of performance plastics and
the isosorbide diesters used as plasticizers.
Thanks to all these new solutions,
new innovative materials are in the process of being marketed.
In order to bring this programme to a successful conclusion,
ROQUETTE, the leader of BioHub®,
brought together numerous private sector and public partners:
ARKEMA (France), DSM (Netherlands),
BASF (formerly COGNIS, Germany), SOLVAY (France),
TERGAL FIBRES (France), SIDEL (France),
EUROVIA/VINCI (France), METABOLIC EXPLORER (France),
INSA Lyon and Rouen (France), IMMCL Lille (CNRS),
RICE UNIVERSITY (USA).
1.ISOSORBIDE
New offers meeting
the needs of the performance plastics and
specialty chemistry markets
This programme led to
the development of POLYSORB® isosorbide
enabling polymers to be endowed with exceptional properties,
in particular an increased heat resistance and
excellent transparency and U.V. resistance.
a valuable solution for the performance plastics markets.
Thanks to solid technological expertise resulting
from over eight years of targeted studies in various fields,
an industrial production process
for very high purity isosorbide was perfected.
Roquette then invested in and recently inaugurated
at the beginning of 2015 in Lestrem (France)
a 20,000 tonnes/year isosorbide production unit.
Roquette is now the world leader for
isosorbide for the plastics and chemistry specialty markets.
The biosuccinic acid project is based on an innovative and
unique biotechnology using yeast.
Following the setting up of
the joint-venture Reverdia (DSM / Roquette 50/50),
the project has resulted in an industrial production unit
of 10,000 tonnes/year located on
the Roquette site in Cassano (Italy).
This fully operational unit offers the market a product
that fully meets the expectations of the customers
in the polymer sectors.
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
