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Biofuels – use with caution!
FOCUS ON C A T A L Y S T S A MONTHLY REPORT FROM ALAN E COMYNS AUGUST 2006
BIOFUELS – USE WITH CAUTION!
In this issue
MARKETS AND BUSINESS
2
Coal-to-liquids in China
COMPANY NEWS
2-5
BASF buys Engelhard Grace buys Basell catalyst plant Catalytica abandons Xonon
NEW PLANTS
5-6
Gas-to-liquids onstream in Qatar French biorefinery
NEW TECHNOLOGY
6-7
Perovskite auto-cats BP and DuPont to develop biobutanol
ENVIRONMENT
7
Gaseous effluents from nitric acid plants to be treated worldwide
PATENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF CATALYSTS ISSN 1351–4180
7-8
BOOKSHELF
8
EVENTS
8
The recent near-doubling of the price of crude oil, and the EU Biofuels Directive (2003) which will become more onerous in December 2010, have stimulated remarkable developments in the biofuels industry. Biofuel factories are being built worldwide at an astonishing pace. The forthcoming European Motor Fuels Forum1 will survey the whole field. But before the industry becomes locked into mega-plants using today’s technology we should stand back and consider the social and political consequences of both this technology and future technologies that may result from the application of biotechnology to fuels production. Today’s technology produces ethanol from carbohydrates and cellulose, and biodiesel from vegetable oils. These technologies are being further improved by the enzyme producers. Tomorrow’s technology will produce butanol from corn2. A new book3 summarises the present status of alcohol fuels. BP and DuPont have just announced4 that they are to work together to develop, produce, and market the next generation of biofuels. Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel manufacture. Present markets for glycerol are much smaller than the amount that the new industry will produce, so new uses will have to be found for it. Aqueous-phase reforming of glycerol to produce hydrogen or lower alkanes is at an interesting stage of development. This was invented in 2001 at the University of Wisconsin and is now being piloted by Virent Energy Systems, Inc 5. Fundamentally, we are using
photosynthesis to produce useful liquid fuels. These are usually hydrocarbons, alcohols, and esters, but other useful oxygenates (eg aldehydes, ethers) might be made by novel processes. The EU Directive actually mentions dimethyl ether as a possible biofuel but this would probably have to be made from methanol, itself made biologically. Many types of plant could be considered as the primary crop, and new, more efficient plants might be developed by biotechnologists. Readers may recall that in my October 1998 editorial I referred to the suggestion by the late Melvin Calvin that Euphorbia tirucalli, the ‘petroleum plant’, would be a good candidate. The seed of Jatropha curcas is currently being promoted for this in India and Thailand6. Algae are another possibility7. BP has just announced8 that it is to establish an Energy Biosciences Institute in the UK or USA which will study the choice of plant, as well as biofuel conversion processes. Whichever plant or plants are chosen, and whichever fuel is produced by whichever process, the net result of the establishment of a global biofuels industry will have consequences that are hard to predict. Who will own and operate the future fuel farms? Where will they be sited? Where will the products be processed? What types of companies will control the business – oil companies, chemical companies, transport companies, Russian entrepreneurs? The European colonialists established monoculture production of several crops in the tropics, using slave labour, and today
CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS
FOCUS we are still struggling with the social consequences of this. If we do not learn the lessons of history, the establishment of an international agricultural biofuels industry could have disastrous ecological, social, and economic consequences. Alan E. Comyns 1
2 3 4
5 6 7 8
5th European Motor BioFuels Forum, 11-13 Sep 2006, Gateshead-on-Tyne, UK. Website: http://ww.europoint-bv.com/biofuels2006 US patent 5,753,474, filed Dec 1996 Alcoholic Fuels, S. Minteer (ed), CRC Press, May 2006 Press release from: BP Global, 20 June 2006 & Chemical and Engineering News, 26 June 2006, 84 (26), 9 & Chemical Week, 21 Jun 2006, 168 (21), 11 & Chemistry & Industry, 3 Jul 2006, (13), 4 Website: http://www.greencarcongress.com/ 2006/01/successful_star.html (11 Jul 2006) Japan Chemical Week, 1 Jun 2006, 47 (2369), 1 ICIS Chemical Business, 10 Jul 2006, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com) ICIS Chemical Business, 19 Jun 2006, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
MARKETS AND BUSINESS Oil refining and environmental catalysts driving Japanese market Oil-refining and environmental catalysts are stimulating the catalysts market as well as catalysts for petrochemical processes, which are experiencing robust demand in Asia. Demand for catalysts is expected to reach a record-high 100,000 tonnes in 2005, with an increase of 9% for both production and shipments between Jan-Oct 2006. Oil-refining catalysts are the main driving forces in the upsurge, with hydrogenation catalysts experiencing a strong demand due to increasing shipments of zero-sulfur gasoline and gas oil. Demand for environmental catalysts rose more than 10% in 2005, fuelled by newly enacted emission regulations. Japan Chemical Week, 15 Jun 2006, 47 (2371), 10
ON
C ATA LY S T S
building an 8.2 M tonne/y CTL plant in Xinjiang, site of about 40% of the country’s coal. In addition, the company intends to spend $10 bn in building a 16 M tonne/y coal mine and a 3.2 M tonne/y coal liquefaction unit, and downstream coal-to-liquids production with an initial output of 1 M tonne/y and expanded to 5 M tonne/y later. This project is expected to be completed by 2011. Shenhua is also constructing a coal-derived methanolto-olefins plant at Baotou in Inner Mongolia, designed to produce 1.8 M tonne/y of methanol and 600,000 tonne/y of polyethylene and polypropylene downstream. Meanwhile, Luoshan Jinding has started production of its 10,000 tonne/y dimethyl ether plant in Henan, China. Nitrogen + Syngas, May/Jun 2006, (281), 12
Chemists turn to biotechnology Market researchers are predicting triumphant progress for the biotechnology industry. According to a German study, biotech methods will be involved in the production of 3060% of fine chemicals and 15% of basic chemicals by 2010. Every chemical reaction can in principle be carried out using enzymes. One of the biggest challenges is the production of tailor-made enzymes that can be used to optimize processes. Researchers are designing new 3-D enzyme structures in the hope that these will have an effect on syntheses. Other researchers are looking to evolution in the test-tube. They produce chance mutations in enzymes and study these for their suitability for certain reactions. Many biotech companies specialize in these methods. A new trend is the production of designer bugs. In the search for new enzymes in particular, big companies benefit from cooperating with specialist biotech companies and research groups. Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 19 Jun 2006, (115), 17 (in German)
Coal-to-liquids in China Numerous project activities are currently underway in China’s coal-toliquids (CTL) industry. Shenhua Ningxia Coal Ltd has entered a memorandum of agreement with Shell to construct a CTL plant at Ningdong in Ningxia Province. Shenhua is also
2
Ethanol becomes a topic on stock exchanges More and more investors are looking to companies which are in some way involved in biofuels such as bioethanol or biodiesel. The industry, which is booming in Brazil in particular
but also increasingly in the US, has announced it wants to increase its capacity. Production in the US is to increase from 4.4 bn gals to 6.3 bn gals by the end of 2006. Experts believe US ethanol demand will reach 15 bn gals by 2010. Ethanol currently covers 3% of fuel consumption in the US. Erecting new capacity requires enormous investment. The industry worldwide will seek funding via stock exchanges. VeraSun Energy and Hawkeye Holdings, the number two and number three among the US ethanol producers, are now seeking a listing on American stock exchanges. Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 16 Jun 2006, (114), 32 (in German)
COMPANY NEWS Albemarle raises FCC prices Increased production costs, particularly for noble metals, has led to Albemarle increasing the prices of its fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts by 20%. In 2005, the company reported operating income of $81 M, which is forecast to double by 2009. Chemical Market Reporter, 3 Jul 2006 (Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com) & Press release from: Albemarle Corp, 451 Florida Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, USA. Tel: +1 225 388 7402 or +1 800 535 3030. Fax: +1 225 388 7848. Website: http://www.albemarle.com (8 Jun 2006)
Altair Nanotechnologies 1Q 2006: Performance Materials Business Unit For its 1Q 2006 (ends 31 Mar 2006) Altair Nanotechnologies Inc has reported on its Performance Materials Business Unit. Product sales continue for Altairnano’s photo-catalytic nano titanium dioxide materials used for air, water, and surface cleansing. Altair Nanotechnologies Reports 1Q Financial Results for Fiscal 2006, 9 May 2006, 2-3 (Altair Nanotechnologies Inc, 204 Edison Way, Reno, Nevada, USA. Tel: +1 775 856 2500. Fax: +1 775 856 1619. Website: http://www.altairnano.com)
Ashapura Volclay doubles bleaching clay capacity To meet rising global demand at edible oil refineries, Ashapura Volclay Ltd is to double the size of its bleaching clay and clay catalyst unit
AUGUST 2006
BIOFUELS – USE WITH CAUTION!
In this issue
MARKETS AND BUSINESS
2
Coal-to-liquids in China
COMPANY NEWS
2-5
BASF buys Engelhard Grace buys Basell catalyst plant Catalytica abandons Xonon
NEW PLANTS
5-6
Gas-to-liquids onstream in Qatar French biorefinery
NEW TECHNOLOGY
6-7
Perovskite auto-cats BP and DuPont to develop biobutanol
ENVIRONMENT
7
Gaseous effluents from nitric acid plants to be treated worldwide
PATENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF CATALYSTS ISSN 1351–4180
7-8
BOOKSHELF
8
EVENTS
8
The recent near-doubling of the price of crude oil, and the EU Biofuels Directive (2003) which will become more onerous in December 2010, have stimulated remarkable developments in the biofuels industry. Biofuel factories are being built worldwide at an astonishing pace. The forthcoming European Motor Fuels Forum1 will survey the whole field. But before the industry becomes locked into mega-plants using today’s technology we should stand back and consider the social and political consequences of both this technology and future technologies that may result from the application of biotechnology to fuels production. Today’s technology produces ethanol from carbohydrates and cellulose, and biodiesel from vegetable oils. These technologies are being further improved by the enzyme producers. Tomorrow’s technology will produce butanol from corn2. A new book3 summarises the present status of alcohol fuels. BP and DuPont have just announced4 that they are to work together to develop, produce, and market the next generation of biofuels. Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel manufacture. Present markets for glycerol are much smaller than the amount that the new industry will produce, so new uses will have to be found for it. Aqueous-phase reforming of glycerol to produce hydrogen or lower alkanes is at an interesting stage of development. This was invented in 2001 at the University of Wisconsin and is now being piloted by Virent Energy Systems, Inc 5. Fundamentally, we are using
photosynthesis to produce useful liquid fuels. These are usually hydrocarbons, alcohols, and esters, but other useful oxygenates (eg aldehydes, ethers) might be made by novel processes. The EU Directive actually mentions dimethyl ether as a possible biofuel but this would probably have to be made from methanol, itself made biologically. Many types of plant could be considered as the primary crop, and new, more efficient plants might be developed by biotechnologists. Readers may recall that in my October 1998 editorial I referred to the suggestion by the late Melvin Calvin that Euphorbia tirucalli, the ‘petroleum plant’, would be a good candidate. The seed of Jatropha curcas is currently being promoted for this in India and Thailand6. Algae are another possibility7. BP has just announced8 that it is to establish an Energy Biosciences Institute in the UK or USA which will study the choice of plant, as well as biofuel conversion processes. Whichever plant or plants are chosen, and whichever fuel is produced by whichever process, the net result of the establishment of a global biofuels industry will have consequences that are hard to predict. Who will own and operate the future fuel farms? Where will they be sited? Where will the products be processed? What types of companies will control the business – oil companies, chemical companies, transport companies, Russian entrepreneurs? The European colonialists established monoculture production of several crops in the tropics, using slave labour, and today
CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS
FOCUS we are still struggling with the social consequences of this. If we do not learn the lessons of history, the establishment of an international agricultural biofuels industry could have disastrous ecological, social, and economic consequences. Alan E. Comyns 1
2 3 4
5 6 7 8
5th European Motor BioFuels Forum, 11-13 Sep 2006, Gateshead-on-Tyne, UK. Website: http://ww.europoint-bv.com/biofuels2006 US patent 5,753,474, filed Dec 1996 Alcoholic Fuels, S. Minteer (ed), CRC Press, May 2006 Press release from: BP Global, 20 June 2006 & Chemical and Engineering News, 26 June 2006, 84 (26), 9 & Chemical Week, 21 Jun 2006, 168 (21), 11 & Chemistry & Industry, 3 Jul 2006, (13), 4 Website: http://www.greencarcongress.com/ 2006/01/successful_star.html (11 Jul 2006) Japan Chemical Week, 1 Jun 2006, 47 (2369), 1 ICIS Chemical Business, 10 Jul 2006, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com) ICIS Chemical Business, 19 Jun 2006, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
MARKETS AND BUSINESS Oil refining and environmental catalysts driving Japanese market Oil-refining and environmental catalysts are stimulating the catalysts market as well as catalysts for petrochemical processes, which are experiencing robust demand in Asia. Demand for catalysts is expected to reach a record-high 100,000 tonnes in 2005, with an increase of 9% for both production and shipments between Jan-Oct 2006. Oil-refining catalysts are the main driving forces in the upsurge, with hydrogenation catalysts experiencing a strong demand due to increasing shipments of zero-sulfur gasoline and gas oil. Demand for environmental catalysts rose more than 10% in 2005, fuelled by newly enacted emission regulations. Japan Chemical Week, 15 Jun 2006, 47 (2371), 10
ON
C ATA LY S T S
building an 8.2 M tonne/y CTL plant in Xinjiang, site of about 40% of the country’s coal. In addition, the company intends to spend $10 bn in building a 16 M tonne/y coal mine and a 3.2 M tonne/y coal liquefaction unit, and downstream coal-to-liquids production with an initial output of 1 M tonne/y and expanded to 5 M tonne/y later. This project is expected to be completed by 2011. Shenhua is also constructing a coal-derived methanolto-olefins plant at Baotou in Inner Mongolia, designed to produce 1.8 M tonne/y of methanol and 600,000 tonne/y of polyethylene and polypropylene downstream. Meanwhile, Luoshan Jinding has started production of its 10,000 tonne/y dimethyl ether plant in Henan, China. Nitrogen + Syngas, May/Jun 2006, (281), 12
Chemists turn to biotechnology Market researchers are predicting triumphant progress for the biotechnology industry. According to a German study, biotech methods will be involved in the production of 3060% of fine chemicals and 15% of basic chemicals by 2010. Every chemical reaction can in principle be carried out using enzymes. One of the biggest challenges is the production of tailor-made enzymes that can be used to optimize processes. Researchers are designing new 3-D enzyme structures in the hope that these will have an effect on syntheses. Other researchers are looking to evolution in the test-tube. They produce chance mutations in enzymes and study these for their suitability for certain reactions. Many biotech companies specialize in these methods. A new trend is the production of designer bugs. In the search for new enzymes in particular, big companies benefit from cooperating with specialist biotech companies and research groups. Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 19 Jun 2006, (115), 17 (in German)
Coal-to-liquids in China Numerous project activities are currently underway in China’s coal-toliquids (CTL) industry. Shenhua Ningxia Coal Ltd has entered a memorandum of agreement with Shell to construct a CTL plant at Ningdong in Ningxia Province. Shenhua is also
2
Ethanol becomes a topic on stock exchanges More and more investors are looking to companies which are in some way involved in biofuels such as bioethanol or biodiesel. The industry, which is booming in Brazil in particular
but also increasingly in the US, has announced it wants to increase its capacity. Production in the US is to increase from 4.4 bn gals to 6.3 bn gals by the end of 2006. Experts believe US ethanol demand will reach 15 bn gals by 2010. Ethanol currently covers 3% of fuel consumption in the US. Erecting new capacity requires enormous investment. The industry worldwide will seek funding via stock exchanges. VeraSun Energy and Hawkeye Holdings, the number two and number three among the US ethanol producers, are now seeking a listing on American stock exchanges. Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 16 Jun 2006, (114), 32 (in German)
COMPANY NEWS Albemarle raises FCC prices Increased production costs, particularly for noble metals, has led to Albemarle increasing the prices of its fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts by 20%. In 2005, the company reported operating income of $81 M, which is forecast to double by 2009. Chemical Market Reporter, 3 Jul 2006 (Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com) & Press release from: Albemarle Corp, 451 Florida Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, USA. Tel: +1 225 388 7402 or +1 800 535 3030. Fax: +1 225 388 7848. Website: http://www.albemarle.com (8 Jun 2006)
Altair Nanotechnologies 1Q 2006: Performance Materials Business Unit For its 1Q 2006 (ends 31 Mar 2006) Altair Nanotechnologies Inc has reported on its Performance Materials Business Unit. Product sales continue for Altairnano’s photo-catalytic nano titanium dioxide materials used for air, water, and surface cleansing. Altair Nanotechnologies Reports 1Q Financial Results for Fiscal 2006, 9 May 2006, 2-3 (Altair Nanotechnologies Inc, 204 Edison Way, Reno, Nevada, USA. Tel: +1 775 856 2500. Fax: +1 775 856 1619. Website: http://www.altairnano.com)
Ashapura Volclay doubles bleaching clay capacity To meet rising global demand at edible oil refineries, Ashapura Volclay Ltd is to double the size of its bleaching clay and clay catalyst unit
AUGUST 2006