PRESS RELEASE
Bio-on and Greenergy focus on the UK to produce bioplastic from biodiesel co-product Glycerol
BOLOGNA, 16th March 2017 - Bio-on and Greenergy International Limited have signed an agreement to begin a technical collaboration, the first in the United Kingdom, to look at the possibility of producing PHAs bioplastic from Glycerol, a biodiesel production co-product. The two companies will work together to establish the feasibility of building in the United Kingdom a 5-thousand ton per year plant expandable to 10 thousand tons per year. «This would be northern Europe's most advanced plant producing PHAs biopolymers from glycerol» says Marco Astorri, Chairman and CEO of Bio-on.
Greenergy is Europe's largest manufacturer of biodiesel from waste with two production plants in the North East of England, and produces biofuel from waste streams from the food industry, such as used cooking oil. Its technical collaboration with Bio-on will investigate the potential to manufacture PHAs biopolymers from glycerol on an industrial scale in the UK. «We are looking at the potential to integrate the Bio-on technology into our existing biodiesel processes and thereby add value to our existing activities» explains Paul Bateson, Chief Operating Officer at Greenergy.
The revolutionary PHAs bioplastics (polyhydroxyalkanoates) developed by Bio-on are made from renewable plant sources with no competition with food supply chains. They guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties as conventional plastics with the advantage of being 100% eco-sustainable and naturally biodegradable at ambient temperature.
«It will be very exciting to study the integration of the PHAs plant with the production processes at Greenergy, one of the most dynamic companies in the UK green sector», explains Marco Astorri, Chairman and CEO of Bio-on. «The aim is to build northern Europe's first PHAs production plant from glycerol and this will be an enormous advantage to Greenergy considering that the technology developed and patented by Bio-on is very flexible in terms of product variety and integrates well with sites producing biodiesel and managing the relative logistics».
The new collaboration between Bio-on and Greenergy International Limited is an important milestone for creating a global platform for bioplastic production in the future.
Press information:
Bio-on - Simona Vecchies +393351245190 - press@bio-on.it - Twitter @BioOnBioplastic
Bio-on S.p.A.
Bio-On S.p.A., an Italian Intellectual Property Company (IPC), operates in the bioplastic sector conducting applied research and development of modern bio-fermentation technologies in the field of eco-sustainable and completely naturally biodegradable materials. In particular, Bio-On develops industrial applications through the creation of product characterisations, components and plastic items. Since February 2015, Bio-On S.p.A. has also been operating in the development of natural and sustainable chemicals for the future.
Bio-On has developed an exclusive process for the production of a family of polymers called PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) from agricultural waste (including molasses and sugar cane and sugar beet syrups). The bioplastic produced in this way is able to replace the main families of traditional plastics in terms of performance, thermo-mechanical properties and versatility. Bio-On PHAs is a bioplastic that can be classified as 100% natural and completely biodegradable: this has been certified by Vincotte and by USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). The Issuer's strategy envisages the marketing of licenses for PHAs production and related ancillary services, the development of R&D (also through new collaborations with universities, research centres and industrial partners), as well as the realisation of industrial plants designed by Bio-On.
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40016 San Giorgio di Piano (BO)
Tel: +39 051 893001
info@bio-on.it
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