Introduction of bio-based succinic acid as a significant step toward a sustainable chemical industry depends on two important economic parameters. The first is sum- marized under the term of the production costs. Major constituents along the pro- duction process are the costs and the availability of the feedstock with 10–15%, the fermentation process itself contributing to 20–25% of the costs, and the purification of the final product, which may utilize between 60% and 70% of the total costs. All these parameters can be improved to reduce the succinic acid price. For example, processes and/or producer strains capable of utilizing different kinds of feedstocks
can be established (flexible feedstock concept). Increases in the efficiency of the fer- mentation, such as higher yield and higher productivity, will lower the fermentation costs by reducing the demand of carbon source and the production time. The efforts to decrease the downstream processing costs are directed either toward fermentations at low pH or towardin situproduct recovery. As described in detail in the previous sections, these areas are subject to intensive research.
The second economic parameter which has high impact on the bio-based succinic acid market is the availability of succinic acid and the demand for succinic acid-based products. Currently the market is evolving very rapidly. For several years bio-based succinic acid was on the future portfolio of only a few companies. The plans for industrial production were still very vague as most of the companies were in the phase of research and development. Meanwhile production organisms and processes have been developed and tested in several pilot plants and in the last 2 years a number of press releases mapped several of the major players (Table 16.2) in the surprisingly fast-growing market of bio-based succinic acid.
16.5.1 Bioamber Inc.
BioAmber Inc. was established in 2008 as a joint venture between ARD (Agro- industrie Recherches et D´eveloppements) and DNP Green Technology exclusively for the production of bio-based succinic acid and its derivatives (http://www.bio- amber.com/bioamber/en/home). The initial process utilized genetically modified (GM) E. coli strains as production host, but a new generation nonbacterial pro- duction host is under development. A pilot plant for bio-based succinate production with a capacity of 2000 tons started already in 2010 in Pomacle, France. Meanwhile another production plant with a total maximal capacity of 34,000 tons succinic acid and 23,000 tons of 1,4-BDO is under construction in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Sev- eral additional facilities in Thailand and Brasil are planned as a result of a joint venture agreement with Mitsui & Co., a Japanese trading company which will dis- tribute the bio-succinic acid throughout Asia. BioAmber Inc. focuses not only on the production of bio-based succinic acid, but also on its derivatives and consequently searches for partners or customers for such products. Examples are the collabo- ration with Faurecia and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. on the production of 100%
bio-based automotive plastics (http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/8284/bioamber- faurecia-and-mitsubishi-collaborate-on-bioplastics), the partnership with Lanxess to develop bio-based plasticizers (http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/7395/bioamber- lanxess-partner-to-develop-biobased-plasticizers), or the cooperation with DuPont and Evonik on the catalysis research area to develop sustainable production of 1,4- BDO, GBL, and THF from bio-succinic acid (http://www.bio-amber.com/bioamber/
en/products).
16.5.2 Myriant Technologies LLC
A second company involved in bio-based succinic acid production is Myriant Tech- nologies LLC, which was established in 2009 to unify the bio-based chemical business
TABLE16.2OverviewontheMajorCompaniesRunningorPlanningtoStartaBio-SuccinicAcidProduction Companies Joint venture partnersOrganismFeedstockPlantlocationPlantcapacity plannedIntegrated products
Expected startof productionReference BioAmber Inc.Geneticallymodified (GM)Escherichia colistrains
Rawmaterials fromagriculture orforestry 1.Pomacle; France 2.Sarnia, Canada (2013)a
1.nda 2.17,000–34,000 tonsofsuccinic acid,anda 23,000tons BDOperyear
WithEvonic: BDO,THF, andGBL with Mitsubishi Chemical: PBS
Since2010http://www.bio-amber .com/bioamber/en/ products/succinic acid Myriant Technologies LCC
Modified(non-GM) E.colistrainsSorghumgrain andsorghum grits, lignocellulosic sugar hydrolysate, derivedfrom cornstover, sugarcane bagasse,and woodchips Lake Providence, Louisiana, TheUnited States(2013)a
13,600tonsper yearMyrifilm® solventwith Davy Process Technology BDO First quarterof 2013 http://www.chemic als-technology projects/myriant -plant/
460
ReverdiaDSMand RoquetteSaccharomyces cerevisiaeStarchderivatives; inthelonger term:cellulosic biomass
Cassano Spinola,Italy10,000tonsper yearndaIn2012http://www.dsm.com/ en_US/cworld/ public/media/pages/ press-releases/36 _11_dsm_and _roquette_to_open _commercial_scale _bio_based_succinic _acid_plant_2012 .jsp Succinity GmbHBASFand CSMBasfia succiniciproducensndaNear Barcelona, Spain(2013)a
10,000tonsper yearndaLate2013http://www.basf.com/ group/corporate/en/ function/con publish/content/ news-and-media -relations/ne -releases/do 2012/P444_B _Purac_2012_Oct4 _e.pdf nda,nodataavailable. aPlantsunderconstructionwithestimatedcompletiondateinparenthesis.
461
and intellectual portfolio of BioEnergy International LCC (http://www.myriant.com).
Myriant is located in the USA and has proved its proprietary fermentation technol- ogy in the production of d-lactic acid. However, it also presented technology for the sustainable production of bio-based succinic acid and was granted up to US$50 million from the US Department of Energy (US DOE) to construct a production plant at Lake Providence, Louisiana. The production there is expected to start in the first quarter of 2013 with a capacity of 13,600 tons and options for increase.
Like BioAmber, Myriant searches for opportunities to develop and sell bio-succinic acid-derived products, such as the solvent Myrifilm®. In this context, Myriant joined forces with Davy Process Technology to establish a sustainable butanediol produc- tion. To open up markets in Asia, Myriant signed partnerships with Sojitz and PTT Chemical Group. PTT Chemical Group, Thailand’s largest petrochemical producer, invested US$60 million in the development of the succinic acid production technology (http://www.myriant.com/platform/partners.cfm).
16.5.3 Reverdia
Reverdia, a joint venture between DSM and Roquette, represents another important company which has the ambition to become a global supplier of bio-based succinic acid under the trade mark BiosucciniumTM(http://www.reverdia.com). The produc- tion process utilizes GM strains ofS. cerevisiae,which allows production at low pH and thereby easier purification of the final product. After the successful start of a pilot plant in 2010 in Lestrem, France, Reverdia is now constructing its first production plant in Cassano Spinola, Italy, with a capacity of approximately 10,000 tons per year. Ongoing plans deal with the construction of several other plants until 2020.
16.5.4 Succinity GmbH
Another company involved in industrial bio-based succinic acid production is Succin- ity GmbH founded in October 2012 (http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-12- 444). This company is a joint venture between BASF and Purac, a subsidiary of CSM.
It is aiming to supply the market with succinic acid produced withB. succinicipro- ducens. The first large-scale fermentation plant with a total capacity of 10,000 tons is expected to start production in late 2013 at the Purac site near Barcelona, Spain.