SRI Consulting Releases Chemicals from Biomass Report
Biomass to be Used Increasingly for Chemicals
MENLO
PARK, CA. Nov. 14, 2007 — Biomass includes all plant and animal products that can be used for biofuel or for industrial applications, including chemicals. As the production of biofuels increases − especially biodiesel − the by-products can provide chemicals that are now mostly produced from basic petrochemicals. Today, SRI Consulting (SRIC) released its new Chemicals from Biomass report, the first that comprehensively examines biomass as a source of chemicals both on purpose and as a by-product of other manufacturing.
Russell Heinen, Vice-President at SRIC, commented “This report is the first to broadly quantify the importance now − and in the future − of biomass for chemical production.”
Deriving chemicals from biomass is not new. Prior to the twentieth century, wood, agriculture, and whaling were the source of many chemical products.
With growth of the automobile and increased refining of petroleum, commodity organic chemicals were most economically produced as a by-product of petroleum refining; thus came the growth of the petrochemical industry. Now, with the growing use of biomass for fuels, a similar change is occurring for organic compounds.
Bob Davenport, Director of SRIC’s Safe & Sustainable Chemicals group and author of Chemicals from Biomass report explains, “There will be more chemical production from biomass in the future. But, the debate continues on just how these chemicals are produced. Biomass derived materials will need to be economical and also perform well in their application.”
SRIC’s Chemicals from Biomass report identifies the chemicals that are produced from biomass today and compares their volume with that prepared from fossil feedstocks. The report examines how this source of chemicals will grow in the future, the competition today and where the competition might be in the future.
The report examines six major contributing sources of chemicals from biomass. Increasing production of biofuels will yield increasing amounts of biofuels by-products. Partial decomposition of certain biomass fractions can yield organic chemicals or feedstocks for the manufacture of various chemicals. Forestry has been and will continue to be a source of pine chemicals, Evolving fermentation technology and new substrates will produce an increasing number of chemicals. Obtaining natural products from plant material is a long tradition for obtaining difficult to synthesize products. Agriculture and food processing produce some chemicals and more may be coming.
For additional information about this report, please contact Bob Davenport at rdavenport@sriconsulting.com or +1-650-384-4350. Please visit the website at www.sriconsulting.com for SRI Consulting’s complete offering of reports.
About SRI Consulting (SRIC)
SRI Consulting is the world’s leading business research service for the global chemical industry. Publishing for almost 60 years, SRI Consulting is the preeminent source for in-depth business and process analysis. This report was developed by SRI Consulting’s Safe & Sustainable Chemicals group, which provides in-depth, independent technical and business advisories for the chemical and energy industries. SRI Consulting's headquarters are located in Menlo Park, California with offices in The Woodlands, Texas; Zürich, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; and Beijing, China. SRI Consulting is a division of Access Intelligence, LLC. Additional information is available at www.sriconsulting.com.
SRI Consulting (SRIC) is a trade name and a registered trademark of SRI International, used under license. |
