BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) is making strides into the bio-based polymers market. Its BASF Future Business (BFB; www.basf-fb.de) subsidiary, which finances projects in fields with projected above-average long-term growth, is partnering with leading lactic acid and bio-based polyols producer CSM (Diemen / The Netherlands; www.csm.nl) on the industrial fermentation and downstream processing of bio-based succinic acid. Production of commercial quantities is due to start in the second quarter of 2010, with the greenhouse gas CO₂ used as a raw material.

The goal of the German and Dutch companies is to demonstrate the economics of industrial scale-production based on renewable substrate. BASF and CSM say they will try to achieve “manufacturing cost levels making bio-based succinic acid competitive for a wide variety of novel applications.” Up front, the acid will be used as a monomeric building block in a variety of biodegradable polyesters, but is thought to have potential as a platform for other downstream products as well.

Industrial biotechnology companies tout the advantages of fermentation processes that they say lead to fewer CO₂ emissions, lower energy consumption, and higher efficiency. Almost simultaneously with BASF and CSM, Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC, Tokyo; www.m-kagaku.co.jp) and Thailand’s PTT Public Company Ltdannounced plans for a feasibility study on the development of biopolybutylene succinate. MCC, which already produces the biodegradable polymer from petrochemical-based succinic acid, said it has developed “an original process” based on biomass. Petrochemical producer PTT has been “heavily involved” in developing biofuels and biopolymers, MCC said.