Bio-based chemical company GFBiochemicals Ltd. (Milan, Italy; www.gfbiochemicals.com) has started commercial production at its new levulinic acid plant in Caserta, Italy, which has a production capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr).
The announcement was made at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal. GFBiochemicals is said to be the first company to produce levulinic acid at commercial scale directly frombiomass.
“Caserta is now the world’s largest operational production plant for levulinic acid,” said Chief Commercial Officer Marcel van Berkel. “A fundamentallylower pricerange is now possible using our unique technology. This will give access to previously undiscovered market segments.”
CEO Maxim Katinov said,“GFBiochemicals has successfully achieved a substantial milestone – the start-up of commercial-scale production. I would like to praise and thank our engineering and R&D teamswho have clearly demonstrated the company’s ability to deliver results onschedule.”