Myriant Technologies LLC (Quincy, Mass., www.myriant.com) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive up to $50 million for its planned biobased succinic acid facility in Louisiana. According to Myriant, its was the only award focused exclusively on biobased chemicals rather than biofuels among the 19, integrated biorefinery projects that won funding or loan guarantees.
The company reports that the DOE and other third-party studies had previously identified biobased succinic acid as a priority among the top 12 chemicals by market size that can be derived from biomass. Succinic acid is used in a wide variety of applications including plastics, fibers, polyesters and pigments. Myriant’s production of biobased succinic acid will utilize both local sorghum and carbon dioxide to displace petroleum-based feedstocks. Myriant says that its process uses less energy than the petroleum alternative, and by consuming CO2 rather than producing it via oil refining methods, Myriant’s process reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. The award will help fund the construction of Myriant’s succinic acid plant at the Port of Lake Providence, La. For more information on this topic, see Chem. Eng. August, 2009.