Increasingly, those companies that branded themselves as biofuels companies are looking for opportunities to produce chemical products. They do not say they are pursuing chemical products instead of fuels, but in many cases that is likely to be true.
Why?
Because the same basic technology is used to produce higher-value chemicals such as terpenes, higher alcohols, and key monomers such as butanediol as is used to produce fuels, and it is far more likely that a higher priced product can be sold with a profit margin. Butanediol is a good example, selling for 4-5 times the cost of fuel butanol or ethanol. The same is true of chemicals derived from long-chain fatty acids, hence the announcement by LS9 that a focus on chemicals is in order via a collaboration with Procter & Gamble.
Focusing on specialty chemicals and so-called white biotechnology is a good development for these companies. The likelihood of getting a product to market is increased and processes using renewable feedstocks can displace petrochemical-based processes. Fuels will follow, but moving into chemicals develops the technology, launches revenue-generating products, and buys time for companies to prepare to enter the fuels market later.
