January 31, 2011
The business potential of biorefining nonwood raw materials into papermaking fibers and biochemicals is huge in China, according to Pasi Rousu, president of Chempolis Asia and Pacific. Now, after only a few months of discussions, Rousu said the Finland-based biorefinery developer and creator of the 3G formicobio platform technology for biofuels and biobased chemicals manufacturing, is capitalizing on that potential in China. Through a joint venture with Henan Yinge Industrial Investment Co., Chempolis will build a biorefinery in the Henan province, effectively bringing the 3G formicobio technology to China.
The company wants to be the technology leader “providing innovative and sustainable solutions for the biomass, paper, biofuels and chemical industries,” , Rousu told Biorefining Magazine.
The potential in China is due to a lack of wood raw material and the closing of polluting alkaline nonwood pulp mills, along with the growing demand of domestic papermaking fibers. The Chempolis technology presents an advantage because revenues are generated not only by the fiber-making ability of the process, but also valuable biochemicals. Along with those advantages, Rousu said the technology can also convert the biomass into cellulosic ethanol.
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The future biorefinery will be collocated at an existing site in the city of Luohe that has an annual capacity to produce 500,000 tons of fine papers, tissue or packaging paper. Chempolis will provide an EPC package as well, but Henan Yinge Industrial Investment has not yet decided who will build the facility. Using wheat straw as feedstock, the facility will produce roughly 160,000 tons of nonwood papermaking fibers and biobased chemicals.
Chempolis will invest nearly $10.2 million into the project with the other partner investing nearly $31 million. Rousu said that while the challenge for companies like the Finnish biorefinery developer will be to get the right people and companies to finance future projects, he added, “Renewables is the area people in the finance sector are looking for.”
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