Novozymes in Denmark has signed an agreement with American company Cargill to jointly develop technology for the production of acrylic acid from renewable raw materials.
The collaboration aims at enabling fermentation of sugar into 3HPA using a
bioengineered microorganism. The 3HPA can subsequently be transformed into a
range of valuable chemical derivatives including acrylic acid — a high value,
high volume chemical that goes into a broad range of materials including
plastics, fiber, coatings, paints and super-absorbent diapers.
The
US Department of Energy supports the project with a US$1.5 million matching
cooperative agreement.