Turning Food Crops Into Chemicals
With the threat of depleting natural resources looming large, the chemical industry is in overdrive to develop renewable chemicals from food crops. Considerable progress has been made on a global scale, which promises to usher in a new era in chemicals and biofuels.
In this century, the mega-economies in the Eastern hemisphere are moving relentlessly toward the demands and standards established in the West. One of the biggest challenges of the new century is to convert from consumerism governed by market forces and demand, to being oriented towards natural resources and sustainability. Society currently displays a destructive and wasteful attitude toward the environment. This approach has to change to one which respects the earth as possessing only limited resources. This calls for a dramatic revaluation of our association with the planet, due to the rampant rate of growth and the increased demand on resources that comes with it.
The chemical industry, which has been remarkably effective during the 20th century, has now risen to these challenges with new and innovative approaches. One of the prime areas of focus is creating Renewable Chemicals from food crops. This is to address the problem where the whole supply chain is impacted by a lack of continued and sustained availability of chemicals.
With a diminishing supply of polymer feedstocks and fossil fuels, the chemical industry is looking to food crops as a source for sustainable chemicals. Agricultural sources like grains, sugar and oilseeds are being studied more intensely to exploit their potential. Already cassava, corn wheat, sugarcane and sugar beet are being used as source materials which make a significant contribution to global feedstock.
The 2002 drive to use bioethanol/biofuel has led to an increased requirement for arable land for growing feedstock. The total global area under cultivation in 2010 rose to 70 million hectares.
In Indonesia and Malaysia, palm oil is being used at the rate of 1.4 million tons per year for surface-active agents, followed by soy, sugar and other oils.
The automotive industry has entered the arena with some impressive developments in the use of renewable sources for renewable chemicals. One such development is using polyurethane foam, which is soy polyol-based and which cuts CO2 emissions significantly. With the increasing number of cars being manufactured every day, any such substitute material must be readily available in huge quantity to meet the growing demand.
Bio-TPU, or thermoplastic polyurethane, is being obtained from MerquinsaMercadosQuimicos, which is used in running shoes and also in ski goggles. This results in a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions when compared with conventional polyurethane.
Brazilian sugarcane is used as a feedstock source in the manufacturing of polypropylene and ‘green’ polyethylene; ethanol has also long been used as a biofuel in the country. 86.5 tons of sugarcane can generate three tons of polyethylene, and 7,200 liters of ethanol. Brazil, which already has vast acres under sugarcane cultivation, is looking to increase the yield.
Seaweed, which has long been associated with sushi dining, is being explored as a renewable chemical and a biofuel source for the aviation industry. New technology is under development to break sugars down in macro-algae, and for brown seaweed to produce ethanol. Sugar rich seaweed grows fast, and has a lot of potential as a biomass feedstock. Some scientists have gone so far as to call it the next generation of crude oil.
