Brazil’s GranBio Acquires USA’s American Process

March 18, 2019

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by Helena Taveres Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... The acquisition of American Process Inc’s technologies, intellectual property portfolio and physical assets strengthens GranBio’s market position in the deployment of highly competitive industrial processes for conversion of biomass to renewable fuels, chemicals, and nanocellulose.

The details

GranBio completed the acquisition of 100% equity in American Process Inc. and affiliate companies including AVAPCO LLC and API Intellectual Properties Holdings. The acquired assets include the Alpena Biorefinery in Alpena Michigan, the Thomaston Biorefinery and R&D center in Thomaston, Georgia, operations, research, and business development staff and an extensive intellectual property portfolio in the biorefinery, biofuels, biochemicals, and nanocellulose fields with over 200 granted and pending patents.

“Acquiring the GreenPower+, GreenBox+, and AVAP biorefinery technologies and the BioPlus Nanocellulose Technology and their associated world-class demonstration plants and exceptional operations and R&D staff is part of GranBio’s mission to become a global leader in the bioeconomy. As evidenced by the construction and operation of the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Brazil, GranBio is deeply committed to launching innovative biotechnologies that build a better and more environmentally safe planet for the next generations,” said GranBio’s president, Bernardo Gradin.

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GranBio’s mission is to make economically feasible the deployment on large scale of cellulose carbon for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and advanced renewable materials as one of the alternatives to the intensive use of fossil carbon.”

Back in 2015, GranBio obtained commercial approval from the Comissão Técnica Nacional de Biossegurança (CTNBio) for its first proprietary yeast that is utilized to produce cellulosic ethanol. Called Celere-2L, the yeast is utilized in producing cellulosic (2G) ethanol, and is capable of converting, in a single fermenting process, the C5 and C6 sugars present in sugar cane straw and bagasse into ethanol.

Celere-2L was developed based on one of the principal lines of yeast utilized in the traditional (1G) process for making biofuel, and totally adapted to Brazil’s climate.

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GranBio has been putting a lot of effort into energy cane – sugarcane that is genetically modified to become more productive for biofuel and biochemicals manufacturing, as well as for renewable energy generation. The first commercial plantation of their new energy cane variety took place in 2015.

The result is a more robust cane with a higher fiber content and productive potential, and longer cultivars cutting life, which is ideal for the production of second-generation biofuels and biochemicals and the generation and/ or cogeneration of electric power.

One of its greatest advantages is that it can be planted in areas with low agricultural capacity, which allows the exploitation of less favored regions, increase productivity per hectare, in addition to not competing with food production. The energy cane has a deeper root system for feeding with water and nutrients which means it requires less water and less inputs to grow. The potential is enormous: Brazil has 32 million hectares of degraded pastures that can be occupied with energy cane; more than the entire farmland of Europe.

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As for American Process, they had a busy year back in 2017 with a collaboration on a Malaysia palm oil biomaterials project with MYBiomass, as reported in Nuu in January 2017. The nanocellulose production project was using oil palm empty fruit-bunches and converting them into cellulose additives for use in automotive parts, paper and textiles. API was focused on the technical and material development aspects while MYBiomass was using its oil palm biomass supply and market strength to help bring the project to fruition.

As reported in Nuu in March 2017, American Process also signed a joint development agreement with India’s Aditya Birla Carbon Group to explore the synergistic use of nanocellulose and carbon black to reduce rolling resistance in tires. Carbon black makes up about a quarter of tires by weight and 70% of global carbon black production is earmarked for tire production. Nanocellulose, a renewable material with strength comparable to carbon fiber, has “unique synergistic effects” with filler materials like carbon black in improving the performance of composites. READ MORE

TRHoldco LLC, Theodora Retsina’ s holding company, is announcing its separation from GranBio in the GranAPI JV, and the beginning of a new era for American Process. (American Process)

GranBio acquires 100% equity in American Process Inc. (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Excerpt from American Process: In the separation, TR Holdco retained ownership of American Process brand name, the American Process engineering business, API-Europe, certain IP rights and access to the Thomaston biorefinery R&D center. Under the leadership of Theodora Retsina, Steve Rutherford and Vesa Pylkkanen, American Process will continue to be active in the biomass renewables space in R&D, technology development, engineering and building of biorefinery plants.

“We will continue our tradition of providing innovation, engineering, technology and customer service with integrity and mindful of societal value creation” said American Process CEO Theodora Retsina.

“In this separation, I am saddened that we leave behind some of our previous co-workers. I am deeply thankful to them for their contributions. They will always have a special place in my heart.”

“We wish our ex-partner, GranBio, good luck in its endeavors.” READ MORE

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Brazil Michigan Georgia nanocellulose BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production bioeconomy sugarcane sugarcane straw bagasse Agricultural waste/residue genetically engineered yeast cells yeast Cellulosic ethanol ethanol/bioethanol fermentation C5 sugar C6 sugar commercialization energy cane energy crops BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals conversion technology lignin land use land use change marginal land Green Jobs Investing India Malaysia palm biomass palm oil palm waste palm fiber biomaterials tires precursors/biointermediates co-products Sustainability

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