The Problem/Opportunity

Specialty Chemicals

Specialty chemicals are categorized as complex, pure chemical substances. They include adhesives, cosmetic additives, elastomers, flavours, fragrances, polymers, surfactants, as well as textile auxiliaries. They are produced in limited quantities using a variety of key technologies including chemical synthesis, biotechnology, extraction, and hydrolysis of proteins. Specialty chemicals are formulated to custom specifications, often varying from one customer to another even within the same industry. Formulations also vary with application, function, and operating conditions. They are sold for relatively high prices according to exacting specifications used for further processing within the chemical industry.

According to the 2011 Specialty Chemicals Market Research Report the global market for specialty chemicals is estimated to reach $513 billion US in 2012 and is further projected to reach $721.6 billion US by 2017 [1]. Specialty chemical production is entirely market drive. Additionally, the driver behind the industry growth is innovation in developing new, or modifying existing products or technologies. New application areas for specialty chemicals are constantly being addressed resulting in wider usage and growth of several target industries. Examples of applications in various areas, ranging from pharmaceuticals to adhesives are listed below:

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Biomass represents one of the only foreseeable abundant resources that can be used for low cost production of organic fuels, chemicals and other materials. Furthermore, recovering biomass has benefits at every stage in the life cycle of a consumer product - including sustainable resource supply, energy security, and waste disposal. So, what kind of biomass feedstock are we interested in?

Several hundred million metric tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) is disposed of in Canada and the United States annually. Paper products alone account for approximately 30% of MSW by weight before recycling. (For more information on waste generation, recycling, and disposal view our Waste Management Trends).

Recycled paper processing plants use paper as their feedstock and recover fibre that can be used to produce new paper products. Paper is essentially composed of a fibre mat. Virgin fibres are straight, smooth and largely undamaged. However, to make a quality piece of paper, the fibres must be flattened to increase contact area and bond potential between them. Additionally, in the paper recycling process, fibres are subjected to a number of chemical and mechanical processes which decrease the length of the fibres. As a result, paper fibre cannot be recycled endlessly. It is generally accepted that a fibre can be used six to seven times before it becomes too short to be utilized in new paper products.

Actually, this unusable fibre accounts for 15-20% of the recycled fibres fed to the recycling plant and are considered waste. Paper recycling companies pay to have this waste buried in a landfill or sent out in a waste waster stream. Where others see waste, Upcycled Aromatics sees opportunity.

The major constituent of these paper fibres is cellulose, a homopolysaccharide made up of β-D-glucose. Ergo, the unusable, short fibre in the waste stream of paper recycling plants is a significant source of potentially exploitable cellulose. This feedstock is more attractive than other lignocellulosic biomass because it is processed prior to its utilization and requires no pre-treatment as a result. Additionally, the integration of this process into an already existing infrastructure eliminates transportation costs. For the recycling plant, value is added to their waste stream and there is a more sustainable solution for an already green industry.

On the other end, aromatics represent a potentially lucrative chemical endpoint for this cellulose. Up to this point, studies have concentrated on the conversion of the cellulose in the paper waste to ethanol (Yamshita et al. 2006; Vamvuka et al. 2009; Kang et al. 2010, 2011) and lactic acid (Marques et al. 2008; Mukhopadhyay 2009). Ethanol and lactic acid production is high yield, low value requiring large amounts of feedstock. On the other hand, aromatics production is a lower yield, higher value venture. Aromatics have a high price per unit mass and a variety of applications as entry point chemicals in a number of industries. Pharmaceticals, plastics, scents, and flavorings are a few of the potential end products for the aromatic compounds. The conversion of this waste into valuable industrial chemicals is a relatively unexplored business opportunity and is desirable from the standpoint of green and clean processing.