SAN DONATO MILANESE - The bio-butadiene (bio-BDE) technology developed by Versalis (Eni) in partnership with Genomatica has been named winner of the Environmental Achievement of the Year within the “Tire Technology International Awards for Excellence and Innovation”, the European independent award program for the tire industry.
The award ceremony took place yesterday at the Tire Tech Expo in Hannover, Germany.
The judging
href="http://ift.tt/2lNZcBy">panel, composed of 26 international tire industry experts, analysts, business members and academia, awarded the process developed by Versalis and Genomatica to produce 1,3 bio-BDE from renewable resources and bio-fuels from first and second generation sugars via 1,3 butanediol (BDO) and subsequent dehydration.
Versalis and Genomatica entered into a technology partnership in 2013 and established a Tech company – with Versalis having the majority stake - to license this technology. In 2016 the two partners announced a successful pilot-scale production of high purity bio-BDE which was then polymerized into bio-rubber (specifically, bio-polybutadiene), thereby reaching an important objective.
The 1,3 bio-BDE technology represent a significant milestone for the rubber industry, and to
the broader industry for butadiene, one of the most widely-used chemicals in the world.
