BIOHUB®

BioHub®: development program of new cereal biorefineries based on cereals.

The utilization of renewable raw materials of vegetal origin constitutes one of the most promizing areas for the development of a sustainable chemistry.

The utilization of renewable raw materials of vegetal origin constitutes one of the most promizing areas for the development of a sustainable chemistry.

The R&D programs that many countries have initiated in biofuel production are now under way, with considerable production of biodiesel and bioethanol. These are the first steps in the explotation of renewable raw materials.

The chemical industry remains geared towards developing processes based on raw materials from fossils. The scarcity of these resources, and the increased use of crude oil, are a few of the factors that will drive a progressive transformation of new biorefineries implementation.

The starch industry is a good example of biorefinery which, thanks to enzymatic and/or chemical conversions, allows production of a wide range of products that include starch, glucose, sorbitol and byproducts such as isosorbide.

Mastering these processes and catalytic systems would allow, in a competitive manner, securing products of a highly pure nature. This would also consist of biotechnologies development that would enable one to envision a significant bordening of the product ranges accessible to the starch network. And this in areas of application traditionnally reserved to the world of petroleum chemistry.

With this in mind, in April 2006, Roquette, together with scientific and industrial partners, has presented to the Industrial Innovation Agency (ALL) the BIOHUB® program which in December 2006 has been accepted right away by ALL and the European Commission.

This program is lead by Roquette and seven other industrial partners: Arkema chemists (France), DSM (Netherlands), Solvay (Belgium), and Cognis (Germany), the road designer Eurovia (Vinci group), the company Sidel specialized in bottling systems of polymers, and Tergal Industries, producer of PET.

A mention must also go to Metabolic Explorer, a young sprout from Clermont-Ferrand, specialized in the industrial application of biotechnology techniques.

Furthermore, the CNRS is well represented in the BioHub®, with teams from the National Institute of Aplied sciences (INSA) of Lyon and Rouen and the Molecules and Condensed Matter Institute of Lille (IMMCL).

The BIOHUB® program has as its object the development of a new industry concerning the production of chemical products from renewable agricultural raw materials, such as cereals.

Notable new products resulting from this research program are biopolymers, biosolvants, bioplasticizers, biocomplexants, active ingredients and intermediate synthesis.

With the BIOHUB® program, Roquette fully expects to play a vanguard position in industrial innovation that serves biochemistry for sustainable development.