Bioacrylic News

Green Acrylic Acid is Still Acrylic Acid

Acrylic acid seems to be a material that could be made from renewable resources at reasonable cost and several chemical companies are exploring it -- though none commercially. 

Arkema announced an $14 million alliance with two universities (LRGP (Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des procédés) at ENSIC chemical engineering school in Nancy, and MOPS (Laboratoire Matériaux Optiques, Photonique et Système) at Paul Verlaine university in Metz)  to develop acrylic acid technology from glycerin. This is significant because Arkema is one of the big acrylic acid producers. Arkema had previously done work with a catalyst house on the process.

Arkema will look at the direct conversion of glycerin to acrylic acid, as well as the conversion of glycerin to acrolein (propanal) and use of conventional technology to oxidize acrolein to acrylic acid.

This is not new, Nippon Shokubai has developed catalysts for conversion of glycerin to acrylic acid.


Similarly Novomer has developed " acrylic acid by combining ethylene oxide, carbon monoxide, with a catalyst to make propiolactone," which is used to make acrylic acid by dehydration. Propiolactone is the cyclic form of 3-hydroxy propionic acid.

This is similar to the route used by NREL and OPX Biotechnology to make 3-hydroxy propionic acid. See my other post. They are using genetically engineered bacteria to make the 3-hydroxy propionic acid.

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Here is an update on the Dow JV with OPX Biotechnology.