Press Notice byAlco Bio Fuel and Bioro
Pressnotice in PDF format
Projects of Bioro and Alco Bio Fuel in the port of Ghent ready to start
Ghent, 19 September 2006 – The bio-based economy (counterpart of the fossil-based economy) is developing rapidly and going to be one of the major economic growth poles of the coming decennia. Belgium has a scientific tradition in this field and will exploit this to gain a real economic head-start – says Professor Wim Soetaert (Ugent, GBEV, ESAB).
Worldwide many countries and companies are already aware that the bio-based economy is going be one of the most important growth poles of the world economy. “In 2002 a turnover in sustainable energy of 10 billion € was already reached in Germany and 120,000 new jobs were created. British Petroleum set aside 500 million USD to invest in the development of biofuels”. The consulting firm McKinsey predicts that by 2010 no less than 10 % of the chemical production will be based on biotechnology. Prof. Wim Soetaert is professor of industrial bioscience at Ghent University as well as vice-chairman of the European Federation of Biotechnology Section Applied Biocatalysis (ESAB), a European association of over 900 scientist. Prof. Soetaert is an international authority in the field of the bio-based economy: “The rapidly increasing price of petrol gives the starting shot for the transition to a bio-based economy. This unavoidable evolution provides huge opportunities in the economic, ecological as well as social sphere. By developing biorefineries our country takes part in this new industrial revolution and we build a better future. Just look at the biofuel projects of Bioro and Alco Bio Fuel that have already started in the port of Ghent.”
CO2
Professor Soetaert is the initiator of Ghent Bio-Energy Valley, a public-private collaboration supporting the development of sustainable bio-energy in the port of Ghent. Ghent Bio-Energy Valley aims to develop the port of Ghent and make it the first bio-port in Europe. The research team of Professor Soetaert has been carrying out research in industrial biotechnology for years. Currently they are actively investigating the biotechnological synthesis of succinate, a chemical basic building stone for the production of bioplastics. In this process not only renewable raw materials are used Press release but also CO2, which by means of micro-organisms is turned into succinate through a fermentation process. The CO2 that is released during the production of biofuels can thus be used as raw material for the production of bioplastics. In this way nothing goes to waste and no CO2 is released into the atmosphere. This technology, especially in combination with the production and utilization of biofuels, could make a significant contribution towards the fight against global warming. “At the same time we are complying with the Kyoto treaty and will become less dependent on fossil fuels”, says Prof. Soetaert.
Industrial projects
In Ghent the transition has already been made from fundamental scientific research to concrete industrial projects. A prime example is the development at the Rodenhuizedok of what will be the largest integrated production site for biofuels in Europe – with biodiesel producer Bioro and bio-ethanol producer Alco Bio Fuel as the main players. Both projects are ready to go, and only waiting on the allocation of sufficient quota by the federal government to get started. This evening the bio-energy site at the Ghent Rodenhuizedok will be officially
inaugurated by prime minister Verhofstadt.
(End of press release)
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