DuPont, the global chemical company, inaugurated this week in Brazil a new technology center to develop innovative applicagtions for various application, particularly second generation biofuels. In the second half of 2009, DuPont plans to launch new products for the agriculture sector and is currently developing a technology for biobutanol production from sugarcane.
“DuPont is working on a pilot plant to produce biobutanol from wheat in England. Our plan is to adapt the technology to sugarcane and have a pilot plant in Brazil by 2012,” the Company’s Latin America President Eduardo Wanick told reporters at the inauguration of the technology center. According to Wanick, biobutanol is produced largely from traditional petrochemical feedstock but it is very difficult to produce using renewable sources.
“DuPont has aggressive goals to increase its sustainable products portfolio. There is huge demand and space to grow in the emerging markets,” DuPont’s R&D vice president for Latin America John Julio Jansen said.
Sales generated in emerging markets represent approximately 25% of the company’s revenues worldwide. DuPont’s Latin America revenues grew at an average of 17% a year in the last six years. Brazil and China are expected to drive DuPont’s growth in emerging markets. ‘In Brazil, DuPont has tripled revenues in the past five years, from US$600mn to US$1.8bn in 2008,” DuPont Brasil president Ricardo Vellutini told reporters, adding that sales in the country are driven by the agriculture and automotive sectors.
Filed under: Biofuels, Biotech, Climate Change, Enviroment, Ethanol, Investors, Sugarcane | Tagged: Biobutanol, Biofuels, butanol, DuPont, Eduardo Wanick, Ethanol, Sugarcane
