Sarnia Municipal Planning Changes Sought for Commercial-Scale Biochem Plant.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

Municipal planning changes are being sought for vacant land at the Arlanxeo site in Sarnia where a California-based company wants to build a commercial-scale demonstration plant.

A public meeting is set for Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. at Sarnia City Hall for an official planning amendment and rezoning requested for 0.85- hectare (2.1-acre) parcel of land Arlanxeo is seeking to severe from its property on Vidal Street.

It’s where Origin Materials plans to build a 'pioneer' plant where wood chips, cardboard and other bio-based materials will be used to produce building block chemicals used to make plastics and other products.

The Sacramento company, formed in 2008, already operates a pilot plant at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park in Sarnia and has been recruiting staff for the demonstration plant to be built at Arlanxeo.

“They’re actually just taking a portion of the existing Arlanxeo lot,” said Alan Shaw, Sarnia’s director of planning.

The proposed location is close to where BioAmber built its plant at the Arlanxeo site.

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Image. Zach Neal.

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Sarnia Ranked Third in Canada: Bioeconomies.

From Lee Michaels, Blackburn News.

Biofuels Digest, which bills itself as the world’s most widely read biofuels daily, ranks Sarnia’s Bioindustrial Complex third in the top ten Bioeconomy places to watch in Canada.

Biofuels Digest cites the record number of projects up and running or on the drawing board including Comet Biorefining, the Cellulosic Sugar Producer Cooperative, and S2G Biochem’s demonstration plant which is considered a major advance in biorefinery development in Canada.

Also mentioned was FORGE Hydrocarbons Crop. technology to transform low-value fats, oils and greases into fuel that will see construction of a pre-commercial demonstration plant at a site south of Sarnia.

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More on the Sarnia-Lambton Biocluster.

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Startup Hopes to Revolutionize Bottled Water.

From Troy Shantz, The Sarnia Journal.

A California startup hoping to transform the bottled water industry by producing a renewable bottle is building its steppingstone plant in Sarnia in part to capitalize on local expertise, its CEO says.

“One of the reasons why we picked Sarnia was because the labour force is highly-skilled and knows how to do exactly the kind of stuff we’re doing,” said John Bissell, co-founder of Origin Materials. John Bissell is the co-founder and CEO of Origin Materials.

The company has developed a patented process that turns organic waste such as wood chips, wheat straw and corn stalks into a liquid compound called CMF, or chloromethylfurfural.

Construction of the commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia is expected to begin 'soon' and be fully operational by the end of 2018, Bissell said.

Link to the rest here.

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Image: By Leideomangeos - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31047334