The Lorraine Regional Council, Arkema and two university laboratories have signed a research agreement to support a research program into "biobased acrylics", the challenge of the project being to offer new "green" acrylic acid derivatives and develop a biosourced chemical activity in the Lorraine region. This joint research program will aim to develop an industrial process for the synthesis of glycerol - a byproduct of the processing of rapeseed into bio-diesel - into acrylic acid*, hitherto produced from propylene, a fossil resource. The eventual objective will be to establish in the Lorraine region an expertise hub in biobased chemistry and in particular glycerol, available in large quantities in the region. The program will represent some €11mln expenditure over three years.
09-Mar-10 
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