Mater-Biotech - the first world industrial plant for the production of bio-butanediol from renewable sources
Inaugurated in 2016, Mater-Biotech is the first world industrial plant for the production of 1.4 bio-butanediol (BDO) directly from sugars, paving the way for the production of new chemical intermediates from renewable sources.
Mater-Biotech is the result of the reconversion of a decommissioned site that Novamont acquired in 2012, in a logic of territorial regeneration and enhancement of previous skills and expertise. The plant was designed to reuse the by-products for its energy needs, thus optimizing the life cycle of the entire process.
The 1.4 BDO produced by Mater-Biotech is used as a fundamental building block for the production of Mater-Bi, Novamont’s family of completely biodegradable and compostable bioplastics.
Mater-Biotech enables the production of the fourth generation of Mater-Bi, with an even higher content of renewable raw materials and a reduced level of both dependence on fossil raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Mater-Biotech plant employs around 80 people and indirectly around 40 people.
- Approximately 40% of the plant is completely new, while the remaining 60% is the existing plant which has undergone major restructuring.
- Energy efficiency solutions have been adopted such as the use of inverters, IE3 high efficiency motors and LED lighting where possible.
- A cogeneration plant and the exploitation of by-products through the installation of a biodigester for the production of biogas, allows the company to reduce CO2 emissions by around 16,000 tons / year.