The 2018 Spring Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska on May 1-2 provided informative presentations and a tour of the successful Natureworks high value Polylactide Acid (PLA) operation, integrated within the Cargill Corn Mill facility in Blair, NE, operating since 2002.  The highlights of the presentations and discussions included:

• Keynote address by USDA about the recently published 2018 Farm Bill, a roundtable on issues and collaboration opportunities with the chemical industry (BASF, Eastman Chemicals, and Marianna Industries)
• Low risk opportunities for the pulp and paper industry to add value and improve efficiency, updates of the growing commercial activity in the renewable products arena
• Panel on lignin products progress.

Commercial progress included Ensyn, who has projects for their Renewable Fuel Oil in Canada, the U.S., and Brazil to produce the renewable product for heating oil and for co-processing with petroleum crude oil.  Licella's hydrothermal technology is being used by Armstrong Energy in a project to convert "end of life" plastics to a crude oil for co-processing with petroleum crude oil.  Velocys has a commercial plant converting municipal landfill gases to Fischer Tropsch liquid fuels and has announced a project in Mississippi to convert wood to fuels using TRI gasification technology.  C-Green is using the hydrothermal technology to convert municipal sludge to high energy density carbon for burning as a fuel.

Other topics covered provided knowledge of technologies that can assist pulp mills by reducing costs, optimizing production, and adding value.  A new process by Huntsman Polyurethanes will convert a side stream of black liquor to high value aromatic compounds for use in the production of polyurethanes or be sold on the market.  A new technology from Head Engineering will increase the yield of soap removal from black liquor.  Opportunities are continually being created for increasing value of lignin over fuel value as was shown in presentations by MetGen and Attis Innovations.  Clariant described advances in the operational efficiencies of producing renewable ethanol, and Hemant Pendse, U of Maine Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, showcased advances and opportunities for the using nano-cellulose in paper making.