Overview:
This organization is seeking partners in the field of renewable ingredients, side stream valorization, and enabling technologies that have developed a method of producing terpenes in a renewable and sustainable manner. Of high interest are the monoterpenes: alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and limonene. Additional monoterpenes and terpenoids are also of interest.
Background:
Terpenes are a class of molecules abundant in nature and in plant essential oils. Historically, terpenoids start from either turpentine or petrochemical sources. When softwood is converted to pulp in the paper process, water-insoluble liquids are freed and physically separated – known as crude sulfate turpentine (CST). Turpentine can also be obtained from gum trees known as gum turpentine oil (GTO). The major components of CST and GTO are the monoterpenes alpha- and beta-pinene. There are concerns about the sustainability of some processes (e.g. CST), scarcity of currently used natural resources, and there is also pricing volatility which make them attractive targets for competitive, alternative sourcing.
Constraints:
Technologies of interest will:
- Produce monoterpenes using renewable feedstocks and/or sustainable processes.
- At a minimum, be lab validated, with samples and supporting data available.
- Be scalable to industrial production.
Solutions not of interest include:
- Those at concept stage of development
- Feedstocks or processes used in traditional supply chains (e.g. CST) unless incorporating or developing a novel technology.
- Any solution with a lack of supportive evidence around sustainable and renewable claims.
Possible Solution Areas:
- Side stream by-product valorization (circularity, upcycling)
- New feedstocks including those from biobased, and recycled sources
- Effective conversion from sustainable feedstock to make renewable monoterpenes
- Carbon capture and utilization (CCU)
- Biomass-balanced (BMB) approaches
Desired outcome of the solution:
Looking to collaborate for the production and supply of renewable monoterpenes.
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