Expansion Management

Algae Based Oil Factory Opens in Brazil

June 4, 2014

Solazyme, a renewable oil and bioproducts company that harnesses the oil-producing ability of microalgae, hit a milestone last week.

“We are thrilled to announce the successful production of our first commercially saleable products at our newly-built plant facility in Moema, Brazil,” Solazyme's CEO Jonathan Wolfson told IndustryWeek.

“In partnership with Bunge, the Solazyme Bunge Renewable Oils plant has produced its first products on full-scale production lines, including 625,000L fermentation tanks,” he added. “This marks a significant milestone for Solazyme, as we move closer to meeting the demand for revolutionary and sustainable solutions that the world so urgently needs."

The company created an industrial biotechnology platform that uses standard industrial fermentation equipment to efficiently scale and accelerate the microalgae's natural oil production time to just a few days. The platform is feedstock flexible and can utilize a wide variety of plant-based sugars, such as sugarcane-based sucrose, corn-based dextrose, and sugar from other biomass sources including cellulosics.

The Moema plant facility’s sustainability footprint includes low land use impact and high efficiency, low water consumption and a low GHG footprint as the entire process is powered by waste sugarcane. It will reach nameplate capacity of 100K metric tons (MT) a year, which is the CO2 equivalent of planting 9.3 million trees a year.

“Solazyme is doing more than reshaping the oil economy: it is creating the ingredients for a more prosperous, healthier and more sustainable resource model – a model that benefits business, global society and our planet," Wolfson said. "The Moema facility enables us to commercialize the most sustainable source of oil that happens to have best in class performance.”

Headquartered in South San Francisco, the company plans to produce products to service four markets: (1) fuels and chemicals, (2) nutrition, (3) encapsulated lubricants and (4) consumer products.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor

Focus: Workforce, Talent

Follow Me on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Bio: Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with the publication and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics and EHS Today.

Editorial mission statement: Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I find manufacturing interesting: On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.