🏭 More vaccines = more lipids

Good morning. If anyone works for Evonik and wants to share more details on their lipids business it would be super helpful if you replied to this email!

From the condenser:

· Evonik's lipid expansion

· DuPont's bio-based diol divestment

· POTD: drain cleaners

Evonik is making more lipids for vaccines

German specialty chemical company, Evonik, has announced plans to build a $220 million lipid production facility with funding from the US Government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

The context you need:

The pharmaceutical industry uses lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to encapsulate biologically active agents (such as mRNA) for effective drug delivery. We typically make LNPs by mixing some lipids in water (which assembles the lipids into spheres) and filtering the product through nanometer-sized pores. Those lipids are what Evonik is planning to make a lot more of.

What lipids?

There are four main lipids used to make these LNPs—ionizable amino lipids, phosphatidylcholine lipids, polyethylene glycol (PEG) lipid conjugates, and cholesterol. Most of these lipids seem to be derived from vegetable oils and petrochemicals. For example, one of the lipids used in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was a PEGylated diglyceride. PEG was made from ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide and the diglyceride was made by reacting vegetable oils (triglycerides) with glycerol.

Looking forward:

The US's BARDA is planning to shell out up to $150 million to help fund the site for the sake of "advanced development of medical countermeasures to respond to 21st century health security threats". The plan is to start building the site next year in Lafayette, Indiana for start-up sometime in 2025.

DuPont sold off its biomaterials business

US-based specialty chemical company, DuPont, has completed the sale of its biomaterials business to Huafon Group for $240 million.

Catching you up:

Back in the early 2000s, DuPont and Tate & Lyle developed a strain of E. coli K12 capable of producing 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glucose via fermentation. The two companies formed a joint venture (JV) in 2007 to commercialize the process. Now, more than a decade later, the JV is selling bio-based diol in two purities (higher purity is sold as Zemea and lower purity is sold as Susterra) and a polymer made with the bio-based diol called polytrimethylene terephthalate (sold as Sonora). Those businesses pulled in $200 million in sales last year.

Wait, bio-based diols?

Diols are a subclass of polyols that contain two hydroxyl groups (remember, alcohols have one hydroxyl group). The most well-known diol is probably ethylene glycol (MEG) thanks to its role in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but there are plenty of other uses for MEG and there are plenty of other diols. And all of these diols can trace their roots back to olefins like ethylene, propylene, and butene (which are all steam cracker products).

Zooming out:

Following the Dow and DuPont merger and de-merger fiasco, DuPont has overhauled its businesses and leaned into segments tied to high consumer growth (such as automotive, semiconductor, and mobile device production). This type of growth potential (application expansion) is fundamentally different than the type of growth potential associated with sustainable chemical production (application replacement). DuPont might just see more upside in the former and would prefer to finance it with the cash from the latter.

Some more headlines:

• Some companies are interested in building a $4B waste-to-hydrogen plant on the Suez Canal

• Nano One and BASF signed a joint development agreement for lithium-ion battery materials

• ABB's tech was selected for PKN Orlen's steam cracker operation improvements

• India's Reliance formed a joint venture with a toy manufacturer

• Wood Group just sold its environment consulting business for $1.9 billion

Product of The Day:

Today, we're breaking down drain cleaners.

Liquid drain cleaners can take care of the nasty gunk in your pipes via the alkaline or acid hydrolysis of the various proteins (like hair) and fats causing the clog. The two most well-known liquid drain cleaners are basic solutions of sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite (DrainO and Liquid Plumbr), but acidic solutions of sulfuric acid do the trick as well. Most of these drain cleaners will also have things like surfactants so that they foam up instead of releasing a ton of gas.

That sodium hydroxide (you'll see it referred to as lye) is produced by the electrolysis of salty water and sodium hypochlorite is made from the products of that same process.

In case you're interested:

• Tip: Check out CoinSnacks, a once-per-week newsletter designed to keep you up to date on crypto.*

• Podcast: Check out this episode on Dr. Greg Newbloom's career, company, and interest in green chemistry.

• Book: Maybe you've never heard of the Scientific Design company, but if you're in the industry, this one is worth a read.*

• Video: Shawn Esquivel broke down climate change really well. Check out his video here!

The bottoms: