Carbono and Bertin join forces to make green chemical
DCI
Carbono Química and Bracol Oleoquímicos, a company of Grupo Bertin, have just entered into a partnership for the production of dimeric acid - a chemical resulting from a renewable source, derived from a mixture of vegetable oils and natural fats - that will result in a production line of a "green oleochemical", which has never been seen in Brazil. These chemical products will be used in the segments of resins, paints, household cleaning, lubricants, greases, and, in the mid-term, even cosmetics. "It is a partnership that involves division of costs and profits under the line of production of the dimeric acid. It is not a company, just a division of risks and profits", clarifies the CEO of Carbono, Vera Gabriel, in an exclusive to DCI.
According to the Development Director of Carbono, Rodrigo Gabriel, the production will be made at the Bracol plant, since the company has access to the raw material exactly because it already trades a lot with products like natural fat and vegetable oil. "We have the technology and the marketing. We already know where to sell. We have been gathering information in this market for three years. We will put the access to raw materials and the industrial installations of Bertin together with our technological developments and commercial presence in the chemical sector", said Gabriel.
"This pioneering agreement strengthens the interest of Grupo Bertin in the area of the green oleochemistry, which corroborates the commitment of the group with the development of sustainable technologies in its various areas of operation", said the Executive Officer of Bracol, Rogério Barros, in a note on the partnership. According to the Executive of Carbono, the production should be started within three months, already with an eye on a possible export to major markets such as Europe and the United States. "It is our intention to export should there be volume. It's in our plan", said Gabriel. According to him, the export may take place still in 2010. "It is a project in which we have worked for nearly three years, but our scale is still very small. We are talking about exports of nearly 60 to 100 tons a month", he specifies.
Gabriel explains the main place of the international production of dimeric acid today is located in Malaysia, where it is produced from Palm oil. But for the food industry the dimeric acid is an essential product because it is trans fat free. "Because of that, the market of paints, lubricants and adhesives is starting to seek another supplier. We do not produce it from Palm, but from a mixture of other vegetable oils. That makes us an alternative, a future potential supplier", says Gabriel.