Ohio Soybean Council, Logos Technologies to Advance Biosurfactant Production
October 25, 2016
Logos Technologies announced today a partnership with the Ohio Soybean Council to further develop the production process of NatSurFact, an environmentally friendly biosurfactant for personal care, household and industrial cleaning products as well as other applications.
The joint project, which aims to convert hundreds of liters of soy oil into similar quantities of NatSurFact, represents a critical stage towards the commercialization of the Logos Technologies biosurfactant.
“With any chemical processing technology, there are a few steps before it reaches commercial scale,” explains Dan Derr, NatSurFact business lead at Logos Technologies. “Our partnership with the Ohio Soybean Council will allow us to demonstrate that the production processes we have been running in our lab for years are robust and reproducible.”
The NatSurFact product line is based on rhamnolipids, a natural combination of sugar and fat, fermented by microbes in large vats similar to those used for making beer. The biosurfactant is a strong cleanser and foaming agent, yet unlike many conventional alternatives, it is also mild on the skin and has low eco-toxicity.
“For years, companies have been interested in using rhamnolipid-based surfactants in assorted soaps, cosmetics, cleaning products and a variety of other applications” Derr says. “The challenge has been producing them cost-effectively in commercial quantities. And that’s what we’ve been focused on.”
Logos Technologies has been producing NatSurFact at the 10-liter scale for more nearly three years and has also previously contracted with 100-400 liter toll facilities. The goal now is to take the company’s patent-pending process to an even larger toll facility and, using soy oil as a feedstock, produce the biosurfactant on the 1000-2000 liter scale.
“Ohio soybean farmers are committed to finding sustainable markets and uses for the soybeans they produce,” says Terry McClure, chairman of the Ohio Soybean Council Chairman and soybean farmer from Paulding County. “So the opportunity to replace petroleum-based surfactants with ones derived from soybeans is exciting.”
The project with the Ohio Soybean Council is scheduled to conclude next March. After that, still larger amounts of NatSurFact will be made to further validate the process on the path to full-scale implementation. According to projections, a single production plant will use millions of bushels of soybeans each year.
About Logos Technologies
Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC is a diversified science, engineering and technology company specializing in the fields of advanced sensors, wide area motion imagery, advanced analytics, processing of large, multisource datasets, and biochemicals. Logos serves government customers including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security, as well as a range of customers in commercial and international markets. Learn more at www.logos-technologies.com.
