World Grain - November 2013 - 54

FEATURE: IndustrIal uses for graIn

developing swanky fermentation packages and enzymes and all sorts of other
IP that is directed specifically at certain
platform chemicals, building blocks
which are being then taken on by the
major chemical producers, ultimately
to end up as either intermediates or as a
mainstream polymers," he said.
There is huge potential. "The view
going forward is that you could end
up with a situation where, by 2030
or 2040, 20% of the current plastic
chain, for example, is bio-based. That
is a huge amount if you consider that
the current volume of plastics on the
market is around 450 million tonnes. A
very high proportion of that bio-based
fraction will derive its original feedstock from starch."
Scope for extra production
Although the "food versus fuel" argument has received much public attention around the world, Williams
doesn't believe that getting farmers to
come up with the raw material is going
to be a problem.
"We are pretty good at increasing our
production yields," he said, noting that
there are areas of the world now which
are underproducing. "The other thing
that people forget is that over 40% of
the starch market goes into industrial
applications already," he said. "If you
look at paper production - paper and
board production, cosmetics, sugar replacements and so forth - you could
call those food-related, but they are not
a food as such. The belief that 100% of
all starch that is produced automatically
goes into food and that we are diverting
that 100% is nonsense, to be honest."
If there is demand, farmers will grow
the crops. "We have yields in places
that at the moment are pretty poor in
comparison to the west and the United
States," he said. "The argument with
materials is nonsensical.
"This is not about land availability.
This is about land efficiency. It doesn't
stand up to me at all and every analysis
that I've seen doesn't stack up either."
It's something the whole industry is
54

Global industrial use of grains expected to rebound
Global use of grains for making industrial products, mainly ethanol and starch,
will register the largest annual increase in four years during 2013-14, according to
the International Grains Council (IGC). Record global corn production and declines in
grain prices primarily account for the expected rise in use after several years of little
or no change.
The IGC forecast world industrial use of grains in 2013-14 at 320.2 million tonnes, up
17.2 million tonnes, or 6%, from the prior year's estimated use of 303 million. Industrial
use of grains in 2012-13 actually was down 2.5 million tonnes from the preceding
season, while use in 2011-12 rose only 8.5 million over the prior year.
The IGC forecast that ethanol will account for 164.5 million tonnes of the 2013-14
use, compared with 155.9 million in 2012-13 and 163 million in 2011-12. Biofuels will
account for 149.1 million tonnes of the use in making ethanol in the current crop year,
compared with 140.9 million in the previous year and 147.9 million in 2011-12.
Global grain use in making starches, mainly for making starch-based sugar, was forecast by the Council at 118.7 million tonnes, against 110.9 million in 2012-13 and 106.3
million in 2011-12.
Brewing is expected to account for use of 36 million tonnes of grain in 2013-14,
compared with 35.3 million in each of the two prior crop years.
The IGC also analyzed national use of grains for making biofuels, with the U.S. accounting for 127.1 million tonnes, or 85% of global use of 149.1 million projected for
2013-14. Other national users of grains for making biofuels included: the E.U., 10.3
million tonnes; Canada, 3.3 million; China, 5.4 million; and Argentina, 1 million.
On a grain basis, corn dominated in making biofuels, accounting for 138.8 million
tonnes, of which 127.1 million were in the U.S. Other grains used globally for making
biofuels were 6.1 million tonnes of wheat, 3.2 million tonnes of sorghum, 300,000
tonnes of barley and 700,000 unspecified.
"Much of the increase for ethanol will be in the U.S, while demand for starch-based
sugars in China will continue to expand," the IGC said. China demand was encouraged
by favorable costs compared to cane and beet sugar, resulting in use of 50 million
tonnes of grains to make starch.
Rising starch and fuel demand accounted for expanded E.U. use, bringing the industrial use total to 34.4 million tonnes in 2013-14, up 4% from the preceding year.
For the U.S., the Council cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast that 124.5
million tonnes of corn will be used to make ethanol in 2013-14. That would be up from
118.1 million in 2012-13 but still below the peak 127.5 million tonnes used to make
biofuels in 2010-11.
taking up. "You've actually got all the
big agricultural guys who have their biobased conversion platforms, so Cargill,
ADM, Roquette and a number of others are all directly involved or partly
involved in providing converted feedstocks, the building blocks for chemicals
and in some cases the polymer itself.
"Cargill has its NatureWorks joint
venture, originally using solely U.S.
corn, but it is now going to build a plant
in Southeast Asia using sugar and tapioca, to produce PLA," he said. "ADM
is in a biopolymer platform as well as
its chemical platforms, all bio and all

grains and oilseeds related. Roquette
is the same. Roquette is in a joint venture with BASF on providing fermented
starch materials into a succinic acid
platform for BASF's chemistry. They
are all in this at a major level."
All the major chemical companies
have a plan for the sector. "DuPont,
Dow, Mitsubishi, BASF, etc., all these
guys are all in the frame," he said.
"Whereas years ago they would have a
JV with BP or Shell, now they have a JV
with ADM or Cargill. It is that sort of
flow-through on products."
The companies that are ultimately,

November 2013 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - November 2013

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