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Chemicals from Biomass: Path to
Peridition or the Promised Land?
Mark Jones
The Dow Chemical Company
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Grand Traverse Pie Company, 2600 N.
Saginaw Rd, Midland
6:00pm Free sandwiches while they last
7:00pm Presentation
The U.S. chemical industry is a $720 B enterprise
making essential products that end up in 96% all manufactured goods. The
industry uses both fossil and renewable resources to make products today.
Bioproducts are receiving active interest due to consumer demand, industry
interest in improved materials and interest from the biofuels community in
making “high value chemicals”. Several inescapable principles must be dealt
with in order to successfully navigate chemical production from
biomass. These include: (i) natural gas drives the chemical industry and
halcyon days are expected due to shale gas, (ii) biomass and biologically
derived materials can be expensive raw materials for chemical production,
and (iii) a mixture containing a valuable chemical is not the same as a
valuable mixture of chemicals. It is dangerous to assume that chemical
production can save an economically challenged biofuels process. Repurposing
a fuel for chemical use or garnering more value from co-products both are
fraught with peril. Cautious optimism, rather than unbridled optimism, is in
order as emphasis shifts towards bioproducts.
Mark Jones is currently Technology Strategy Development
Fellow within Performance Plastics, Hydrocarbons, Chemicals, Energy and
Licensing R&D in the Dow Chemical Company. In this role, Mark is
responsible for developing alternative feedstock initiatives and technology
exploration in energy, plastics, chemicals and hydrocarbons areas. Mark left
a role leading the Process Scale-up and Implementation Team within the
Energy Storage Devices platform to assume his current role. During his
foray into batteries, Mark completed preliminary design and equipment
selection for a battery materials production facility, worked with business
leaders to develop a battery materials strategy, managed intellectual
capital, and steered R&D efforts related to electrode and electrolyte
materials. Mark’s expertise in energy has resulted in his being asked to
participate in and to chair DOE platform reviews for the Office of the
Biomass Program. In 2011, Mark is one of the co-chairs of the DOE OBP
steering committee. Mark is also currently a member of the National
Research Council committee on Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels.
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