The growing need for bio ethanol in the biopharmaceutical sector has prompted one of the largest producers in the US to ramp up production for ethanol blends threefold.
Greenfield Global has revealed it is raising the production of ethanol blends with water-for-injection at its plant in Brookfield, Connecticut from a 2,000 gallon tank to 6,000 gallons.
The firm stated that by doing this it would help provide “greater confidence in supply chain security” and will also raise production lead times for end users such as labs, medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies around the world. Greenfield is producing and distributing the extra ethanol blends under its Pharmco brand name.
Frank Richards, the executive vice president and managing director for specialty chemicals & ingredients at Greenfield Global, emphasised that the need to respond swiftly to growing demand is vital for the success of the pharmaceutical sector.
He remarked: “Innovation happens fast, and the stakes are high. Our chemists and engineers are continually adapting and adding capabilities without compromising quality.”
Mr Richards said the trebling of production at Brookfield is “greatly enhancing our supply-chain transparency, service reliability, and responsiveness to the very specific and technical customer demands in this market, something that is unique to Greenfield.”
The firm works through 40 different distribution partners globally and has been trading under the Pharmco brand name for 30 years, making this a significant development that may impact on a wide number of biopharmaceutical companies around the globe.
The move by Greenfield Global comes despite an overall fall in ethanol production in the US. According to agweb.com it fell to 901,000 barrels in the week ending September 16th, an 81 week low, and then dropped further to 855,000 the following week.
While maintenance work often reduces output in September, the fact this has been lower than at this time last year is down to “soft demand”, it quoted Joe Vaclavik with Standard Grain as saying.
