Blue Marble Biomaterials (formerly Blue Marble Energy), founded in 2007, is a US-based company which utilizes hybridized

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

to produce specialty

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

s and renewable

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

. The company develops and generates these biochemicals using non-virgin

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

. Blue Marble Biomaterials is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Marble Energy. Blue Marble has publicly announced that they are working with several large national and multi-national partners, including

Welch's Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord, Massachusetts. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a Agricultural cooperative, co-op of grape ...

and Firmenich. Socati Corp., a leading processor of hemp extract with remediated THC, announced on May 15, 2019 that it has acquired Blue Marble Biomaterials, a manufacturer of natural and sustainable specialty compounds for the global food, fragrance and cosmetic sectors. The acquisition marks a major milestone in Socati’s capability to meet the rapidly growing demand for high-quality, hemp-derived ingredients, including CBD and other cannabinoids.

Facilities

In 2011, Blue Marble Energy opened their new Small Commercial

Biorefinery A biorefinery is a refinery that converts biomass to energy and other beneficial byproducts (such as chemicals). The International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 42 defined biorefining as "the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of bi ...

located in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

. Missoula was chosen in part due to its rail transportation corridor, readily available green-collar workforce, and proximity to the University of Montana.. Blue Marble opened their Large Commercial

in September 2013 with a capacity of 1,000 metric tons (input) and 10,000 to 15,000 kg (final product output) per month.

Technology

Blue Marble’s

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

ed conversion system, Acid, Gas, and Ammonia Targeted Extraction (AGATE), uses non- genetically modified bacteria. It can process a wide variety of organic biomass feedstocks. A single fermentation contains multiple strains of bacteria which specialize in the breakdown of different feedstocks. The resulting consortia of different bacteria "perform well in high nitrogen environments and can withstand shocks to the system (such as changes in pH, temperature, and feedstock). This allows AGATE to process nearly any organic biomass:

food waste The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...

, yard waste, spent brewery grain, algae, milfoil, corn silage, etc. AGATE can handle both fresh and wet feedstock, and can be adjusted to meet changing economic opportunities and market needs." Through

anaerobic digestion Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to Waste management, manage waste or to produce fuels. Mu ...

and fermentation, the AGATE platform manipulates microbial environments to produce

esters In chemistry, an ester is a chemical compound, compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds c ...

, amides, anhydrous ammonia, and rich biogas.

Algae Harvesting

In the past, Blue Marble Energy participated in aquatic remediation efforts for the Puget Sound and other waterways around Seattle in an effort to repair damaged ocean ecology damaged by harmful algae blooms and invasive species. This water cleanup may be extended to

sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

plants and mine sites in the future.

In the media

*Blue Marble Energy was recognized as one of the 100 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy for 2009 by Biofuels Digest.http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/12/02/the-hot-100-the-100-hottest-companies-in-bioenergy-for-2009-10/ From Biofuels Digest

References

External links