NEW PLANT TAKES OFF LIKE A ROCKET IN KOKEMÄKI

Text: Annaleena Stenman

We've clearly done something right. In our last issue, we spoke about the successful start of Lapua's glucan modification plant – a success we're now building on. At the Finnamyl plant in Kokemäki, the first earth was broken to mark the start of our next project in January 2024. Once again, International Flavors and Fragrances, or IFF, has come on board as a partner in the project.

Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials are changing the world

Over the past couple of years, glucans have become a significant commercial contract manufacturing product for Chemigate. The glucans produced in Lapua and Kokemäki will increase plant utilisation rates and open new applications alongside the paper and board industry. CEO Tom Schauman stresses the importance of a diverse range of raw materials.

“Alongside starch, we now have a natural raw material that is less weather-dependent as a new mainstay. In the long run, a diversified product portfolio will stabilise operations,” says Schauman.

IFF has developed the designed enzymatic biomaterial technology and the derived product portfolio for more than 15 years. The first patent for its unique technology was granted in 2006 (US patent no. 7000000). The company's specialty lies in the design and optimisation of enzymes that enable the production of these high-purity, consistent quality, and environmentally friendly polysaccharide products. According to Christian Lenges, Venture Director at IFF, the challenge in the biomaterial space has remained to make the performance of novel bio-based polymers as good or even better as the fossil-based compounds they're intended to replace.

“The greatest advantage of these glucan materials is the ability to design in biodegradability, while at the same time maintain the product performance across a range of applications, which most synthetic polymers lack. Among typical naturally extracted materials, cellulose or starch typically require a higher degree of functionalisation (e.g. cationisation) to perform as well as traditional fossil derived polymers. With this new family of glucans, on the other hand, moderate functionalisation (especially cationisation) gets the desired behaviour out of the material,” says Lenges.

The designed enzymatic biomaterial product to be produced at Kokemäki will be using liquid beet sugar as its feedstock, which is converted through enzymatic polymerisation and isolated and dried into a powder product. So far, IFF has carried out this enzymatic process and development program at its pilot plant, but this time the confidence in Finnamyl is exceptionally strong, and the opportunity was identified to further scale up the production of this new material. The current plan for the project at Kokemäki is to produce the glucan material for a period of about four months per year. However, Finnamyl has already prepared to increase capacity with additional investments.

A portion of the produced glucan is then transported to Lapua, where it's further processed for applications developed by Kemira. The rest of the glucan is used in other IFF applications as it is, or chemically modified. Potential applications include water treatment, detergents, personal care products, and applications in the textile space.

Speed matters

Chief Technology Officer Aki Laine and Lenges emphasise their ongoing co-operation since 2017, which has built deep trust and understanding between them. Lenges also sees IFF's strong roots in Finland as a benefit, giving the American company an important understanding of local culture and practices, especially as the local teams from all companies involved can work seamlessly together. This new project, then, didn't require either to take a leap of faith.

Based on the well-established working relationship through the prior projects, the concept to integrate the glucan process into the Finnamyl facility was assessed. It was quickly discovered that a low investment option could be realised by leveraging the facilities in Kokemäki. The equipment was surprisingly well-suited to the task, which put some wind in everyone's sails – and so a new project, “Booster”, got underway in March 2023.

The name of the project, which refers to a booster rocket or booster vaccine, was coined by Schauman, who wanted it to reflect the project's tight schedule. The plan at Kokemäki is to implement the enzymatic polymerisation process and to produce a water insoluble glucan later this year. Booster is an example of a commercialisation accelerator project, where the technology is quickly brought to market to enable first demand for a new product line through a targeted investment. To validate and grow the market for new materials, the product needs to be tested extensively in large enough quantities. And larger volumes require a larger plant for market development than would be achievable with typical pilot-scale equipment.

Maria Lindholm , Production Manager at Finnamyl, says the project has been hectic and nerve-wracking – but behind everything else, there’s been an encouraging and positive vibe.

“There have been a huge number of events and challenges in a short period of time. Sometimes you must fit 20 hours of project meetings into a week, and on top of that you have to find the time to unload their resulting To Do lists. Yes, other work is taking a bit of a back seat to Booster. But we can keep on schedule if everyone manages their days and deadlines well,” says Lindholm.

From a potato factory to a biorefinery

Kalle Kainu, CEO of Finnamyl, believes that the production of glucan will support Kokemäki's core business excellently. In the future, the plant could be described as a multi-product “bio-refinery”, where products are produced year-round. Process Engineer Artturi Törrönen was already hired, in August 2023, for the project –and more permanent process professionals will be needed going forward.

This investment stage is already keeping the staff at Kokemäki plenty busy. Lindholm is driving the team forward, including overseeing the initial installations together with Törrönen. Quality Manager

Niina Aarnisalo and Laboratory Manager

Heidi Poutanen are working on instructions for the quality system and developing new analytical methods for quality control. Coping with rapid changes and new ways of working should always be instilled in employees alongside their regular activities. Kainu therefore has an important role to play in leading the change and in encouraging staff – not just paying the bills.

“Change always stirs up a lot of different emotions. However, there's interest in the project, and we're moving forward expectantly, with open minds. I know everyone’s aware that this project will give us security for the future,” says Lindholm.

PEARL DIVERS – Co-operation beyond borders PEARL DIVERS – Co-operation beyond borders

Text: Maisa Kantola

Like many good ideas, Project Pearl got its start in the sauna – with casual, spontaneous conversations free from any big plans or goals.

Of course, ideas about the potential for more efficient cultivation had been floating around for quite some time before the Finnamyl deal, but our ability to influence this hadn't fully materialised until Chemigate acquired a majority stake. A new card was dealt, direct contact with the contract farmers. In the relaxed heat of the sauna, we started to ponder what the better use of a fully integrated production chain could bring to the table. With Berner Group, our junk five-card hand had become a straight flush – it's a very exceptional production chain by Finnish standards alone, covering not only the inputs and harvest, but also, through Finnamyl and Chemigate, the final processing and sale of the crop.

The main drivers of the project include Kalle Erkkola, Business Unit Director of Farmer's Berner, Mika Hyövelä, Development Manager at Berner, Kalle Kainu, Managing Director of Finnamyl, and Kimmo Pusa, Farming Manager. And let’s not forget the 28 farms that have actively participated in the first phase of the project – without them, there wouldn't be a project at all.

Win-win-win-win

When I began the interview by asking the different parties involved about the project, the answers from both Kalles were the same: winwin-win-win. Okay, but why FOUR wins?

It's clear that closer co-operation with farmers will improve the understanding of producers' needs at Farmer's Berner, and therefore help to better develop and target their service to their farmer customers. And on the other hand, Finnamyl “lives on potatoes”, so ensuring a sufficient potato harvest and starch content is the lifeblood of its business continuity. For the farmer, finding a more efficient operating model will allow him to optimise his use of fertilisers and crop protection substances, and result in a better yield per hectare. If successful, this will pay off directly through improved profitability. The project will also give Chemigate and its customers a competitive advantage. For the paper and board industry, responsibly produced, high-quality, domestic raw materials and low CO2 emissions are becoming more important every year.

So, what kind of numbers are we talking? “Already the results are promising. I see the possibility of an average yield increase of up to 20% in terms of starch,” says Kalle Erkkola.

Whoa! That number is a lot bigger than I expected. But this is necessary, since the cultivation area hasn't been growing in the past few years – actually, the opposite. There are also large fluctuations in yield levels and starch content. Of course, not all fields have the same requirements – and you can’t turn a knob to adjust the weather – but there

Project Pearl

Finnamyl's Contract Farmers are still many things that haven’t yet been sufficiently studied or capitalised on. There has certainly been a lot of research in the potato industry, but the effects or consequences of these activities have not necessarily been properly measured at the farm level. For example, adjusting the amount and timing of nitrogen fertilisation can have positive impacts on yield and reduce the carbon footprint of the final product. It has also been observed that the awareness of what kind of starch potato harvest is coming is usually only revealed at harvest time. Improving knowledge and awareness is, therefore, a key element in planning both the cultivation and processing of starch. Practical ways to achieve this include mid-season sample taking, soil analyses, nutrient measurement from plant leaves, as well as the use of measurement technologies – like weather stations – to find correlations between conditions and yields.

Developing a community spirit in the starch potato sector is also essential – co-operation, trust and an open and active exchange of information would be the right keywords. Follow-up meetings within the project team are held every couple of weeks, but in the future the idea is also to organise more discussions and training sessions between the different participants, and to form smaller groups of farmers to exchange information and experiences more effectively.

CO2 figures per product

But let's come back to CO2 – what's that got to do with it?

“Scope 3”, an emissions nerd might say. Wait what?

When assessing climate impacts, it's essential to understand not just the current situation, but also where the product-specific CO2 emissions come from and how they could be influenced. Chemigate has been hard at work on this issue in recent years, and this year the product specific LCA (life cycle assessment) calculations will be complete. They show, among other things, that about 80-90% of the climate impact of modified starch products stems from cultivation. The share produced by chemicals, energy and logistics is therefore relatively small. The increased yields, optimised fertilisation and the appropriate use of crop protection agents will, in the long term, also have a direct impact on our bottom line, because it's precisely these so-called Scope 3 emissions that we need to be able to influence. Personally, I can say that it gives me great satisfaction to be able to stand honestly

Farmer's Berner

Finnamyl Oy (Chemigate's subsidiary company)

BERNER GROUP

Chemigate Oy

Paper and board industry (Chemigate's customers) behind the products I sell and provide my customers with real research data – not just statistical averages. And, as the icing on the cake, promises of an even better tomorrow.

Last summer marked the first pilot period, and its results will be put into practice as early as the coming growing season. So despite very poor harvests in 2023, there's still a sense of enthusiasm in the air. “The collaboration has gone really well,” says project lead Mika Hyövelä. Kalle Kainu certainly agrees. “Our goal is to get good, clear and workable farming models and practices in place by the

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end of 2025. And of course, we'll make these models available to all farmers. Who knows – maybe it will also enable new contract farmers to join us in the future.”

Naturally, it doesn't end there. Kaizen, or continuous improvement, applies here too. In short, Project Pearl adds value to the whole chain. Ultimately, you could even say it filters all the way down to the consumer. The phrases “Together, we are more” or maybe “Towards a better tomorrow” could make a fitting end here. But in any case: “Good on us!”

Potato-based, wet modified, high cationic wet end starch

What is Project Pearl all about?

Project Pearl is the pilot phase of a collaborative multistakeholder project targeted at improving the efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of starch potato cultivation. The stakeholders include Berner, the fertiliser and crop protection expert, Finnamyl, the native starch producer, and the contract producers of starch potatoes. Our IT partner is Mtech Digital Solutions, whose My Farm ERP system, designed for farming, is used for data collection and analysis.