American Chemical Society presents Affordable Green Chemistry award for commercial production of propylene glycol
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. Todd Werpy, Archer Daniels Midland Company’s (NYSE: ADM) senior vice
president, Research and Development, has received the 2014 American
Chemical Society Affordable Green Chemistry award for his work in
producing bio-based propylene glycol economically on a commercial scale.
ADM’s first-in-the industry process can produce 100,000 metric tons per
year of propylene glycol from renewable sources. The resulting bio-based
product meets all of the same U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) and industrial
specifications as petroleum-based propylene glycol.
“Our Research and Development team works every day with individual
customers, creating new solutions to help them succeed,” Werpy added.
“And we are always looking for new products to meet changing or
expanding demand. Propylene glycol, for example, has been used for years
in products ranging from liquid detergents to pharmaceuticals to
plastics and paints. We saw a demand for a product that can meet all of
those needs, and that is produced from bio-based, renewable sources—and
we are meeting that demand.”
Werpy will share the award with Dr. John Frye and Mr. Alan Zacher of the
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington.
“This shows that innovation is a collaborative effort, and that it can
come in many forms,” Werpy said. “The creation of a new product in the
lab represents one kind of innovation. And the process of taking that
product to economical, commercial-scale production is another. I am
proud and thankful to work at a company where such creativity is
encouraged and supported every day. The environment here at ADM—among
colleagues and leaders—is one in which new ideas and new discoveries
flourish. For a scientist, there is nothing better.”
This is not the first time and the ADM and PNNL teams have been
recognized for their innovation. The development of the propylene glycol
process was honored with R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 Award in 2010, and the
effort between PNNL and ADM to transfer the process from laboratory to
market received a Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in
Technology Transfer in 2011. In 2012, the two companies were runners-up
in the Materials and Other Base Technologies category in the Wall Street
Journal Technology Innovation Awards.
About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company
(NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs.
Today, 31,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn,
wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and
energy uses. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement
facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM
helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For
more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Media Relations
Jackie Anderson, 217-424-5413
media@adm.com