Last week, Rivertop officially announcedthat we have exceeded nameplate capacity at our first commercial production facility during benchmark testing. The facility, which in located in Danville, Virginia, was built in the first half of 2015, began its first commercial production runs of glucarate-based products in August 2015 and is now capable of producing more than 9 million dry pounds of sodium glucarate product per year—more than 15 percent higher than original design projections.
Among the products being produced are Riose® detergent builder (a renewable, effective alternative to phosphate detergent builders) and WaterlineTMcorrosion inhibitors and chelating agents that are applicable across industries ranging from water treatment, to power generation and mining.
The first products produced at the facility are salts of glucaric acid. Traditional pathways of producing both glucaric acid itself and its salts have been costly and environmentally challenging, making Rivertop’s ability to produce an effective, economical and environmentally friendly supply that much more ground breaking.
This production success comes on the heels of a “Recommended” designation based on a quality and supply chain audit by a leading water treatment industry customer.
In other words, we are full steam ahead. The success we are having thus far bodes very well for our plans to build additional plants in the coming years.
We are also excited that our success has been featured in a number of industry publications, including KPAX, Biofuels Digest, Chemical & Engineering News, Biomass Magazine and Green Chemicals Blog. The latter feature is in fact a guest post by our own CEO, Mike Knauf, about the role of oxygen in our proprietary manufacturing process, punctuated by the exciting news about our facility in Virginia. It is the perfect excuse for a little pat on the back before diving back in to the work we love.
Around the Bend 