French biochemical company Afyren, which produces carboxylic acids from sugar beet co-products through fermentation processes, announced Nov. 17 that it signed a multi-year contract to provide the biobased acids to an undisclosed U.S. maker of synthetic lubricants. The customer is an active producer of polyol esters – of which carboxylic acids are a major component – which are used in the formulation of synthetic lubricants.