Avantium has developed the YXY® Technology that converts plant-based sugars into FDCA, which can be polymerized together with plant-based mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) into the sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate). As a monomer, FDCA brings the opportunity to create a variety of polymers, from polyesters, polyamides and polyurethanes, to coating resins, plasticisers and other chemical products. Avantium is currently constructing the world’s first commercial FDCA facility in Delfzijl (the Netherlands), with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per annum and set to open in 2024.
Under the Rebiolution programme, Avantium will provide several hundreds of kilogrammes of FDCA for the development and production of a biodegradable and compostable polyester blend. The intention is to use the resulting Rebiolution bioplastic as plastic coating for food packaging (paper/plastics composites), as an alternative for fossil-based polyethylene (PE). Another intended application for the Rebiolution bioplastic is to use it as mulch films for agricultural applications. As such, this new polyester could be a fully biobased alternative for the widely used PBAT (butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate), which is partly fossil-based.
Kai Siegenthaler, coordinator of the Rebiolution project and responsible for biopolymers research at BASF, commented: “FDCA is a key element in the Rebiolution strategy. The potential of FDCA is based on its plant-based origin and on its structural similarity to the largest-volume commodity chemical PTA (purified terephthalic acid). By reacting FDCA with other biobased monomers, we intend to produce a 100% biobased and biodegradable polyester which also fulfils requirements regarding processing, lifetime, performance and cost effectiveness. We strongly believe that the resulting bioplastic can help to achieve the challenging circularity goals which the EU sets itself.”
