PFIFFIG

Polymeric fibers from biobased furanoates for industrial applications (Subproject F)

Duration
01.02.2021 - 30.01.2024

Approximately 100 years ago, “plastics” were introduced and today they are one of the most versatile materials used for endless numbers of applications. Due to their environmental implications combined with increasing oil prices, the interest in bioplastics increases rapidly. Here the term “bioplastic” stands for “bio-based polymers” acc. to IUPEC definition as plastics on the basis of “biomass or monomers derived from biomass…”. FDCA has the potential to become one of the most important platform chemicals of a bio-based chemical industry due to its similarity to the widely used and well established, but petrochemically-derived terephthalic acid (TPA).
The goal of this project is to combine methods of synthetic biology and chemo-enzymatic synthesis to develop new and sustainable production chains for FDCA and its precursor 5-HMF from waste biomass and to use this molecule as basis component for a wide range of tailor-made fiber polymers.
The bio-based synthesis route will enable drop-in solutions, in the first approach for PEF. PEF will be 100 % bio-based, if bio-based ethylene glycol is used, it is recyclable and differentiates towards PET like higher glass transition and lower melting range. So it can be used in certain applications at higher temperatures by needing lower energy in the melt processing. It was proven that PEF can be
synthesized and processed on existing reactors and spinning plants with minor modifications. Further, similar textile processing properties like PET can be expected and its bio-based origin stays outside the food chain. These factors lead to the hypothesis that PEF will become an important bio-based alternative or even replacement to PET with higher performance in certain aspects. For substitution of PET it is necessary to establish profitable production chains for 5-HMF and FDCA, which deliver monomers in adequate quality for polycondensation of PEF without color-causing side products.