Avantium’s bio-glycols in polyesters and deicers

Avantium announced this week that it has completed the application validation for its plant-based glycols plantMEG™ (monoethylene glycol) and plantMPG™ (monopropylene glycol) produced in Avantium’s Ray Technology™ demo plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Key applications include polymerisation to PEF and PET polyesters and functional fluids used for de-icing and heat transfer.

In 2020, Avantium successfully commissioned its Ray Technology™ demonstration plant, which utilises all process steps in converting industrial sugars to glycols, allowing for the production of plantMEG™ and plantMPG™ samples that are representative of the final product from subsequent commercial-scale plants. Both plantMEG™ and plantMPG™ are expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to their fossil-based equivalents.

Avantium said it has now produced 100% plant-based PEF (polyethylene furanoate) by polymerising Avantium’s monomers FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) and plantMEG™. PEF is a polyester made from MEG and FDCA and is considered an alternative to PET but with superior barrier and thermal properties. PEF produced by Avantium’s YXY® Technology is a 100% plant-based and recyclable polymer that can be used in an enormous range of applications, including packaging for soft drinks, water, alcoholic beverages and fruit juices.

Ray plantMEG™ can also be used to produce bio-PET (30% plantMEG™). PET is a transparent polyester used for bottles and film. Currently, PET is made from fossil-based MEG and fossil-based terephthalic acid.

Relevant functional properties of Ray plantMEG™ and plantMPG™ in de-icing fluids have also been reportedly demonstrated. These fluids are mainly used in airport operations for the de-icing of airplanes. The application validation reportedly paves the way for future licensees of the Ray Technology™ to tap into the growing demand for plant-based, renewable and recyclable materials. 

Here’s an interesting video from Avantium which features the company’s Ray Technology™.

By the way, my colleague at Tecnon OrbiChem and our resident MEG/PET expert, Javier Rivera, has been helping me navigate the global MEG and PET markets as well as how to report the market for bio-MEG and bio-PET. You can follow his latest blog post about the MEG/PET market on the Tecnon OrbiChem blog.

While it is difficult to report about the bio-MEG market (especially pricing!) when there is currently only one commercial producer, Tecnon OrbiChem’s goal is to provide a representative value for most of the transactions in our Bio-Materials monthly newsletter, taken into consideration a relatively limited number of players and transactions that are done.

We are definitely looking forward to when the bio-MEG and the bio-PET market will become more liquid in terms of the number of transactions as new producers such as Avantium, UPM and others will be ready to start their commercial businesses.