Avantium aims biomaterials as polyester replacements

ERJ staff report (DS)

Geleen, Netherlands -- Avantium has announced the successful start-up of its polyester pilot plant at the Chemelot site in Geleen, the Netherlands. The polyester plant is the first part of the pilot plant that Avantium is building at its new site to demonstrate its YXY technology for green materials and fuels.

The operation of the polyester pilot plant is a step in Avantium's development of PEF (poly-ethylene-furanoate), a next-generation biobased polyester that will compete with oil-based polyesters such as PET (polyethylene-terephthalate).

Avantium is developing PEF fibers for textile, carpet and industrial applications. Tom van Aken, Chief Executive Officer of Avantium comments: "The YXY pilot plant will make larger volumes of PEF available for application development to commercialise this 100 percent biobased and 100 percent recyclable bioplastic."

The YXY polyester pilot plant will produce bioplastics based on Avantium's YXY technology. Avantium acquired the polyester pilot plant from Johnson Matthey in the United Kingdom, where the plant was used for the production, development and testing of oil-based polyesters, such as PET in Johnson Matthey's polyester catalyst business. Avantium will use the polyester pilot plant for the production, development and testing of biobased polyesters, such as PEF.

Avantium's monomer pilot plant is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2011.

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Press release from Avantium