CovationBio reaches commercial production of bio-based materials

Qidong, China – Covation Biomaterials has reached commercial production of its bio-based tetrahydrofuran (bioTHF) and bio-based polytetramethylene ether glycol (bioPTMEG) materials at its Qidong plant in China.

In a 2 Sept release, the company said its first commercial batches of Xatryx.T bioTHF and Xatryx bioPTMEG were produced in August and have met expected quality specifications across three bioPTMEG molecular weight grades.

The milestone follows mechanical completion of the plant’s 50 kilotonne-per-annum C4 platform faciliy in April, the Newark, Delaware-based startup reported.

“From mechanical completion to the first commercial batches being on spec, the CovationBio team completed the entire process of equipment commissioning, process optimisation, and scale-up in just four months,” said chairman You Feifeng.

“The initial on-spec status of all three molecular weight grades demonstrates the maturity and stability of our proprietary process technology,” he added.

CovationBio said it is now working with downstream customers on trial samples and collecting feedback to further validate product performance and their ‘drop-in adaptability’ to existing application processes.

The company will also unveil an athletic insole developed with footwear brand Insite at the NW Materials Show in Portland, Oregon, featuring its bio-based PTMEG.