19 January 2016
ABOUT DUPONT INDUSTRIAL BIOSCIENCES
DETAILS
DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont)
and
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
announced a new breakthrough process
with the potential to expand the materials landscape
in the 21st century with exciting and truly novel,
high-performance renewable materials.
The technology has applications in
packaging, textiles, engineering plastics and
many other industries.
The companies have developed a method for producing
furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME)
from fructose.
FDME is a high-purity derivative of
furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA),
one of the 12 building blocks identified by
the U.S. Department of Energy that can be converted into
a number of high-value, bio-based chemicals or materials
that can deliver high performance in a number of applications.
It has long been sought-after and researched,
but has not yet been available at commercial scale
and at reasonable cost.
The new FDME technology is a more efficient and simple process
than traditional conversion approaches and
results in higher yields, lower energy usage and
lower capital expenditures.
One of the first polymers under development utilizing FDME is
polytrimethylene furandicarboxylate (PTF),
a novel polyester also made from
DuPont’s proprietary Bio-PDO™ (1,3-propanediol).
PTF is a 100-percent renewable and recyclable polymer that,
when used to make bottles and other beverage packages,
substantially improves gas-barrier properties compared to
other polyesters.
This makes PTF a great choice for customers
in the beverage packaging industry looking to
improve the shelf life of their products.
ADM and DuPont are taking the initial step in
the process of bringing FDME to market
by moving forward on the scale-up phase of the project.
The two companies are planning to build
an integrated 60 ton-per-year demonstration plant
in Decatur, Ill., which will provide potential customers
with sufficient product quantities for testing and research.
Simon Herriot,
Global business director for biomaterials at DuPont
“This molecule is a game-changing platform technology.
It will enable cost-efficient production of
a variety of 100 percent renewable,
high-performance chemicals and polymers
with applications across a broad range of industries,”
"ADM is an agribusiness powerhouse with
strong technology development capabilities.
They are the ideal partner with which to develop
this new, renewable supply chain for FDME.”
Kevin Moore,
President, renewable chemicals at ADM
“We are excited about the potential FDME
has to help our customers reach new markets and
develop better-performing products,
all made from sustainable, bio-based starting materials,”
“With their strong leadership in the biomaterials industry,
DuPont is a great partner that can help us bring
this product to market for our customers.”
Contact
DuPont Industrial Biosciences
Wendy Rosen
650-284-6429
ADM
Jackie Anderson
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
