Sustainable bioplastics: Recent progress in the production of bio-building blocks for the bio-based next-generation polymer PEF

By Kyung-Ran Hwang, W. Jeon, S. Y. Lee, Min-Sik Kim, Young‐Kwon Park. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020

141 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Today, bioplastics are recognised as sustainable alternatives and one of the solutions to the crisis of petro-based plastics. The next-generation polymer poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxlate) (PEF) has gained great popularity since it is associated with significant reduction of energy use and GHG emissions, as well as with superior barrier properties. This drop-in polymer is a promising 100% bio-based alternative to its petro-based counterpart poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). PEF can be effectively synthesised by polymerisation between 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and ethylene glycol (EG), which represent biomass-derived building blocks. These bio-building blocks are an important commodity and platform chemicals that can be used for a variety of applications, including the synthesis of PEF. This review covers recent progress in the production of novel bio-building blocks for the preparation of PEF. Among various synthesis methods, we reviewed the catalytic conversion of biomass-derived hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) into FDCA and the biological route from biomass feedstock into EG. In addition, we covered recent progress in the synthesis of HMF from biomass since a reliable supply of HMF is important for the synthesis of FDCA. Finally, research goals and challenges for future development of bio-building blocks production were proposed.

Subfields: Biomaterials, Biomedical Engineering, Process Chemistry and Technology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1a0b265f81aa3994acaa8068cf9740bf4714ead2