US food processing giant ADM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with green chemistry company P2 Science to develop and commercialize plant-based monomers, polymers and ingredients for the personal care and flavors & fragrance markets.

ADM has a portfolio of plant-based feedstocks, including carbohydrates, vegetable oils and terpenes while P2, a spin-out from Yale University, has a suite of patented green chemistry process technologies that convert renewable feedstocks into high-value specialty chemicals.

The partners will initially target the production of monomers for polyesters and polyamides along with other chemical intermediates derived from vegetable oil feedstocks.

“We are committed to growing our sustainable materials platform by combining agricultural feedstocks with world-class technology to provide renewable solutions to customers throughout the value chain,” commented ADM vice president, process and chemical research, Paul Bloom.

In 2018, ADM and DuPont opened the world’s first pilot plant in Decatur, Illinois, USA, for producing bio-based 2,5-furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME). The end-product will be a petroleum-free plastic that can be blended with traditional plastics to create stronger and more resilient packaging.

ADM also announced last September it was jointly developing a bio-based acrylic acid with South Korea’s LG Chem. The companies are working towards economically producing acrylic acid from ADM’s corn processing operations. Currently, acrylic acid is produced almost exclusively from petrochemicals.

To support production, LG Chem said at the time it planned to review the construction of a bio-super absorbent polymer (SAP) plant in North America and to explore additional bio-plastic business opportunities.