Braskem and Topsoe Start Bio-MEG Demo Unit
Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem and Danish catalysis and technology company Haldor Topsoe have announced they have achieved their first-ever production of bio-based MEG at demonstration scale.
The plant at Lyngby, Denmark, is based on Topsoe’s Mosaik – or monosaccharide industrial cracker – technology, which breaks sugars down into an intermediary product that can be converted further into a number of bio-chemicals using patented Topsoe catalysts and processes.
According to Topsoe, Mosaik-derived MEG has a purity of more than 99.9% and is suitable for use in PET bottles, food packaging and polyester fabrics. The firm claims it is also cost-competitive with naphtha-based MEG and is simpler and cheaper than current bio-MEG solutions.
The Lyngby facility started up in 2019 with the primary goal of demonstrating the technology’s key design features. Since then, the remaining process plants have been built and put into operation and production optimized.
As well as MEG, the technology also co-produces smaller volumes of MPG.
In a next phase, the companies will provide samples to strategic partners for testing and validation, the results of which will be essential for deciding whether to deploy the technology at commercial scale. The aim is to start up a commercial-scale plant in 2023.
Braskem said the development of bio-MEG is strategic for the company. “This technology has the potential to revolutionize the PET market. That’s why we are increasingly closer to start building this new value chain, so we can deliver the sustainable solution that society is looking for,” said Gustavo Sergi, executive officer of renewable chemicals and specialties at Braskem.
Another company developing bio-based MEG is Dutch group Avantium, which announced in August that it had successfully commissioned and started up its plant-based MEG demonstration plant in Delfzijl during the first half of 2020.
The Amsterdam-based company is focused on commercializing bio-MEG and furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), two building blocks for producing polyethylene furanoate (PEF). Its aim is to scale up FDCA to commercial scale first, followed by bio-MEG. Current plans envisage a commercial-scale FDCA plant going onstream in 2023.
BASF previously partnered Avantium to develop the FDCA technology through their Synvina joint venture. However, following disagreement about the future of the venture, BASF exited on Jan. 15, 2019, with Avantium taking over full ownership of the business and renaming it as Avantium Renewable Polymers.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
